Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a surprise in October this week when Honda revealed plans to build a $3.5 billion plant in Fayette County that will make batteries for electric vehicles. US Senate candidates launched accusations during their debate, and the state board of education delayed a vote on a resolution affecting LGBTQ students.
We break down what this all means in this week’s episode of Ohio Politics Explained.
It’s a USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau podcast where we bring you up to date with the state’s political news in 15 minutes or less. This week, host Anna Staver was joined by State Bureau Chief Anthony Shoemaker.
1) Ohio drives a Honda
Honda is partnering with battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution to build a new plant here in Ohio and renovate three existing Honda plants that will support the growing electric vehicle industry.
The company said it chose the location southwest of Columbus for several reasons, including proximity to those existing plants, access to resources and availability of labor.
When asked by reporters about the timing of this announcement, dewine said“The timing of this was completely up to Honda. They made the decision. We are always looking forward to announcements.”
2) Vance vs. Ryan
Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Ryan met onstage in Cleveland this week and made their case for being the next United States Senator from Ohio.
Vance argued that Ryan’s support for federal spending bills has helped drive up inflation and grocery store costs, while Ryan said the infrastructure package and the CHIPS Act are already bringing jobs to Ohio.
The two also fell out over abortion. Ryan says that he supports the standard established by Roe v. Wade, while Vance would endorse a “minimum national standard” for how many weeks a person could be and still terminate a pregnancy.
3) State Board of Education and LGBTQ Resolution
The Ohio State Board of Education failed to vote on a resolution opposing federal changes being made to Title IX that would expand its anti-discrimination protections to include LGBTQ students and athletes.
Instead, the board voted 12-7 to send the controversial resolution to a committee for discussion.
Conservatives on the board, including resolution author Brendan Shea, accused their peers of trying to “make this go away.”
But Democratic members said they were concerned about the legality of certain aspects of the resolution, such as recommending that local school boards potentially violate federal law.
4) Release the records
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled this week that an Ashland County judge improperly sealed the divorce records of former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.
Mandel, who ran for the US Senate earlier this year, divorced Ilana Shafran Mandel in April 2020. The couple filed for divorce in Ashland County even though they lived in the Cuyahoga county. The judge, a Republican, sealed the records.
The Cincinnati Enquirer sued to make the records public. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Enquirer, writing that a judge must make the records public unless there is clear and convincing evidence that other factors — such as threats to someone’s safety — could have an impact.
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.
USA TODAY Network’s Ohio bureau serves The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal, and 18 other affiliated news organizations throughout Ohio.
