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2018 was a big election year in Ohio. Republicans held onto all five statewide executive offices including governor and super majorities in both the Ohio House and Senate. But there were a few bright spots for Democrats, among them the reelection of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown and the election of two Democrats to the Ohio Supreme Court.With election 2018 over, the focus now shifts to governing. Stay connected with the latest on politics, policies and people making the decisions at all levels affecting your lives.

U.S. House Primaries in Ohio Produce No Surprises

There were no big surprises in the 16 races for Congress, especially since there were no contested primaries in six of them. 

There were five Republican primaries, including the huge 15 candidate contest for former Speaker John Boehner’s seat. Warren Davidson beat state Rep. Tim Derickson and state Sen. Bill Beagle. Davidson goes on to a special election in that heavily Republican district June 7. Three Republican incumbents, Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati, Bob Gibbs of Ashland and David Joyce of Painesville, had no trouble winning their primaries, as did the lone incumbent Democrat facing a challenger, Tim Ryan of Warren. And Republican former state Rep. Steven Kraus lost his bid to face Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur of Toledo this fall. Kraus was forced out of his seat in the Ohio House after a felony theft conviction in July. 

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.