AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Ohio's primary results are in, setting up what's expected to be an expensive contest for the state's governor as well as for seats in the U.S. House and Senate, which could help determine the balance of power in Congress. Here to tell us more about what we can expect as we head into the midterms in November is Karen Kasler with Ohio Public Media's Statehouse News Bureau in Columbus. Hi, Karen.
KAREN KASLER, BYLINE: Hi there.
CHANG: Hi. OK, let's start with the governor's race there. Vivek Ramaswamy is now the Republican nominee for governor. And for those who don't remember, he was a presidential candidate, of course, a couple years ago. And this time around, he was endorsed by President Trump - right? - at a time when a lot of voters are blaming Trump and Republicans for rising costs. So how has Ramaswamy been handling that blame?
KASLER: Well, since he launched his campaign last year, he's been talking about eliminating the state income tax - now he says he'll do that in his first year in office - and also rolling back property taxes to prepandemic levels. He's likely to push harder on those plans. We have an all-volunteer group in Ohio working on gathering signatures for a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes. That's unlikely to make this year's ballot, but soaring property taxes are an issue Ohio voters have brought up a lot. And Ramaswamy's also leaning into the hold that Republicans have on the state.
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VIVEK RAMASWAMY: I do believe that this marks, without exception, the single most consequential election for governor that our state has ever seen in our history. There has never been a greater contrast between two candidates.
KASLER: And Ramaswamy has said his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, would be the state's first socialist governor if she wins.
CHANG: Socialist - OK, just to be clear, she's running as a Democrat, which Republicans often argue is a party that supports socialist ideas. How is she handling that particular characterization?
KASLER: She hasn't directly responded to those comments that I've seen. She has talked about tax cuts for working families, childcare subsidies and eliminating Ohioans' medical debt. And she's also said Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire who doesn't understand the problems of struggling Ohioans.
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AMY ACTON: This isn't about political party, guys. It's not about that anymore. It is about extreme wealth, power, ideology, special interests against everyone else.
KASLER: So this type of back-and-forth is an example of how intense this race is likely to get and how expensive. Both candidates have raised record totals so far. Polls have shown the race is tight, but there hasn't been a whole lot of national polling done in Ohio because the state has been solidly Republican for decades. And 2006 was the last time that Ohioans elected a Democrat as governor.
CHANG: OK. Let's move on to the Senate. Democrats are looking to flip a Senate seat in Ohio. What kind of chances do you think they have to do that?
KASLER: Well, Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted is running for his first election to that seat. He was appointed last year. Cook Political Report now sees this as a toss-up race. There's already a lot of money in this race that is expected to make it competitive because Democrat Sherrod Brown, who lost to newcomer Bernie Moreno in 2024, is trying to become one of the few people to regain a seat in the U.S. Senate after being voted out. He's won even as Republicans have dominated Ohio elections, so he's shown to have crossover appeal. And the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP-aligned super PAC, has already pledged nearly $80 million before the primary. And Senate Majority PAC, backing Democrats, just today promised $40 million.
CHANG: Wow, that's a lot of money. OK, well, what are you hearing directly from voters about what's top of mind for them right now?
KASLER: Affordability and costs - that's an issue across the country, definitely here in Ohio. A study we covered showed Ohioans are paying the eighth highest property tax rate in the U.S. Ohio has the ninth highest gas prices in the country. Ohio's also seen some of the largest increases in energy costs among Midwestern states, and data centers are thought to be a driver of that. Ohio is one of the top states for data centers - more than two hundred of them here - and there's a campaign now to put a ban on large data centers also on this year's ballot.
CHANG: That is Karen Kasler, bureau chief of the Statehouse News Bureau in Columbus, Ohio. Thank you, Karen.
KASLER: Great to talk to you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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