Free Republic

A bombshell report from the America First Policy Institute has exposed a staggering $100 million in foreign dark money laundered through the Sixteen Thirty Fund to bankroll radical ballot initiatives across 25 states. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a notorious hub for progressive causes, has been caught funneling foreign cash into state ballot measures targeting divisive issues like abortion, election law, and drug policy. According to the America First Policy Institute: Non-citizens can influence U.S. elections and domestic policy through donations to ballot initiatives. Instead of the ballot initiative process being decided by state residents who are affected by the result,...

Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s bid for governor has gained significant momentum following a full endorsement from President Donald Trump, who praised Ramaswamy as "Young, Strong, and Smart" and a "very good person who truly loves our Country." The endorsement is expected to bolster Ramaswamy's campaign against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has launched his own gubernatorial bid. Ramaswamy's platform includes policies such as banning cell phones in schools and closely aligning himself with Trump’s agenda. His endorsement is seen as a strategic move to solidify his position in the race and appeal to conservative voters in the...

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy to become governor of Ohio.Ramaswamy, a former 2024 presidential primary candidate who briefly co-chaired President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, formally launched his 2026 gubernatorial campaign on Feb. 24.Trump threw his support behind Ramaswamy's bid nearly immediately, and now the biotech entrepreneur has received another key endorsement from Moreno, one of the Buckeye State's two senators.

On May 6, 2025, Ohio will hold its primary election, featuring numerous local issues and a significant statewide measure to fund public infrastructure projects.​ Engaging in this election allows Ohioans to have a direct impact on both state and local governance. Ensure your voice is heard by participating in the upcoming primary.Voting Information:Early In-Person Voting: Begins April 8 and includes the Saturday and Sunday before Election Day.Absentee Voting by Mail: Starts April 8.Applications for absentee ballots must be received by your board of elections by April 29.Military & Overseas Absentee Voting: Began March 21.Election Day: May 6, 2025. Polls will...

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) No Rogue Rulings Act, which will place restrictions on federal District Court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. One Republican voted to empower activist judges. The new law will stop a single district court judge, one out of 677 across the nation, from dictating policy for the entire country, as we’ve seen countless times from Trump-hating activist judges. This comes after the Supreme Court vacated Judge James Boasberg’s orders barring the Trump Administration’s removals of Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act. They ruled that Boasberg, as a single...

Washington -- America’s craft brewers already have enough problems. Hard seltzers and cocktails are muscling into beer sales. Millennials and Gen Z don’t drink as much as their elders. Brewpubs still haven’t fully recovered from the shock of COVID-19 five years ago. Now there’s a new threat: President Donald Trump’s tariffs, including levies of 25 per cent on imported steel and aluminum and on goods from Canada and Mexico. “It’s going to cost the industry a substantial amount of money,” said Matt Cole, brewmaster at Ohio-based Fat Head’s Brewery. Trump’ trade war “will be crippling for our industry if this...

An Ohio appeals court panel has blocked a state law prohibiting the prescription of puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones for kids with gender dysphoria, overturning a lower trial court decision. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth Appellate District unanimously ruled Tuesday in the case of Moe v. Yost that Ohio's House Bill 68 — also known as the Saving Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act — violated the state constitution's Article I, Section 21, which guarantees the freedom to choose one's healthcare. "In enacting H.B. 68, the legislature has categorically prohibited appellants from accessing treatment protocols...

LOCKLAND, Ohio — One person has died and another person has been taken into custody after a multi-county police chase ended in a shooting involving police on Interstate 75 in Lockland Wednesday morning. The incident shutdown all northbound lanes near the end of the Lockland split for hours, but the roadway reopened just before 7:40 a.m. It started at 2:45 a.m. West Chester police say a license plate reader flagged the suspect vehicle as stolen. When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, it fled, leading to a pursuit. Lockland police say they were called to assist in locating multiple...

A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to consider moving NASA headquarters from Washington, DC, to Cleveland, Ohio — arguing that the Buckeye State would be “uniquely advantageous” for the government’s space program. The lawmakers – all from Ohio – presented their idea to Vice President JD Vance and NASA Administrator-designate Jared Isaacman in a letter making the case for Cleveland to serve as the new home for the space agency when NASA’s current building lease in Washington expires in 2028. “While we recognize that other states, including Florida, Alabama, and Texas, may pursue similar...

Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) this week blocked a border reform bill introduced by freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), despite his plea to Democrats to unite on something so common sense. “I know that my Democrat colleagues are in a mode where they want to fight everything that we’re doing, Mr. President, but we should at least come together on this,” Moreno said on the floor. “As I look over at my democratic colleague, there’s only two of us — two of us as entire chamber — that are naturalized U.S. citizens,” he said of himself and Hirono. “We know...

ASHLAND, Ohio (WJW) — Ashland County sheriff’s deputies said two people, whom they described as illegal immigrants from Honduras, were held in jail following a crash near Pleasant Hill Lake. One provided an identification card with the Social Security number of a deceased U.S. citizen. Edwin Lazzsano was arrested on misdemeanor charges after deputies say he resisted arrest and obstructed official business, following a March 4 crash on Township Road 2916. Reports from Ashland County Sheriff deputies said Lazzsano was not cooperative and struggled with deputies as they tried to handcuff him. “He was here illegally,” said Ashland County Sheriff...

Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno is blasting a handful of judges in his state for claiming that “emergency” powers allow them to invalidate federal immigration laws and to prevent ICE from rounding up and deporting illegal aliens... In his March 4 letter, the senator criticized Franklin County Judge Kim Brown and warned her that “no one is above the law,” but added, “And yet, you’re giving illegal aliens a pass.” Moreno expressed his “sincere shock and disgust” at Judge Brown’s position that a county judge has the power to block federal immigration laws and called Brown and her colleagues “rogue...

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sparked a firestorm on social media over comments questioning DOGE chief Elon Musk’s allegiance to the U.S. given that he has been a citizen for "only" 22 years. "Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years," Kaptur said outside the Capitol on Wednesday. "And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years."

The Region 6 Alternate on the Libertarian National Committee has called for the Libertarian Party of Ohio to be disaffiliated in the event it fields a challenger against Vivek Ramaswamy, who announced a Republican bid for state governor this week. Speaking at a rally in Cincinnati, Ramaswamy announced Monday that he would be running in the 2026 state gubernatorial election, becoming the third Republican actively in the race behind current Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Heather Hill, former president of the Morgan County School Board. The three join Amy Acton, former director of the Ohio Department of Health and...

CLEVELAND (WJW) — After closing Monday, the Cleveland Municipal Court will be closed to the public “until further notice” following a “cyber incident.” Court spokesperson Ed Ferenc said in a Tuesday email to FOX 8 News that officials are still investigating and “working 24/7 in an effort to rectify the situation.” In a statement Sunday, Deputy Court Administrator Mike Negray said that an investigation into the “nature and scope” of the incident had gotten underway. While the situation was being assessed, the systems that were affected were shut down as a precautionary measure, Negray said. Those included internal systems and...

Ohio Right to Life has filed a complaint with the state of Ohio Department of Health and the State Medical Board, arguing that a pro-abortion website is violating state law in advertising the abortion pill. The complaint references an Ohio law which requires abortion pill distribution only after an in-person visit with a physician (in September 2024, that law was temporarily placed on hold due to a preliminary injunction while the case continues through the court). Basing its complaint on the original law, Ohio Right to Life says that the website HeyJane.com is promoting mail-order abortion pills to the state’s...

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A legislative town hall meeting hosted by the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) descended into violence on Saturday when three unmarked men forcibly removed a woman from the auditorium. Leading to her receiving a citation which has since been rescinded. The Coeur d'Alene Police confirmed Lear Asset Management was the company that employed those three men. Teresa Borrenpohl was at Coeur d'Alene High School, where Republican legislators had gathered to provide updates on the current legislative session. The KCRCC and the Coeur d'Alene Police confirmed that the KCRCC hired the private security company. According to...

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced Monday that he is running for Ohio governor, a move that comes just over month after he stepped down as co-leader of a government efficiency effort in the Trump White House. “President Trump is reviving our conviction in America,’’ Ramaswamy told a crowd at his campaign launch rally at a Cincinnati aerospace company. “We require a leader here at home who will revive our conviction in Ohio.” Ramaswamy, who is hoping to replicate Trump’s jump from the business world to elective office, stuck to familiar themes. “We will lead Ohio to be the...

An Ohio judge has blocked a common sense law that stopped Planned Parenthood from dumping the bodies of aborted babies in landfills. The Unborn Child Dignity Act was first introduced in 2016, following an investigation by then Attorney General Mike DeWine into Planned Parenthood’s surgical abortion facility practices in Ohio. The investigation found that Planned Parenthood’s Ohio locations had been dumping the bodies of aborted babies in landfill Because the Ohio Revised Code did not define “humane” disposal, the state of Ohio was unable to take legal action. In 2020, DeWine, as Ohio’s governor, signed into law a new pro-life...

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is preparing to launch his 2026 bid for Ohio governor on Feb. 24 in his native Cincinnati, with ensuing announcements held over two days in the Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland areas, The Associated Press has learned. The 39-year-old biotech entrepreneur, a 2024 presidential candidate who left President Donald Trump’s government efficiency initiative last month, will kick off his closely watched campaign at Cincinnati’s CTL Aerospace Inc. He’ll then head to New Albany, outside Columbus, to deliver remarks at Axium Packaging later that evening, according to a person close to the campaign who sought anonymity to discuss the...