Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, concerns or tips. I can be reached at 614-981-1422, avery.kreemer@coxinc.com or @AveryKreemer on X.
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The race to challenge Dayton Republican Congressman Mike Turner
• At a glance: Four Democrats with eyes on the area’s 10th Congressional District hope to convince voters that they are the right candidate to unseat longtime incumbent Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton.
• The background: Turner has represented the district, which includes all of Montgomery and Greene counties as well as a chunk of Clark County, since 2013. It’s a district that could theoretically be won by a Democrat, but Turner has swatted away Democratic challengers with relative ease five times.
• The candidates: The state and county Democratic Party has endorsed Amy Cox, a nearby out-of-district politician with a background in teaching and science that has been publicly called into question by the Montgomery County GOP. David Esrati, who owns an ad agency and was the last Democrat to challenge Turner, hopes his messaging will be sufficient to overcome the party’s endorsement. Tony Pombo and Joe Kuzniar, two political newcomers, also made their case to this newspaper. Sydney Dawes has the story.
Local Republican leader warns voters about dark money campaign mailers
• The story: A well-funded, rabble-rousing political action committee based in Virginia has poured money into several local Ohio House Republican primaries and many more across the state, attacking incumbents, propping up challengers, and agitating the order in a local county’s GOP party.
• What’s it doing? The PAC has largely targeted Republican incumbents who are part of the so-called “Blue 22″ — House reps who voted alongside Democrats to make Republican Rep. Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, speaker of the House — but has also set its sights on Republican lawmakers who had nothing to do with all that, like Rep. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon.
• One example: One of many mailers against Mathews alleged that the Warren County GOP “refused” to endorse Mathews in his primary against Kathy Grossman and Heather Salyers, a story that the county’s GOP chair said was “misrepresented” and caused significant confusion among voters. When asked, Grossman and Salyers both said they had nothing to do with the mailers, prompting the question of who’s pulling the strings.
• The reaction: Locally, the aggressive mailing campaign has also caused grievances in Butler and Greene Counties. For more, read this story put together by myself and Ed Richter.
Local political news of the week
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
• Everything you need to know to vote on March 19: Sydney Dawes breaks down the details of when to vote, where to vote, and how to get in touch with your local boards of elections. Here’s the story.
• Tipp City voters to decide on school tax levy: The district is asking voters to approve an $87 million bond issue to pay for a new preschool through eighth grade school building. The levy ask is 8.68 mills over 30 years. Nancy Bowman has the story.
• Two local appellate court races: Read about a series of candidates hoping to join their local appellate court bench. Eric Schwartzberg has the stories on both the 2nd District Court of Appeals primary that covers Montgomery, Greene, Darke, Miami, Champaign and Clark counties; along with the 12th District Court which covers Preble, most of Butler County, Warren County and many points south and east.
State political news of the week
• Two Democrats hope to unseat incumbent Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering: Rose Lounsbury and Chuck Horn are vying for the Democratic nod in House District 36, a district that covers Dayton’s eastern and western suburbs that is winnable for Democrats but has repeatedly elected Republicans. Nick Blizzard has the story.
• Statewide primary for the Ohio Supreme Court: Two Democrats are in competition in a statewide Supreme Court race that could have a substantial impact on the fight for control of the bench. Here’s my story on it.
• A state rep’s son hopes to replace his term-limited father in the House: Xenia City Councilman Levi Dean is taking on a field of Greene County Republicans to replace Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, in House District 71. Here’s my story.
National political news of the week
• Trump to visit Dayton: Former President Donald Trump will make a stop in Vandalia to promote Bernie Moreno as the best chance for Republicans to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown in the U.S. Senate. Moreno, despite the endorsement, is caught in a close race with state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and Columbus’ Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Lynn Hulsey has the story.
• Dolan’s pitch: Reporter Aimee Hancock sat in with Dolan as he spoke to voters in downtown Troy. Here’s what the U.S. Senate hopeful had to say.
• Three Democrats hope to unseat incumbent congressman: Speaking of Troy, its hometown U.S. Congressman Warren Davidson is in the sights of three Democratic challengers (two from Butler County) who hope to best him in Ohio’s 8th Congressional District. Mike Pitman has the story.