Catching Our Eye News Roundup, Sept. 25, 2026

Every morning in the Ohio Capital Journal’s free newsletter, The Eye-Opener, we round up the news and commentary from across Ohio and around the country and world that is catching our attention. We call this feature Catching Our Eye, republished here.

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Catching Our Eye

• We’re No. 1 in relentless, obnoxious, political TV ads. The Washington Post reports, “These midterm races have seen the most ad money spent so far.”

Ohio’s Senate race leads all midterm-elections contests in advertising spending so far this year, drawing nearly $200 million, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

• Crypto playing political revenge. Politico reports, “Crypto weighs revenge against Democrats — and the risks that come with it.”

Reeling from the demise of its longtime top legislative priority, crypto companies must now decide how scorched-earth to go against Senate Democrats, who last week voted unanimously against the so-called Clarity Act, a sweeping bill that would create a bespoke new regulatory framework for digital assets.

A crypto-backed PAC network’s move this week provides a hint of what may be to come. The group, known as Fairshake, announced it would spend at least $30 million to help block Democrat Sherrod Brown from recapturing a pivotal Ohio Senate seat, representing the first major signal of how the industry plans to deploy its massive campaign war chest in the final weeks before the 2026 midterms.

• Dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge. The Toledo Blade Editorial Board writes, “Editorial: Ramaswamy ducks press.”

The Republican nominee for governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, followed his Friday campaign stop in a downtown Toledo bar with a Facebook post promising to “make the glass capital of the world … a leading city again soon.”…

That promise is at odds with the record of his running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, which adds up to an impediment, rather than support, of Toledo’s potential as a glass manufacturing mecca.

Mr. McColley is the architect of Ohio law that gives local office holders authority to deny solar energy projects. It’s power that is reserved for the state in all other power siting decisions except renewable energy projects.

• East Palestine. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Contractor Played Down Contamination Risks After Ohio Train Disaster, Worker Says.”

Whistleblower alleges she was pressured to report ‘zeros,’ conceal animal deaths after 2023 East Palestine derailment; testing company denies allegations.

• Not buying it from billionaires? In an opinion column, Tony Klimek writes in the Springfield News-Sun, “Wealth bought the airwaves, but Ohio voters not buying the wealth.”

Money became a big influence on campaigns after 2010 when the Supreme Court said that campaign spending is a form of free speech. Since that time, the wealthy have spent millions of dollars in political campaigns and influenced elections. The wealthy not only helped put Trump back in office in 2024, many also joined the administration and grabbed control of our federal government.

There is an unprecedented concentration of wealthy executives, hedge fund managers, and billionaires serving in cabinet and senior executive roles. They may have a lot of money, but the record shows that wealth is not be a good substitute for wisdom, experience, and the ability to relate to the people.