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Some lawmakers again pushing to close Ohio's primary elections

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Some lawmakers again pushing to close Ohio's primary elections


Republican state lawmakers have put out at least four different proposals to close Ohio’s partisan primaries since the start of the legislative session last year.

The most recent to be introduced and heard, House Bill 437, would also prohibit candidates from running with a political party if that candidate had not voted in the party’s latest primary. HB 437 requires voters and candidates who are switching parties alike to declare their affiliation at least 90 days before an election.

“Our belief is this will help deter those who intend to manipulate the results of our primaries,” Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) said in her committee testimony. “Each party should have the right to determine their own candidates for general election without meddling from the outside.”

Right now, Ohio conducts partially open primaries—meaning voters in partisan elections don’t have to decide which side’s ballot they will cast until they submit their mail-in ballot application or arrive at the polls.

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Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the state’s Republican chief elections official, also wants the system to shift away from that flexibility.

“We’re an outlier among states in the country that have a system like this,” LaRose said in an interview earlier this year. “I think that it would be better for us to have a system like what many other states, really most other states, have where you have to make that decision in advance.”

Ten states have closed primaries and 10 more have partly closed primaries, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Only three other states have systems like Ohio’s: Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.

But closed primary opponents, like House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington), argue changing the current system disenfranchises Ohioans.

“I’m opposed to any effort that would at all restrict voter access to the ballot. I look at closed primaries as just one more effort to restrict voters,” Russo said earlier this month.

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Other closed primary iterations include Senate Bill 147, House Bill 208 and House Bill 210. The provisions laid out in these bills range, with longer and shorter time frames regulating when a person would need to be registered with a party to participate in the primaries.

Lear said she’d welcome the chance to work with any of the backers of those bills to get something to the finish line before December. So far, none of them have gotten a committee vote.





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Ohio governor signs bill designating ‘Tuscarawas Valley Memorial Highway’

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Ohio governor signs bill designating ‘Tuscarawas Valley Memorial Highway’


ETNA, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 52 into law Tuesday, designating a portion of I-70 as the “Tuscarawas Valley Memorial Highway.”

Announced in a media release by State Representative Kevin Miller (R-Newark) and Jodi Salvo (R-Bolivar), the designation honors John Mosley, Katelyn Owens, Jeffery Worrell, Dave Kennat, Kristy Gaynor and Shannon Wigfield, Tusarawas Valley High School students who lost their lives in a tragic bus crash in November 2023.

“Designating a portion of interstate 70 in Licking County as the Tuscarawas Memorial Highway will ensure the lives lost on that tragic day will never be forgotten,” Miller said. See the latest NBC4 headlines in the player above.

The Ohio Department of Transportation will install markers identifying the memorial highway.

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The bill goes into effect September 23, 2026.



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Ohio Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Midday winning numbers for July 18, 2026

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The Ohio Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at July 18, 2026, results for each game:

Powerball

Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m.

09-14-44-50-56, Powerball: 03, Power Play: 4

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Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 3

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

Midday: 4-3-7

Evening: 5-7-3

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Pick 4

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

Midday: 3-4-4-3

Evening: 5-7-4-4

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Pick 5

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at 12:29 p.m. and 7:29 p.m., except Saturday evening.

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Midday: 2-4-2-4-0

Evening: 7-3-0-0-5

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Rolling Cash 5

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 7:05 p.m.

07-19-20-33-37

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Check Rolling Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Classic Lotto

Drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, at approximately 7:05 p.m.

01-19-34-36-43-44, Kicker: 6-2-4-5-4-6

Check Classic Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Millionaire for Life

Drawings are held daily, seven days a week, at approximately 11:15 p.m.

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18-23-28-32-49, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director. You can send feedback using this form.



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Alabama’s Emergence As Fertile Recruiting Ground for Ohio State Continues with Karlos May’s Commitment

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Alabama’s Emergence As Fertile Recruiting Ground for Ohio State Continues with Karlos May’s Commitment


Before Nick Saban’s retirement in 2024, it was an extreme rarity for a football player from Alabama to play for Ohio State.

Prior to the 2024 season, Ohio State had only had two players ever from the state of Alabama: Donte Wheat and Willie Salter. Wheat was on the Buckeyes’ roster for just one season in 1981, and Salter was with the Buckeyes for just one season in 2001.

Over the past three years, however, Alabama has suddenly become fertile recruiting territory for the Buckeyes.

With his commitment to Ohio State on Saturday, Karlos May – a four-star defensive tackle from Birmingham, Alabama – is set to become the fourth high school prospect and seventh overall player from his home state to sign with the Buckeyes in three years.

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In the 2025 recruiting class, the first recruiting cycle after Saban’s retirement, Ohio State landed two of the top seven prospects from Alabama: defensive end Zion Grady and running back Anthony “Turbo” Rogers. The Buckeyes followed that up last year by landing another top-10 prospect from the state, defensive tackle Emmanuel Ruffin. Now, the Buckeyes have landed the state’s top defensive tackle again in May, who’s ranked as the No. 5 prospect from Alabama and the No. 135 overall prospect nationally in the 2027 class.

Alabama Natives to Play for Ohio State
Player Position Hometown Years at OSU
Donte Wheat DT Montgomery 1981
Willie Salter WR Deatsville 2001
Quinshon Judkins RB Pike Road 2024
Zion Grady DE Enterprise 2025-Present
Anthony “Turbo” Rogers RB Montgomery 2025-Present
Emmanuel Ruffin DT Bessemer 2026-Present
James Smith DT Montgomery 2026–Present
Qua Russaw DE Montgomery 2026–Present
Karlos May DT Birmingham 2027 Commit

They join a trio of Alabama natives who transferred to Ohio State after starting their college careers in the Southeast: running back Quinshon Judkins, who transferred from Ole Miss to Ohio State just before Saban’s retirement in January 2024, and defensive linemen James Smith and Qua Russaw, who each transferred to Ohio State from Alabama this offseason.

Ohio State’s five Alabama natives on this year’s roster are tied with New Jersey for the sixth-most of any state behind Ohio (52), Florida (11), California (eight), Texas (eight) and Georgia (six). And that total doesn’t include starting quarterback Julian Sayin or veteran cornerback Cam Calhoun, who both transferred to Ohio State from the University of Alabama – not to mention former Ohio State All-Americans Caleb Downs and Seth McLaughlin, who both transferred to Ohio State alongside Sayin in 2024 when Saban stepped down from his post leading the Crimson Tide.

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No team in all of college football recruited better than the University of Alabama during Nick Saban’s 17-year run coaching the Crimson Tide. Every single one of Saban’s 17 recruiting classes at Alabama ranked in the top five of 247Sports’ composite team rankings. Add in the fact that Auburn was often competing for SEC and national championships, and it was rare for top prospects from Alabama to leave their home state.

Since Kalen DeBoer replaced Saban in 2024, however, Alabama has lost its stranglehold on top talent in its backyard. Mystifyingly, all of the top 15 prospects from the state of Alabama in the 2027 class are now committed to schools other than the University of Alabama. Auburn, meanwhile, is coming off five straight seven-loss seasons.

That combination opened the door for the Buckeyes to become a real contender for top players from Alabama, and Ohio State has taken full advantage, both by landing top high school prospects from the state and becoming a frequent destination for top players who transfer out of Tuscaloosa.

Ohio State’s recruiting success in the state of Alabama comes as part of a larger trend of the Buckeyes winning recruiting battles in Southeast states where they didn’t often recruit until recent years. Just last month, the Buckeyes landed only their second player ever from the state of Mississippi when they beat out Ole Miss and others for four-star offensive tackle Caden Moss, a top-75 national prospect. In the 2026 class, Ohio State signed two players from Louisiana, a state where the Buckeyes had previously had only four players all-time.

All of that comes while the Buckeyes continue to be major players in the states of Florida and Georgia, most notably beating out Georgia and Miami (among others) for five-star defensive end DJ Jacobs, the No. 1 prospect in the state of Georgia in the 2027 class.

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NIL promises often supersede regional roots in today’s recruiting landscape, and that’s allowed Ohio State – not only with its financial resources, but also its track record of perennially competing for championships and producing early-round NFL draft picks – to have more recruiting success than ever before in states that were historically controlled by SEC powers. There’s no more striking example of that than how quickly Ohio State has created a pipeline of talent from Alabama to Columbus over the last three years.



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