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Republican candidates boast financial leads

Money isn’t the only thing that matters in political races, but just ask those running for elected office and — if they’re being truthful — they will tell you it’s much better to have more than their opponents. There are five state legislative races between Mahoning and Trumbull counties with Republican candidates in four of those, including three incumbents. Republicans didn’t field a candidate in the 59th Ohio House District race. In the other four races, Republicans enjoy a large financial advantage over their opponents. Democratic opponents in two of those races have ...

Energy policy should support affordability and not undermine it

The U.S. is playing energy inflation whack-a-mole. Gasoline prices have retreated from wallet-draining summer highs, but consumers now find themselves looking at surging natural gas and electricity bills. The global energy crisis—driven by a warring Russia cutting oil and gas to western Europe—continues to batter both energy markets and American families’ budgets. U.S. natural gas prices, which had been extraordinarily low for a decade, have doubled this year—and quadrupled since the start of the pandemic, even reaching 14-year highs in August. As natural gas prices go, so ...

Did the Trump rally help Vance’s chances?

Did former President Donald Trump’s rally recently at Youngstown’s Covelli Centre give a boost to the U.S. Senate campaign of Republican J.D. Vance? Trump criticized U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, the Democratic nominee for the seat, during the event, and had good things to say about Vance. Still, it’s uncertain how that will impact the Senate campaign, though the former president remains popular in Ohio. That’s because many of those at that rally came to hear and see Trump. The event was designed to support Vance and, to a lesser extent, other Republicans on the Nov. 8 ballot. But ...

Begging for bookshelves

“I want you to put something in your column so people will donate bookshelves,” my wife announced. “Wait. What? You want me to do what? Why?” Honey has a habit of springing things like that on me, ideas she has fully thought out and decided upon but which to me seem coming out of the blue. I can be a little like the S.S. Titanic, speeding along through life, having a grand old time and making 25 knots through the dark North Atlantic while willfully ignoring reports of icebergs ahead, and when some pesky lookout shouts “Hard a-port!!”, I want to talk about it a little ...

Credit upgrade a big win for Ohio

Though we may not realize it when it stares us in the face, adversity often brings out the best in us. That’s certainly proven true right here in the Buckeye State. The last few years have seen no shortage of fiscal storms. In fact, the combination of COVID-19, skyrocketing inflation, and ongoing supply chain issues has brought an economic hurricane to the shores of our nation. But we’ve worked hard to keep the ship steady here in Ohio. Those efforts were on full display recently when Fitch Ratings – one of the “Big Three” credit rating agencies — upgraded Ohio’s ...

Expect huge crowd today for Trump in Youngstown

Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance will have his biggest general election campaign event to date Saturday at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, in the heart of the congressional district represented by Tim Ryan, his Democratic opponent. The location is no coincidence. Vance’s last rally, Aug. 19, was at the Metroplex Expo Center in Liberty, also in Ryan’s district. Like the Liberty event, Vance isn’t the featured attraction at Saturday’s rally, but he’ll benefit. In Liberty, it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate, who ...