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Vance stands up to Cruz on rail safety bill

When it comes to his bill to increase rail safety after the East Palestine train derailment disaster, criticizing fellow Republicans who oppose it doesn’t concern U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. The freshman Republican senator from Cincinnati responded to criticism from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to the bill during a Wednesday session of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Cruz said he is open to rail reforms, but that the bill co-sponsored by Vance and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, goes too far. Cruz said the bill would “empower” Transportation ...

After tragedy in East Palestine, a commonsense rail safety solution

Orginally published May 10 by The Daily Signal Three months ago, a failing wheel bearing caught fire on a Norfolk Southern train transporting large volumes of hazardous materials. By the time sensors alerted engineers, it was too late to avert the catastrophe that was to come. When the wheel bearing disintegrated, dozens of train cars derailed in the heart of East Palestine, Ohio, a quintessential, small Midwestern town of just under 5,000. The cars burned for days before a so-called controlled release of the chemicals they contained was conducted to avoid a larger explosion. That ...

Money will be key to LaRose’s Senate bid

If Secretary of State Frank LaRose believes he can raise the money needed to financially compete, he said he will run for the U.S. Senate in 2024. LaRose told me he will decide by summer, but he talked as if he will run. He said: “It’s not a question of desire. It’s not a question of whether my heart’s in it. It’s a question of practicality and building the kind of support necessary to do it. Would I love to serve in the U.S. Senate? I absolutely would.” Two other Republicans declared their candidacy to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, in next ...

U.S. Senate race is bringing in big bucks

The election for U.S. Senate is next year, and it’s already shaping up as an expensive race. Incumbent Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, raised $3.5 million from donors during the first three months of the year, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. It’s the most raised from donors by an Ohio candidate in the first quarter of the year before an election. It’s also about three times as much as Democrat Tim Ryan raised in the first quarter of 2021 — $1.2 million — the year before the 2022 election for Senate. That was before Ryan officially announced his ...

Count on a large Senate race field

Cleveland-area businessman Bernie Moreno will be the next Republican to declare his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Sherrod Brown, but he won’t be the last. Moreno filed a statement of candidacy this week with the Federal Election Commission and will almost certainly make a public announcement Tuesday at a craft brewery in the Cincinnati area that he will run for the job in 2024. Moreno has repeatedly praised former President Donald Trump, who will play a key role in the Republican primary and the general election in Ohio, and taken some shots at ...

Few will see election law changes on May 2

There are a number of changes being implemented starting with this primary election on May 2. But because turnout will be low this year, most people won’t see the changes until the 2024 presidential election. The change getting the most attention is a requirement that those voting early in-person or at polling locations on the day of the election now have to show a specific type of photo identification. Those voters need one of the following: a driver’s license, a state ID card, a passport, a passport card or a military ID. No longer permissible are bank statements, pay stubs, ...