Donald Trump endorses in Senate race; Mike DeWine diagnosed with COVID-19: Capitol Letter

Running through the tape: Candidates in Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate race have dialed up the mudslinging as the May 3 election date rapidly approaches. Andrew Tobias and Seth Richardson give an overview of what the various top-tier candidates are saying, about themselves and about each other, in the final days of the race, one of the costliest and most closely watched in the country.

DeWine diagnosed: Gov. Mike DeWine’s office announced on Friday his physician diagnosed him with COVID-19, adding that he was experiencing mild symptoms, Richardson reports. The governor received antibody treatment and is quarantining. First lady Fran DeWine tested negative and is not experiencing any symptoms.

Hey babe: As lawmakers sort through community requests in the pending capital budget, Laura Hancock provides a description of 14 social services requests from Cuyahoga County. One is a birthing center that would be unique because it would be the first in Ohio not tied to a hospital that would provide culturally relevant and competent care, with the aim at reducing Black infant and maternal mortality rates.

Doing your job: Ohio’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in March from 4.2% in February while the state added 18,300 jobs, Sean McDonnell reports. Other key metrics are moving in the right direction as well, though at a slow pace.

Bridging the gap: Gov. Mike DeWine announced he’s dedicating more than $237 million from last year’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law toward fixing local bridges over the next five years. As Jeremy Pelzer writes, that’s more than triple the minimum spending amount for local bridge projects set by the federal government. However, a spokesman for one local-government group said the money is only “a drop in the bucket” compared to what’s needed to fix bridges around Ohio.

I like to move it, move it: There’s been some potential movement at the top of the Republican Senate primary, according to a new poll from right-leaning Trafalgar Group. Former Treasurer Josh Mandel sits at the top, but author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance is just a shade behind him. Perhaps more notable about the survey is that more than half of Republican votes said a Trump endorsement would make them more likely to back a candidate.

Blocked: A Hamilton County judge blocked attempts by the Ohio Department of Health to restrict two abortion clinics in Southwest Ohio, Hancock reports. A law that took effect March 23 requires the clinics operate without doctors with ties to medical schools at state colleges or universities, though Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway ruled the state was being too hasty by giving the clinics until just June 21 to comply.

January 6th: A federal jury convicted Dustin Thompson of Columbus on Thursday for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, rejecting his defense that he had been following orders from Trump, The New York Times’ Alan Feuer reports. Thompson faces 20 years in prison.

Strauss fallout: Ohio State University will pay $2 million to settle more lawsuits by men who said now-dead team doctor Richard Strauss sexually abused them decades ago, the Associated Press’ John Seewer reports. Ohio State has now paid out just less than $60 million to survivors who have reached settlements, who now number around 290.

Varsity blues: The North Canton high school where Senate Republican hopeful Jane Timken filmed an ad lambasting transgender athletes being allowed to compete in sports with the gender in which they identify is reviewing its facility rental guidelines after parents and students said they were unhappy being tied to Timken’s rhetoric, the Canton Repository’s Patricia Faulhaber reports. Aside from using the gymnasium, a cutout of the school’s name and mascot appears in the background of the 30-second spot.

Five things we learned from the March 31, 2021, financial disclosure form of state Rep. Darrell Kick, a Loudonville Republican.

1. Aside from his legislative salary of $72,277.32, Kick reported earning up to $999 in oil well royalties from Ergon Oil, interest and dividends from Park National Bank, Ameritrade and KeyBank, business income from Cottage Coin Laundry, LLC, and tax reference overpayment from the Regional Income Tax Agency, $1,000 to $9,999 dividends from Loudonville Farmer’s Equity, gas storage leases from Columbia Gas Transmission and ag payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and $100,000 or more as a manager at Kicks’ Dairy Farm, LLC and in real estate income from Mohican Rentals, LLC.

2. Kick’s investments included stock in Deere & Co., Exxon Mobile, Key Corp., Dover Corp., Aflac, CIFC and Champion X Corp., a patronage account and common stock in Loudonville Farmer’s Equity, index funds in Powershares QQQ, a brokerage and equity account through Vanguard, retirement accounts through the Federal Employee Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan, a Roth IRA and money market fund with Ameritrade, and an Ohio Public Employees Retirement System retirement account.

3. Kick listed five real estate properties he had a beneficial interest in, six in Loudonville and one in Butler.

4. At some point in 2020, Kick owed more than $1,000 to Park National Bank, Apple Creek Bank, Wayne Savings Community Bank, Capital One Auto Finance and Veridian Credit Union.

5. Kick received travel expenses worth $286.20 from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce for lodging at Salt Fork and $2,097.52 from the Ohio House of Representatives for mileage.

The Ohio Young Republican PAC has released its list of endorsed candidates. They are: Charles Sulek for the Ohio Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas; Jarrod Golden for Franklin County auditor; Alex Butler for Highland County auditor; Alex Burcher for Athens County commissioner; Ron Nuzzolillo for Carrol County commissioner; Lake County Commissioner John Plecnik; Anthony Adornetto for Muskingum county commissioner; Scioto County Commissioner Scottie Powell; Knox County Recorder Tanner Salyers; and Devin Allman for Summit County council.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan will speak about the bipartisan infrastructure law at the City Club of Cleveland on Monday, after joining with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11), and Mayor Justin Bibb for a roundtable discussion on Cleveland’s public health challenges.

Emma Cardone, Ohio Department of Medicaid legislative liaison

State Rep. Mark Fraizer

Secretary of State Frank LaRose

U.S. Rep. Bob Latta

State Treasurer Robert Sprague

Thomas J. Moyer, former chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court (1939-2010)

“It would be Defcon 1 to democracy.”

-Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper quoted in the Washington Post in a story about Republicans hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will endorse the idea that state legislatures alone have authority to pass legislative maps.