Snollygoster takes an in-depth look at politics in Ohio. Each week we dig into the top political stories in Columbus and Ohio and explore national stories that impact the state by talking with politicians, reporters and other news-makers. (In case you're wondering, a "snollygoster" is a shrewd and unprincipled politician.)Listen to Snollygoster on the WOSU Public Media mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Latest episodes
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37 min
Politics and a Pint and an extraordinarily nasty campaign | Snollygoster
It has been an extraordinarily ugly week in an already extraordinarily ugly campaign for governor.This week, a video appeared featuring Amy Acton’s birth mother. The woman, Donna A…
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26 min
Echoes of 2006: Can Ohio Democrats recreate a political wave?
President Trump was in Youngstown this week trying to energize Republican voters. Sen. Jon Husted was there to keep his seat and defeat Sherrod Brown. Husted needs Trump’s supporte…
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23 min
Do we believe the polls? The governor's race turns a corner | Snollygoster
Election month has arrived.We all point to the second Tuesday in November, but Election Day is kind of a thing of the past. It is really election month, and it began this week with…
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24 min
Could a 38-cent gas tax holiday shake up the governor's race?
Gasoline prices have fallen a bit over the past week. Here in Columbus, they have gone down from $4.50 a gallon to about $4.30 a gallon, so a 20-cent drop.Come next week, they will…
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19 min
Crypto industry targets Sherrod Brown with $30 million ad campaign
Many believe Bernie Moreno did not defeat Sherrod Brown in 2024; the cryptocurrency industry did. Cryptocurrency firms and their affiliated political groups spent a whopping $40 mi…
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21 min
Independent voters favor Acton in new poll
We have a new poll to give us an idea of where Ohio voters' minds are as we approach the start of early voting. It is hard to believe, but Ohioans start casting ballots in about tw…
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21 min
Does Ohio need a constitutional amendment on voter ID?
It has not gotten a lot of attention, but Ohioans have the chance to change the state constitution this year.Here is the catch: If they do, none of us will really see much of a cha…
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24 min
Ads vs. Substance in the Ohio Governor’s Race
The race for Ohio governor is heating up.Amy Acton and her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, have been traveling the state, doing the grassroots work and raising money. Ramaswa…
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19 min
Amy Acton's appeal to moderates
Florida this week became the latest reddish-purple state to nominate a Democratic Socialist as the party's candidate for major office. Angie Nixon defeated moderate Democrat Alex V…
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20 min
Lessons from Abdul El-Sayed's victory in Michigan
When it comes to politics, Ohio has little in common with New York or California. Michigan is a different story.So lessons learned from a Michigan election are a little more valuab…
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23 min
Rep. Max Miller resists calls to drop reelection bid amid bitter custody battle
Up until a couple of months ago, very few Ohioans outside his district knew who Rep. Max Miller was.They may recall he is the guy who took former Rep. Anthony Gonzalez’s redrawn di…
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18 min
Candidates pitch their tax relief plans
Our look at the campaign for governor this week runs from property taxes to the rights of transgender athletes to police union endorsements. We start with taxes.Next to rising gas…
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18 min
Ohio's 2026 money race is high-stakes for Senate and Governor
As back-to-school shopping begins and families return from vacation, the 2026 campaign will really start to ramp up. With an open governor's seat and control of the U.S. Senate at…
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25 min
Ad targets Husted on data center support
This week, we discuss the race for the U.S. Senate and Sherrod Brown’s slightly risky new ad, where he takes on Jon Husted and data centers.Despite getting hammered in TV ads, Demo…
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50 min
Politics and a pint
WOSU hosted a Politics and a Pint event last week. These events are a lot of fun. We get together at a Columbus-area brewpub and talk politics in front of a crowd of political junk…
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20 min
Death penalty politics
Governor DeWine and the death penalty: We talked about it last week on this podcast, and this week we will dig a little deeper into the reasons why the former tough-on-crime prosec…
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23 min
Why Ohio’s governor wants to end capital punishment
Gov. Mike DeWine has come out against Ohio’s death penalty. This week, the conservative Republican governor, who co-sponsored the bill that reinstated capital punishment in 1981, s…
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14 min
What's next for the property tax repeal effort?
The effort to abolish Ohio property taxes has failed – at least for now. The group collecting signatures to put an amendment on November’s ballot says it has fallen short of the nu…
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23 min
Inside the allegations of Ohio Medicaid fraud
Here in Ohio, the TV ad war between U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and his Democratic challenger, Sherrod Brown, is heating up. Gov. Mike DeWine, who supported a big tax break for data cente…
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20 min
The next Ohio governor will be new to elected office
With Ohio’s primary behind us, focus shifts to the November election, in particular, the race for governor.The primary did not change much. Democrat Amy Acton was unopposed, and Re…