The Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio set Friday as the deadline for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to draw a new set of state legislative district maps. But lawmakers won't meet that deadline. Instead, the commission opted to resubmit a set of maps already ruled unconstitutional by the Court. The commission waited until two days before the deadline to even meet. And, two key members of the commission have stepped aside -- sending surrogates. A federal court will step in and put a previous set of maps into effect if the commission does not come up with maps that meet constitutional requirements by May 28.
The redrawing of the state legislative maps—which will impact the split between the parties at the Statehouse—gained importance this week after the leak of a draft opinion from the United States Supreme Court. The opinion—authenticated by Chief Justice John Roberts—comes from a case known as Dobbs versus Jackson. The case deals with a Mississippi abortion law that impacts the landmark 1973 Roe versus Wade decision-that established a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The leaked draft from Justice Samuel Alito suggested the Court was prepared to overturn the Roe decision and hand the power back to the states on abortion. It is worth noting it was a draft and not a final opinion but court observers say based on the court arguments last year it is expected the court will impact Roe in some fashion when it rules in the Mississippi case.
Abortion access will likely be a key issue in the race for Ohio governor. Incumbent Mike DeWine easily fended off his primary challengers in Tuesday’s primary. Nan Whaley won the Democrat primary. She becomes the first woman in Ohio history to win a major party's nomination to run for governor.
The race on Tuesday’s primary ballot that garnered the most attention nationwide was United State Senate primary races to replace Rob Portman who is retiring. Democrat Tim Ryan won that party’s primary while JD Vance prevailed in a crowded and expensive race. A late-campaign endorsement from former President Trump vaulted Vance over the top with voters.
Nick Castele, Senior Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Richard Andrews, Editor and Publisher, The Real Deal Press
Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
