The national political picture is still coming into focus after the election. The control of the United States House of Representatives is almost certainly in the hands of Republicans, but the United States Senate control is still being determined.
In Ohio, Republicans won at every level of government. JD Vance won the Senate race to replace Rob Portman, by a larger margin that predicted in most polls. Republicans won 10 of 15 congressional seats---the size of our delegation reduced by one due to the Census results. Republicans swept the statewide executive offices, led by Governor Mike DeWine. He won a second term by defeating Democrat Nan Whaley by double digits. At the statehouse, Republicans have grown their majority in both chambers of the statehouse.
The maps used for this election both for the congressional districts and for the statehouse legislative races were both ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court for being gerrymandered and unfairly favoring Republicans.
The clock to get Akron’s civilian police oversight board up and running has started. Under terms of Issue 10 that was approved by voters, Akron City Council has until June 30, 2023 to pass any required legislation in order to create and implement the board. The fatal police shooting death of Jayland Walker in June prompted activists to collect signatures to put the measure on the November ballot.
With the election now over, lawmakers will begin returning to Columbus for the remainder of this term, or what is known as the lame-duck session. We could see a number of bills passed before the end of the year. The issue that is expected to be a priority for lawmakers is passing further abortion restrictions.
Cuyahoga County’s new executive will be Chris Ronayne. He defeated Republican challenger Lee Weingart to succeed current executive, Armond Budish.
Anna Huntsman, Akron-Canton Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Gabriel Kramer, Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Andy Chow, Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau, News Editor