JULIE CARR SMYTH

Government and politics reporter

Smyth has covered government and politics from Columbus, Ohio, for The Associated Press since 2006.

The killing of an 18-year-old Ohio woman was solved with DNA technology after 43 years

A man fatally shot last month as authorities attempted to serve him an indictment on federal gun charges has been identified as the killer of an 18-year-old Ohio woman whose beating death had gone unsolved for 43 years.

‘Ohio Goes to the Movies’ celebration will highlight state’s rich connections to film industry

If Ohio and movies don’t strike you as going together, organizers of an upcoming statewide celebration of cinema hope to open your eyes.

Democrat Sherrod Brown says US Senate departure won’t be the last Ohioans hear from him

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown doesn’t plan to abandon his fight for American workers when he returns to Ohio as a private citizen in January.

The GOP stoked fears of noncitizens voting. Cases in Ohio show how rhetoric and reality diverge

Ohio’s Republican secretary of state and attorney general sought to reassure voters before the November election that the state’s elections were being vigorously protected against the possibility of immigrants voting illegally.

Ohio Supreme Court sides with pharmacies in appeal of $650 million opioid judgment

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that Ohio’s product liability law prohibits counties from bringing public-nuisance claims against national pharmaceutical chains as they did as part of national opioid litigation.

Women’s monument planned for Ohio Statehouse grounds receives anonymous $1 million donation

The organization spearheading installation of a monument to women’s suffrage at the Ohio Statehouse has received an anonymous $1 million donation.

Head of Ohio’s teacher pension fund retires Sunday, saying fund is strong despite staff vacancies

The outgoing head of Ohio’s troubled teacher retirement system said she’s leaving the fund in strong fiscal condition despite turmoil at the top that her successor will inherit.

Ohio governor signs bill limiting bathroom use by transgender students

A ban on transgender students from kindergarten through college using multiperson bathrooms that fit their gender identities has become law in Ohio.

Trump-backed Derek Merrin concedes to Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Ohio

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s Trump-endorsed rival said he called the veteran Ohio congresswoman to concede defeat in the 2024 election.

JD Vance is leaving the Senate for the vice presidency. That’s set off a scramble for his Ohio seat

JD Vance’s election as vice president has opened up one of Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats for the third time in as many years.

Ohio Democrat Marcy Kaptur extends tenure as longest-serving woman in US House with election win

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur won another term in the U.S. House on Wednesday, after defeating a Republican state lawmaker endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump.

Republican Jason Stephens, who oversaw historically divided Ohio House, drops bid for speaker

Republican Jason Stephens says he won’t seek another term as the Ohio House speaker. Stephens has presided for the past two years over one of the most tumultuous periods in recent Ohio House history.

Ohio offers a new way to use public money for Christian schools. Opponents say it’s unconstitutional

Around the country, advocates for Christian education have been finding ways to tap taxpayer money used more typically for public schools.

Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to kick off fundraising effort for Ohio women’s suffrage monument

Doris Kearns Goodwin is kicking off the $2 million capital campaign for an Ohio monument to women’s suffrage.

Bill on school bathroom use by transgender students heads to Ohio’s governor

The Republican-led Ohio Senate has approved a bill banning transgender students from using bathrooms that fit their gender identities.

Ohio Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes wins reelection as Rep. Kaptur’s race remains too early to call

U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes has won reelection to a second term representing a northeast Ohio district targeted by Republicans, but fellow Democrat Marcy Kaptur’s race remains too early to call.

Democrat wins key US House seat in Ohio while 2 other incumbents defend their seats

Democrats have won a key congressional seat and are defending two others in Ohio. Twenty-one-term U.S. Rep.

Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno defeats incumbent US Sen. Sherrod Brown in key Ohio race

Republican Bernie Moreno has defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio to help shift control of the Senate to the GOP.

Ohio voters reject replacing troubled mapmaking system with citizen-led redistricting commission

Ohio voters have rejected a constitutional amendment that would have established a citizen-led redistricting commission.

Ohio’s first female House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson remembered as a trailblazer and legend

The late Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio’s first and only female House speaker, has been eulogized at the Ohio Statehouse for blazing trails for women with grit, grace and a guiding spirit.

Ohio Supreme Court finds attorney general erred in rejecting voting amendment based on title

The Ohio Supreme Court has found that Republican Attorney General Dave Yost lacked the authority to reject a voting-related amendment’s ballot petition solely because he objected to the title.

Ohio’s first female House speaker, Republican Jo Ann Davidson, champion of GOP women, has died at 97

Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio’s first woman House speaker and a trusted adviser to many of the state’s Republicans, has died after a political career spanning nearly 60 years.

County judge strikes down Ohio abortion ban, citing voter-approved reproductive rights amendment

A judge has permanently blocked enforcement of Ohio’s ban on virtually all abortions. Hamilton County Judge Christian Jenkins on Thursday cited voters’ approval last November of Issue 1, which created a constitutional right for people to make their own reproductive decisions.

Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, scion of Republican family, backs Democrat Sherrod Brown for Senate

A member of one of Ohio’s best-known Republican families has thrown his support behind Democratic Sen.

Moreno’s abortion comment rattles debate in expensive Senate race in Republican-leaning Ohio

Ohio’s close Senate race took a twist recently when cellphone video surfaced of Republican Bernie Moreno criticizing women whose votes are driven by the abortion issue.

Disputes over access to the vote intensify as Ohioans begin to cast ballots

Several disputes over Ohio voter rights were unresolved as the state began accepting early ballots Tuesday.

Pro-Palestinian protesters pitch encampment outside Jewish Democrat’s Ohio home

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Masked pro-Palestinian demonstrators escalated their harassment of a Jewish congressman on the eve of Monday’s anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, pitching an encampment outside Ohio Democratic Rep.

Dave Hobson, Ohio congressman who backed D-Day museum, has died at 87

Former U.S. Rep. Dave Hobson of Ohio has died. He was 87. His family said in a statement that Hobson died Sunday night at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton after a short illness.

Trump urges his supporters to deliver victory in his return to scene of first assassination attempt

Donald Trump rallied supporters at the same Pennsylvania grounds where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside near-constant worries for his physical safety.

Advocates urge Ohio to restore voter registrations removed in alleged violations of federal law

Two voter advocacy organizations have put Ohio’s Republican elections chief on notice that voters are being removed from the rolls, allegedly in violation of federal law.