Snollygoster | Ohio's Politics Podcast

There is a new likely Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Former Ohio Democratic Chair David Pepper—a man who has been through candidate nomination processes, recruiting candidates and guiding them to Election Day—joins the show to discuss this tumultuous pivot for Democrats.

Former President Donald Trump ended all speculation and named Ohio’s junior U.S. Senator, JD Vance, as his running mate this week at the Republican National Convention. To understand why Trump may have made this pick, longtime Vance adviser Jai Chabria joins the show.

Voters will not get the chance to increase Ohio’s minimum wage in this year’s election. Supporters of an effort to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour have come up short in their attempt to get the proposed amendment on the ballot. Joining us to discuss the campaign is the president of One Fair Wage, Saru Jayaraman.

With the 2024 election just around the corner, the former president continues to warn of a rigged election months before ballots are cast. Fair election advocates are mobilizing to counter the false narrative. Democratic former Congressman Zack Space of the bi-partisan Democracy Defense Project joins the show. Editor's Note: An earlier version of this podcast incorrectly attributed statements made by a different organization to the Democracy Defense Project. We edited the audio to correct the error.

Next week, Biden and Trump will meet again on the debate stage. CNN will host the first of two scheduled debates at its studios in Atlanta. Republican Strategist Terry Casey joins the show.

In order to extend the campaign filing deadline so President Biden’s name would appear on the Ohio ballot, lawmakers insisted on another law banning foreign campaign contributions. Joining us now to discuss this law, its constitutionality, and possibly unintended—or maybe intended—consequences is Case Western Reserve University Law Professor Atiba Ellis.

It looks like Ohio voters will get the chance to vote for Joe Biden for president if they choose, but it’s been a tortuous process to get there. Meanwhile, Biden continues to struggle in national polls. Kim Agyekum, president of Ohio Young Democrats, joins the show.

The polling news was not good for President Joe Biden this week. He is trailing Trump in some swing states. Long-time Democratic strategist Dale Butland joins the show for a look at the Biden campaign and whether he has any hope of making Ohio a swing state.

Many of our major professional sports stadiums are between 20 and 30 years old, about the time owners start thinking of major renovations or new homes. Victor Matheson, economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross, joins the show.

It is no secret that Ohio’s congressional and legislative districts are gerrymandered to the extreme. The Brennan Center's Yuri Rudensky joins the show to discuss a new study that reveals how gerrymandering has taken away a true choice for many voters.