Catching Our Eye News Roundup, Nov. 3, 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

• The Ohio governor and your life. Cleveland.com’s Jeremy Pelzer reports, “Why it matters who wins the Ohio’s governor’s race and how it will affect daily life.”

When Ohioans elect their next governor on Tuesday, they aren’t just picking a new name to put on “Welcome to Ohio” signs: they’re choosing someone who will have a tangible effect on their daily lives over the next four years and beyond.

Either Democrat Amy Acton or Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will play a big role in shaping how much state residents pay in taxes, the jobs they have, how good their schools are, their healthcare costs, and the condition of the roads they drive on, among a litany of other everyday concerns.

• Local school levies. The Statehouse News Bureau’s Jo Ingles reports, “More than 130 Ohio public school districts are asking voters for dollars Tuesday.”

There will be 133 local school levies on the ballot in Ohio Tuesday. The leader of a group that represents school boards throughout Ohio says it’s been difficult for school districts on the ballot because of uncertainty with local property taxes.

Ohio School Boards Association CEO Tom Hosler said schools on the ballot are dealing with uncertainty as they face rising costs, state funding that has lagged inflation, and growing concerns about property taxes. With questions about funding that could come about from property tax changes, Hosler said it’s been a challenge for districts to figure out what they can or cannot do if levies don’t pass.

• Data centers. WOSU’s Katie Geniusz reports, “From Trenton to Grove City, data centers are on Ohio ballots this election.”

Ohio leads the nation in data center-related ballot measures in the upcoming election, with 21 initiatives across 18 municipalities.

Voters in these areas — from Trenton in the state’s southwest to Defiance in the rural northwest — will have the opportunity to decide whether to adopt regulations that would limit the construction of hyper-scale data centers.

Ohio has more than 200 data center projects planned or under construction — the fifth highest in the nation.