Ohio: State House

The economy is Ohio’s most important problem, voters say in a new poll, with Gov. Ted Strickland’s campaign promise to reform education a distant second.

Seventy-seven percent of voters say the economy is the state’s biggest problem according to a survey from Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute released Thursday. Only five percent of respondents said education was the most important issue facing the state.

State House Democrats picked up their 53rd seat on Sunday when the final count ended for the 19th state House district outside of Columbus.

Democrat Marian Harris defeated Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis by 735 votes. Previously her lead was just 40 votes. 

The Franklin County Board of Elections finished counting provisional and overseas absentee ballots following the Ohio Supreme Court's decision Friday that tossed 1,000 provisional ballots. 

COLUMBUS – The national economy’s collapse into recession has blown a $640 million-dollar hole in Ohio’s budget for 2009, Gov. Ted Strickland said Monday. The damage is expected to grow to a multibillion dollar deficit for the next biennial budget that will be drafted in early 2009.

While he didn’t announce more budget cuts during the press conference at the Statehouse, Strickland said his cabinet is preparing to consider cuts and that he will meet with legislative leaders to talk about what to cut and what to spare.

On Election Day, Ohio Democrats picked up a majority in the Ohio House of Representatives, thanks in no small part to the fundraising prowess and campaign efforts of state Rep. Armond Budish (D-Beachwood).

The next morning, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern (D-Catawba Island) was already referring to Budish as speaker, but this title won't be official until state House Democrats convene on Tuesday to pick their new leadership team.