Ohio Voters' Rage Over Prices May Decide November

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, running to replace term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, says a businessman is what Ohio needs. He has pledged to roll back property taxes to "where they were before the end of the COVID pandemic," partly by making local governments spend "with greater discipline," and argues more energy production will cut utility bills. "Next year, I'll be able to provide immediate relief to bring down electric bills and bring down property taxes," he told the Dispatch's statehouse bureau. "We're going to pair that immediate relief with the longer-run, more durable wage growth. But that's not immediate. That doesn't happen overnight."

Acton, the former Ohio Department of Health director who experienced homelessness as a child, has pitched medical debt forgiveness, a child tax credit and an expanded homestead exemption. She argues Ramaswamy — a billionaire biotech entrepreneur who uses a private jet — and other Republicans prioritize tax breaks for the wealthy. "Ohio, this is my promise," she said. "I'm going to make it all cost less."

Sen. Jon Husted, the Republican incumbent, points to the budget bill's elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, an increased child tax credit, and a federal affordable housing law limiting large investors from buying up properties. He also says more jobs are open to U.S. citizens as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigrants. "I think voters are smart," Husted said. "They understand jobs are good. They understand that now, their children and grandchildren don't have to leave Ohio to find a job. ... They also want to see prices get lower." He contends Republicans inherited a mess made by Democrat Sherrod Brown and the Biden administration.

Brown, seeking a comeback after losing to Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024, says the system is rigged and blames Husted for backing policies that raise costs, including the Iran war that sent gas prices surging. "People know what they know," Brown said. "They know when they go to the grocery store that sometimes they have to put items back as they're unloading the cart."

Democratic consultant Aaron Pickrell, who worked for former Gov. Ted Strickland and President Barack Obama, said the anger is different this cycle. "It's not an academic discussion about the economy. It's a practical, everyday, looking at your bank account discussion of the economy that you can't get away from. Everybody feels it."

The White House pushed back on the sentiment numbers. "The hard data of consumer spending and retail sales have, for months, consistently reinforced that the American consumer remains resilient thanks to the President's proven economic agenda of tax cuts and deregulation," spokesman Kush Desai told Axios.