Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate primary candidates met for their second of three debates at the University of Findlay Monday evening. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and entrepreneur Bernie Moreno sat side-by-side on stage. The winner of the March 19 primary will face Democratic Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.
On familiar issues like immigration, the economy and abortion, the candidates filled out the bingo card. There was no shortage of “finish the wall,” “cut taxes,” and “protect the unborn.” But even as the candidates played the hits their performance uncovered a bit of new territory and offered hints about the race ahead.
Team up on Moreno
Westlake businessman Bernie Moreno has secured a series of endorsements including several county parties, high-profile Ohio Republicans in Congress like U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, and of course, former President Donald Trump. The combined weight of those supporters is hard to ignore, and both of Moreno’s competitors obliged, giving him plenty of attention.
LaRose in particular peppered Moreno with attacks all evening. He criticized Moreno over a Massachusetts wage theft lawsuit and for sitting on a board that made donations to Planned Parenthood. He brought up past op-eds in which Moreno advocated for greater wind and solar subsidies or more lenient immigration laws.
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“He wrote an article that said there should be a path to citizenship and my team will share it,” LaRose said. “It’s his own words. But now that he wants to try to convince people he’s a conservative, he’s changed his tune on that. Which Bernie are we going to get in Washington?”
“Both of you guys are reinventing yourself on the issue of immigration,” Dolan chimed in.
“Frank, you were wrapping your arms around No Labels which had a clear path to citizenship,” he continued. “And Bernie you are quoted as saying you want a path to residency, and you think it’s important that all illegals become U.S. citizens.”
But Moreno pushed back, arguing “this is what they do, this is what career politicians do, they don’t want businesspeople and outsiders in their game,” after LaRose brought up the wage theft suit. In that case, a judge determined Moreno destroyed evidence despite a court order to preserve it.
After LaRose criticized him over an energy subsidies op-ed, Moreno quipped “I was against HB 6. These guys weren’t.” He continued, “They’re going to have to answer for their involvement in that scandal to a different audience than the one that’s here tonight.”
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Minimum wage?
Moreno and Dolan are both wealthy. They’ve both been able to write multi-million dollar checks to help float their campaigns. LaRose’s net worth isn’t in the same category, but he nevertheless loaned his campaign a quarter million dollars. In short, all three candidates are very far removed from life on minimum wage.
But when asked, very directly, if there should be a minimum wage at all, not one said yes.
Moreno argued, “the markets are the best way to determine what wages should be.” He insisted in his experience as a business owner that paying good wages gets good workers.
“At the end of the day, the markets will flush that out,” he said, “and make certain that you get workers that get a good job.”
LaRose landed in a similar place. “The challenge with these government interventions like so-called minimum wage is that it has a distorting effect on the market,” he said. “The market is the best way to set wages.”
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All three took turns beating up on the idea of a livable wage.
“Look,” Dolan said, “the minimum wage is not intended to be a livable wage.”
“I’ve employed people,” he added. “We started some people at minimum wage, the purpose of doing that was to inspire them to work harder.”
Moreno also insisted the minimum was never meant to provide workers enough to get by, and LaRose warned about a potential ballot initiative to establish a $15 minimum wage in Ohio.
Throughout the evening the candidates hammered on the cost of gas and groceries, but explicitly opposing minimum and livable wages would seem to hurt the Ohioans pinched most by higher prices.
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In a press conference prebuttal hosted by Ohio Democrats, Ohio Federation of Teachers president Melissa Cropper argued, “The Morenos of the world see us workers as expendable line items there to help them maximize the profits, while paying us the least amount that they can pay us.”
Peeking toward the general
Still, the Republican candidates took pains to differentiate themselves based on the threat they pose to Brown.
Dolan repeatedly pointed to his record addressing issues raised in the debate at the state level.
“I’m glad to hear that my opponents are talking about all the things that I’ve been able to do here in Ohio that we need to do at the Washington level, so experience matters,” he said.
But Dolan also offered a reality check on abortion, noting Brown won reelection in 2018 with only 16 counties. In 13 of those, Dolan said, the abortion rights measure, Issue 1, out-performed Brown’s 2018 figures. He argued Moreno and LaRose’s recent positions on abortion — no exceptions and a 6-week ban respectively — will taint them in the general election.
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Responding to missing out on Trump’s endorsement, LaRose pointed to the backing of pro-gun and anti-abortion groups in Ohio.
“I’m the one that doesn’t just say it, I’m the one that has proven it, but I’m also the one that can defeat Sherrod Brown,” LaRose argued. “We need to defeat Sherrod Brown and replace him with someone who actually shares our values. I’m the one that checks both of those boxes.”
Meanwhile, Moreno leaned on Trump’s decision to endorse him.
To LaRose, Moreno said, “He knows who you are. He knows who I am. And he knows that I’m the one who’s going to have his back and I’m going to win this primary.”
“We’re going to change this country over the next four years in a deeply conservative way,” Moreno added.
Luke Goode stroked a 3-pointer with more than a minute left in overtime to give Indiana the lead and Anthony Leal blocked John Mobley Jr.’s jumper with a second left to allow Indiana to escape Ohio State with a 77-76 Big Ten Conference win Friday night.
Indiana (14-5, 5-3) now has won five of the last six meetings with the Buckeyes, including both games a year ago. Ohio State (10-8, 2-5) lost its third straight conference game, all by two points or less.
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Mobley hit a 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 71-71. Indiana held the ball before Luke Goode drove for a layup that missed, Oumar Ballo got the offensive rebound but missed the put-back, rebounded again and missed a jumper. Ohio State rebounded but was unable to get off a shot as the clock ran out.
Ohio State took the lead, 76-74, on Bruce Thornton’s three-point play with 1:26 left in overtime. Indiana’s Myles Rice drove to the basket but missed a layup to tie the game, but Oumar Ballo came down with the offensive rebound and kicked the ball to a wide-open Goode on the wing for the game-winner. Mobley missed a 3-point attempt for Ohio State and Kanaan Carlyle drove the baseline and misfired on a short jumper with :14 left.
Goode finished with a career-high 23 points and Ballo scored a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds with four assists and two blocks for the Hoosiers. Carlyle added 13 points.
Mobley finished with 22 points to lead the Buckeyes. Micah Parrish added 19 and Thornton added 18.
Indiana plays at Northwestern Wednesday. Ohio State plays at No. 17 Purdue Thursday.
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Indiana Hoosiers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Highlights | FOX College Hoops
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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Ohio State coach Jake Diebler previews Texas A&M, talks 2025 class
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler previews Texas A&M and talks 2025 class in this Nov. 14, 2024 interview.
Ohio State has made the list of three finalists to sign five-star 2025 basketball prospect Caleb Wilson.
A 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward from Atlanta Holy Innocents Episcopal School, Wilson will pick from North Carolina, Kentucky and the Buckeyes. According to a report from On3.com, he will announce his choice Jan. 23.
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Wilson is the No. 8 national prospect in the 2025 class according to 247Sports.com and the No. 5 player in the 247Sports composite.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Ohio State impresses five-star power forward Caleb Wilson on official visit
During the fall, Wilson took visits to Tennessee, UCF, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, USC, Stanford, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio State. At the end of July, Caleb Wilson announced a list of his top 12 schools: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, UCF, and USC.
That list was cut to five schools on Nov. 18: the three current finalists, Tennessee and Central Florida.
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The Buckeyes have two signees for 2025: Dorian Jones and Amare Bynum, both four-star prospects. Jones is a guard from Richmond Heights, Ohio, and Bynum a power forward from Branson (Missouri) Link Academy. Their class is ranked No. 44 nationally at 247Sports, with Jones at No. 68 in the class and Bynum at 100 but poised to rise when the rankings refresh after a strong start to his season.
A rare powder day at Boston Mills. Laura Johnston, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Some Clevelanders hate winter. Once Christmas is over and the new year dawns, they grit their teeth and gripe about the cold and snow until March – or beyond.
But why not embrace what feels like a real January, where snow has transformed the tired brown landscape to a whimsical world of white?
Winter can feel magical, if you take it seriously — unlike my middle schoolers, whom I have to nag to wear a coat to school.
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You can’t love winter if your only interaction takes place in frigorific parking lots, dashing between your car and your destination, without boots, gloves or tuque (a Canadian word for winter hat I wish we would all adopt).
Yes, it’s cold. Yes, I prefer 75 degrees and sunshine.
But we are Clevelanders. Like the classic graphic tee, which I own in pink: “You gotta be tough.”
And you gotta deal with a 10-day streak of temperatures that didn’t break 32 degrees, whether you like it or not. The good news is our daily allotment of snow stayed on the ground.
Unlike cold rain, you can play in the snow. You can ski or snowboard, snowshoe or cross-country ski. You can sled or make snow angels, and if its warm enough make snowpeople or have a snowball fight. Snow days are the most beloved of all school holidays because of their inherent surprise.
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If you get a bluebird day with snow, even better. The sunshine bouncing off the ground can lift your spirit in bounds.
And even if you don’t, extra daylight increases serotonin levels in your brain, helping you regulate mood, sleep and appetite.
Go ice skating at an outdoor rink, like in downtown Akron or Cleveland, or in a flooded pocket park in Shaker Heights.
Hike through the woods in the Metroparks, or a just take walk around the block in the dark. (And while you’re out there, why not be a good neighbor and shovel the sidewalk. if you’re able?)
The snow softens everything; the quiet it creates feels like meditation.
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When you return home, stomp your boots, shake off the flakes and get cozy under a blanket on your couch. If you have a fireplace, take advantage. Make hot chocolate or tea and curl up with a good book. This is gezellig, a Dutch word that captures a cozy feeling of warmth, light and comfort, shared with loved ones.
I made my 11-year-old daughter sled with me a few weekends ago. Because it’s weird if a grown-up sledded by themselves. But I will ski solo any time, doing laps of moguls on North Bowl at Boston Mills.
Want to enjoy winter in Cleveland? Get out and play in it.Laura Johnston, cleveland.com
I’ve been skiing with my family at the Boston Township enclave (“resort” is way too fancy a word for the cluster of runs) since I joined ski club in third grade. I took my kids when they were still bundled in sleepers in their car seat carrier, plunking them on a table for my dad to watch while my mom and I skied. When they were 2, my mom started teaching them.
It’s an investment to teach your kids to ski. You spend years on the bunny hill, calming tantrums and yelling “Turn! Turn!” and occasionally bribing with hot pretzels, while wishing you were swishing down black diamonds. But like so much of the hard work of parenting, the effort is so, so worth it.
Sharing my hobby with my kids means I get to keep doing it. Because now on winter weekends, we meet up with my mom and my sister’s family for fresh air and daylight and exercise. It’s a sport I hope will improve their winters for the rest of their lives.
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This year, we skiers have lucked out with snow, both natural and manmade. While last year, it was Jan. 17 before Boston Mills opened any of its advanced terrain, this year North Bowl was open before Christmas. And we’ve had real powder to play on.
With climate change, we’re seeing warmer winters and less snow. A 2023 study by the National Ski Areas Association predicts that if climate change is left unchecked, ski resorts in several states, including Ohio, could lose between 61% to 81% of their operational days by mid-century. A group called Save Our Snow (helpfully nicknamed SOS) compiles information on what the ski industry is doing to combat climate change.
Across the globe, 2024 was the hottest year ever, beating the record set the year before and breaching the international goal set in 2021 that aimed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
That may be good news to Clevelanders who don’t want to don a parka to walk their dog. But how cute are dogs in the snow, whether they’re romping like my golden retriever or wearing a coat and booties?
With our 64 inches annually, we don’t even rank in the top 10 cities for average seasonal snow totals. We’re bested by:
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Syracuse, New York, 128 inches a year
Erie, Pennsylvania, 104 inches
Rochester, New York, 102 inches
Buffalo, New York, 96 inches
Boulder, Colorado, 93 inches
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Duluth, Minnesota, 90 inches
Flagstaff, Arizona, 90 inches
Anchorage, Alaska, 78 inches
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 78 inches
Worcester, Massachusetts, 73 inches
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Now that Lake Erie has begun to freeze, we’ll have less lake effect snow.
But the next time we get a pile of it, pull on your snowpants, go out and play. Because loathing winter won’t make it pass any quicker.
Ice is starting to form along the Lake Erie shoreline on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, after weeks of below freezing temperatures. The wind blowing across the lake has also led to some spectacular frozen ice features.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
Cleveland.com content director Laura Johnston writes weekly about life in her 40s in the column, Our Best Life. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the column delivered to your inbox Friday mornings. Find her on Instagram @ourbestlifecle.
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