For 15 years, Republicans have controlled Ohio’s legislature, with supermajorities in both the Ohio House and state Senate. For eight years, John Kasich served as governor, followed by “Gang of Fourteen” moderate Mike DeWine for the last five years. Of the 21 states with Republican trifectas, the Republicans’ rule over Ohio is the 11th strongest at 73.23 percent (measured by percentage of legislative control). As a point of comparison, the strength of the Republican trifectas in Florida and Texas are ranked 12th (70.0 percent) and 19th (59.31 percent), respectively.
Despite governing with smaller majorities, those other states accomplish far more than Ohio’s policymakers. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear Ohio is a deep-blue state like Illinois and New York, run by leftists instead of a +8 Donald Trump red state.
The most astonishing and depressing record of Ohio Republicans is the systemic weakness of Ohio’s private sector. From 1990 through January 2024, Ohio’s private sector has only grown by 17.5 percent, with the average among other pro-union states at 32 percent and right-to-work states at 72 percent. Other than in 2021, when some of the jobs temporarily lost from the pandemic came back, Ohio’s private sector job growth has not reached six figures since 1997. Even…
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