© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
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.

Republican and Democratic Candidates Come Together on Campaign Finance Reform

JO INGLES
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU / OHIO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The opponents of Issue 2, the Drug Price Relief Act, recently outspent backers of that proposal by a four-to-one margin. And most of the money in the opposition’s campaign war chest couldn’t be directly traced because it was in an LLC rather than a traditional political action committee. This has raised questions once again about campaign finance reform, something both the Democrat and Republican candidates for Secretary of State in Ohio say is needed. 

Republican Sen. Frank LaRose says the state needs to put something in place to make sure voters know who is funding political campaigns.

“The number one goal in my mind needs to be transparency.

Rep. Kathleen Clyde, a Democrat, agrees transparency needs to be achieved but also wants changes in contribution limits statewide.

“Our limits could be brought down and I am looking at legislation to do just that.”

But LaRose says it might be a challenge to overcome federal court ordered limits on restricting candidates and adds contribution limits haven’t generally worked in states that have them.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.