Ohio has a gubernatorial race and two candidates that the Pennant editorial team isn't particularly excited about.
First, there's Dr. Amy Acton.
Her COVID tenure alongside Governor DeWine was wrong about nearly everything and had the press releases to prove it. Masks weren't necessary, then they were mandatory. Going outside would kill you, then it wouldn't. People sat alone on park benches, wondering why fresh air was suddenly a health hazard.
Ohioans stopped listening because we figured out it wasn't science, it was theater. We haven't forgotten. Now the architect of that mess wants to run the state.
The rest of the record: a police incident, a Senate flirtation that went nowhere, and being a woman, which apparently settles it for some people.
On the other side: billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.
This is the man who wrote Woke, Inc., plays piano, and is pretty good at tennis. Attended both Harvard and Yale. He is almost certainly the smartest person in any room and makes certain you never forget it. His life requires what appears to be a traveling production crew with a producer, two cameras, and an audio engineer. Being late is just something he does.
Make of that what you will.
When they both speak, it feels like focus group-generated talking points. For example, property taxes are crushing homeowners while the state loses residents to Indiana, Tennessee, and Florida. People are leaving. That's the story.
The response? Property taxes are a problem and we're going to fix that or eliminate them or something.
Another major issue is data centers. These projects mean real money for towns like Van Wert and Portsmouth. Jobs, tax revenue, infrastructure investment. They need real management too: grid planning, water accountability, and zoning that works for the towns that want them. We're still waiting.
Let's face it, public education in Ohio is mostly a mess. Unions are protecting jobs. School boards are burning energy fighting vouchers instead of fixing classrooms. Families in failing districts are trying to get out any way they can.
A real candidate has a specific answer for that, and it's not "we're going to fix the schools."
Dr. Acton and Mr. Ramaswamy won their primaries. The Pennant editorial staff isn't quite sure what Ohio got out of it. There's time to win us over. Just be real and not so focus groupie.
Come November, choose carefully. The state is watching. So is Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas.
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