Ohio
Ohio House GOP votes to take control of House campaign funds from Speaker Jason Stephens
The majority of Ohio House Republicans voted to strip Speaker Jason Stephens of control over House GOP campaign funds during a Wednesday morning meeting.
The resolution − backed by 38 of 67 House Republicans and a designee of the Ohio Republican Party − would give Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, sole authority over House Republicans’ campaign coffers, known as the Ohio House Republican Alliance, state Rep. Brian Stewart said.
If successful, the move could hurt Stephens’ bid to retain control of the speaker’s gavel next year. Stephens said Wednesday afternoon that he was not aware of the vote.
Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is returning to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2025 and is openly campaigning to replace Stephens, R-Kitts Hill. If Stephens can’t spend campaign cash, it could hamstring his ability to elect candidates this November who support his bid for speaker.
In the March primary, Stephens spent at least $3 million defending Republican incumbents, most of whom backed his 2023 leadership bid. Four Republican lawmakers lost their seats to primary challengers.
“Jason Stephens has used the current OHRA bank account to spend all the caucus’ money defending a few hand-picked people,” Stewart, R-Ashville, said. “We cannot have that situation heading into the fall elections, and we cannot have the campaign fund being managed by a speaker who has every incentive to lose Republican seats.”
Stephens won the speakership in January 2023 with all 32 Democratic votes and 22 Republican votes for a total of 54. His challenger, Toledo area Rep. Derek Merrin, had 43 GOP votes.
Stephens’ opponents have tried once before to wrest control of campaign money. They filed a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to block Stephens and his allies from spending the money, but Judge Mark Serrott denied their request before the primary. “It is impossible to ignore the specter of political gamesmanship that looms over this litigation,” Serrott wrote.
Stewart said the new vote was taken Wednesday to formalize what most House Republicans already said they wanted: Stephens to let go of the campaign account.
The resolution gives Plummer the power to form a new entity called the Ohio House Republican Organization to raise money and spend it on candidates − if Stephens doesn’t release the purse strings, Stewart said. “We are going to give people the opportunity to comply with the law and comply with the majority wishes of the caucus.”
All House Republicans were invited to the meeting, which occurred Wednesday morning at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel downtown, Stewart said.
Meanwhile, a member of the Ohio Republican Party governing body Josh Brown has circulated a petition, asking the state party to “deal with Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens’ illegal, anti-Republican political spending.” That request will be addressed at the Ohio GOP’s next meeting, spokesman Dan Luscheck said.
Reporter Erin Glynn contributed to the article.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
MIDDLEFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) — The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Chardon Post is investigating a fatal plane crash that killed three people around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
According to a press release, about one mile east of the Geauga County Airport, a Piper Comanche 250 crashed into a field.
The plane sustained major damage — killing three Ohioans who were identified as Thomas A. Cunningham, 76, of Rome, John W. Taipale, 71, and Alexander C. Taipale, 40, both from Geneva.
OSHP was assisted by the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, Geauga County Coroner’s Office, Geauga County Emergency Management Agency, Middlefield Fire Department and Community Care Ambulance.
The Western Reserve Port Authority, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport’s executive director, Anthony Trevena, reached out to our team with a statement regarding the crash.
“We were heartbroken to learn that members of our extended YNG and Youngstown aviation family, were victims in today’s crash in Geagua County. Our deepest condolences go out the Cunningham and Taipale families. We ask that their privacy please be respected during this difficult time. The FAA and NTSB are leading the investigation to determine the cause and will provide any updates as information becomes available.,” Trevena said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash.
The crash remains under investigation.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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