Mayor from Ohio. (Getty image file photo.)
Each morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio, the country and the world that catches our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye and have published it here.
Sign up for our free daily newsletter to get all the Ohio news you need to know delivered straight to your inbox every weekday morning.
If you’re already a subscriber, please share with your family and friends to also learn about the Ohio Capital Journal: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/subscribe/
Catching our eyes
• Jim Jordan’s ambition. “Polityka” reports: “Perhaps Jim Jordan’s dream will no longer be postponed“
Jim Jordan has spent most of the past year out of the House Republican spotlight. Don’t expect it to last.
The Ohio Republican gained fame as a headline-making conservative firebrand, but later saw that reputation backfire when he mounted an unsuccessful 2023 bid for Speaker. Since then, he has supported President Donald Trump as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and otherwise stayed out of Speaker Mike Johnson’s way.
But now, as frustration grows within the House GOP over Johnson’s leadership and expectations grow that most Republicans’ days may be numbered, there is speculation that the 62-year-old former wrestling star is mounting another foray into top leadership positions.
• Forgive corruption. Kevin Grasha of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports: “The Supreme Court paves the way for the annulment of PG Sittenfeld’s conviction“
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an order that will allow the conviction of former Cincinnati city councilor PG Sittenfeld to be overturned. The case was sent back to a lower court to consider the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the indictment entirely.
Sittenfeld was convicted in 2022 on charges of bribery and attempted extortion and spent several months in prison before being released pending appeal. Sittenfeld’s attorneys argued that the pardon did not resolve all consequences of his conviction, although he was pardoned by former President Donald Trump.
• Oh, surprise, the lies don’t match the data. Anna Lynn Winfrey of the Columbus Dispatch reports: “ICE says it arrested the ‘worst of the worst’ in Columbus. The data shows that this is not the case“
While ICE celebrates going after the “worst of the worst criminals” in Ohio, the extensive majority of people detained had no criminal record – less than 7% of those arrested during the enforcement surge in mid-December had criminal histories, according to Deportation Data Project (DDP) data analyzed by The Dispatch. DDP collects immigration data from lawsuits and publishes it publicly.
• Covid. Ideastream’s Taylor Wizner reports: “Highly mutated ‘cicada’ Covid-19 variant detected in northeast Ohio“
A highly mutated variant of the Covid-19 virus, known as “cicada,” has been detected in northeast Ohio, according to public health officials, although it does not appear to spread faster or cause more severe disease than other omicron strains.
• Throw a huge amount of money at it. The New York Times reports: “Republicans are unveiling a $342 million battle plan to retain the Senate“
The leading super PAC of Senate Republicans is unveiling a nearly $350 million plan to retain control of the Senate by funneling tens of millions of dollars to red-leaning states including Alaska, Iowa and Ohio as the midterm elections become increasingly competitive…
The super PAC is setting aside television time to defend five Republican-held Senate seats: Ohio, North Carolina, Maine, Iowa and Alaska. He is also targeting three Democratic seats in Michigan, Georgia and New Hampshire. The commercials are scheduled to start broadcasting in early September.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
