Abortions are legal in Ohio until 20 weeks again, but they might not be for long. Polling data suggests the U.S. Senate race is tied while Gov. Mike DeWine has a commanding lead over Democrat Nan Whaley.
We break down what it all means on this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained.
It’s a podcast from the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau where we catch you up on the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less. This week, host Anna Staver was joined by statehouse bureau chief Anthony Shoemaker and Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos.
1) Judge suspends abortion ban
A Hamilton County judge has temporarily blocked Ohio’s law banning abortions once fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks into pregnancy.
The restraining order means abortions up until about 20 weeks gestation will be legal for the next 14 days. During that time, Ohio’s attorney general will try to convince the judge that Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” should remain the law while this case works its way to the state Supreme Court.
2) Statewide divide
A recent USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll showed Republican JD Vance and Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan tied in the race for an open seat in the U.S. Senate. Ryan had a narrow 46.6% to 45.6% lead.
But the results were totally different in the other major statewide race. DeWine led Whaley 53.8% to 39.2%.
A lot could change between now and November, but the numbers suggest that Ohio voters may split their ballots and vote for both DeWine and Ryan.
3) Larry who?
Nearly 68% of Ohioans think the state’s government is somewhat corrupt, very corrupt or extremely corrupt, but that doesn’t mean they know about the man at the center of Ohio’s largest public corruption case.
The USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll showed 45% of voters hadn’t heard of former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and 4.4% had a favorable opinion of him.
Householder was arrested by federal agents in July 2020. He’s alleged to have accepted $61 million in bribes and conspired with four other men to bail out two nuclear power plants. Two of those men have pleaded guilty, but Householder maintains his innocence. He is set to go on trial in January 2023.
4) Ohio voters want debates
Most Ohioans want to see debates between the candidates for U.S. Senate and governor, according to the USA TODAY Network Ohio/Suffolk University poll.
About 84% of likely Ohio voters said the candidates for these two statewide offices should debate each other. Only 10% said they should not debate, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Listen to “Ohio Politics Explained” on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and TuneIn Radio. The episode is also available by clicking the link in this article.
The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
