As always, I’m more than happy to take questions, tips, or concerns. I can be reached at Avery.Kreemer@coxinc.com, via my cell at 614-981-1422, or on X at @AveryKreemer.
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Husted? Ramaswamy? DeWine stays mum on Vance’s U.S. Senate successor
Credit: Avery Kreemer
Credit: Avery Kreemer
• The story: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stayed mum Thursday on his looming announcement of who he’ll pick to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance’s seat in the United States Senate.
• The context: Vance, in anticipation for his inauguration Monday, resigned from the Senate last week. It’s DeWine’s power, as governor, to pick a temporary replacement.
• Countdown: Last week, DeWine told reporters at President-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate that he’d announce something “probably” before the end of this week. When we got the chance to ask him about it today, he coyly said, “Well, we’ll have something later. No comment on that yet.”
• Defining gravity: “The reason that we’ve not made an announcement yet — we’re getting close — is just the gravity of this decision, the importance of this decision,” DeWine said. “The person that I pick may be there for a long time, they’re going to be one of only two Ohioans to represent us in the U.S. Senate...this is a huge job.”
• Shortlist: DeWine’s left-hand man, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, emerged as a frontrunner early in the year, but a delay in any official announcement, plus the recent reemergence of former Ohio presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump reportedly wants in the spot despite Ramaswamy’s voluntary withdrawal from considerations, has shifted the landscape considerably in the final hours.
• Future considerations: Hanging over any choice between Ramaswamy and Husted is their own political aspirations to become governor of Ohio and succeed DeWine once he’s out of office in 2026.
• Here’s my full story on the developing situation.
Ohio lands largest job-creating project in state history
• The story: Defense technology firm Anduril Industries will build a large manufacturing facility in Pickaway County, bringing a key Air Force vendor to an area about 80 miles from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Dayton area, the state said Thursday.
• The project: Dubbed “Arsenal-1,” the 5-million-square-foot project is promised to bring 4,000 jobs at an average salary of $132,000 per year by 2035.
• The product: The firm will focus on its autonomous “Fury” aircraft, as well as the “Barricuda” low-cost cruise missile (without the explosives) and the “Road Runner” surface-to-air weapon (also without explosives).
• The output: At full scale, the plant will produce “tens of thousands of autonomous systems annually” and greatly add to the “war-fighting capabilities” of America and its allies. The security pitch included company officials’ assertion that America would run out of weapons within weeks of any major conflict.
• Incentives: DeWine would not say how many state tax incentives or state dollars were offered to Anduril to expand into Ohio. He promised that information would come out within days.
• Here’s our story from Thomas Gnau and me.
Local political news of the week
• Sign here: Middletown is going to recognize Vice President-elect JD Vance with street entrance signs at seven locations following Monday’s inauguration of the Middletown native and President-elect Donald Trump. Here’s Lauren Pack’s story.
• Homestead: After a historic rise in property taxes and continually high sales prices, county auditors say expanding the Homestead Exemption program and other measures could provide needed tax relief to communities. Sydney Dawes has the story.
• New recorder: Newly elected Montgomery County Recorder Lori Kennedy said her focus in the new office is to protect residents and business owners from deed fraud and advocate for those who have fallen victim, among other goals. Sydney Dawes has the story.
State political news of the week
Credit: Provided
Credit: Provided
• Anti-grooming: Social “grooming” — the act of an adult forging relationships with minors to either entice or prepare them for sexual activity — will be illegal in Ohio in three months following the governor’s approval earlier this month. Here’s my story.
• No drone zones: Ohio now officially has its own rules regulating the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which will allow the state to charge Ohioans who operate drones recklessly, interfere with first responder activities, or commit other flying faux pas. Here’s my story with Josh Sweigart.
• Capitol chat: We’ll be participating in Capitol Chat on Jan. 28, a free, annual event by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area focused on political happenings in Ohio’s capitol. The event is free and open to the public at the Dayton Metro Library. Here’s more info.
National political news of the week
• Rags-to-riches: Reporter Rick McCrabb told the story of JD Vance by visiting Middletown and speaking to many of the community members who knew the Middletown native before his inauguration as vice president this Monday. Here’s the story.
• Turned away: In a surprise shake-up that seized national attention, U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, was removed Wednesday from his position as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Thomas Gnau has the story.
• Inauguration day: Vance’s position as V.P. will mark the first time an Ohioan has entered the White House since the 1920s, a decade that saw the end of an era in which presidential politics largely ran through Ohio, with the state producing seven of the country’s 11 presidents from 1869 to 1923. Here’s my story on his pending inauguration.