We look back at a time when Ohio was blue politically, or at least purple. And explore the reasons why Ohio has become pretty deeply Red.

We will play an interview I did on WOSU TV’s Columbus on the Record with longtime Democratic activist Dale Butland.

For 20 years, Dale worked for U.S. Sen. John Glenn, a Democrat. He also worked briefly for Ohio's other longtime U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, another Democrat.

When Glenn left the Senate, Butland worked for many years helping progressive candidates and campaigns in Ohio.

Dale is out with a new book, When Ohio Was Blue: My 20 Year Journey with John Glenn. It's a personal inside look at how the system works or is supposed to work.

Snollygoster Of The Week

We could give it to JD Vance for putting a picture of a Methodist church in rural Virginia on the cover of his new book, which describes the Ohioan’s conversations with the Catholic Church, but that might not be shrewd.

Instead, we’ll give it to Samuel Ronan, who was running in the Ohio U.S. House District 15 Republican Primary against Rep. Mike Carey of Columbus.

The problem is that Ronan appears to be a Democrat. Here’s a look at some of his positions:

• No one making less than $100,000 a year should pay federal taxes
• He supports higher taxes on the rich
• Complete divestment from fossil fuels by 2035
• Wide expansion of high speed rail
• Turning all of our paved areas into solar energy-creating surfaces

You get the idea. Oh, and he once ran an unsuccessful campaign to be Democratic National Chairman.

Well, a federal judge looked at Ronan’s background and determined he’s not really a Republican and should not run in the GOP primary. Ronan has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but as of now, he's off the ballot.

It was a long-shot campaign for sure. But for a pretty far left progressive trying to run in the Republican primary for Congress, Samuel Ronan gets our Snollygoster of the week award.