Ohio

Placeholder

Highest-power issue: Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction. Current recommendation: Endorse Thea York.

1. Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction · power 64
2. Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise · power 48
3. Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession · power 30
4. Warrantless long-term location tracking · power 24

Attorney general

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The attorney general decides appeals, civil enforcement, and often whether the state will defend a statute. Charging power over ordinary crimes may sit with county attorneys. The entry says so when that split matters.

Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction

Placeholder. The state takes a car, a bank account, or a small business on the claim that the property was involved in a crime, without a conviction of the owner. Peaceful people lose the property that is the case. Sample entry for Ohio.

Harm: 4
Reach: 4
Office impact: 4
Power: 64

Conduct 5 and penalty severity 2 (License, property, or forfeiture) blend 60/40 into harm 4. Power 64 = 4 × 4 × 4.

Who can act

An attorney general rarely rewrites a statute. The office decides which cases to bring, which appeals to pursue, which settlements to accept, and, in many states, whether to defend a statute at all. That is power over how a penalty is used, not over the fact that it exists. On forfeiture, the attorney general often controls the civil docket and the appeal. Declining a class of cases changes the practice before the statute changes. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Thea York's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Thea York is fictional.

2026 attorney general election

Endorse Thea York

Placeholder attorney general race for the 2026 cycle in Ohio. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Thea York (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Thea York

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 73.6

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Ned Okoye

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -32

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Ohio, Attorney general. The issue in this office is “Forfeiture of property without a criminal conviction.” Thea York leads Ned Okoye after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Thea York is not a real candidate.

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Legislature

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The legislature drafts the statute, sets the penalty and the mental state, funds the agencies, and can sunset an emergency power. On most of these issues it holds the text.

Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise

Placeholder. A zoning rule makes it a misdemeanor to teach, repair, or sell from one's own home, with no nuisance and no unwilling neighbor required. Sample entry for Ohio.

Harm: 3
Reach: 4
Office impact: 4
Power: 48

Conduct 3 and penalty severity 3 (Misdemeanor, up to a year) blend 60/40 into harm 3. Power 48 = 3 × 4 × 4.

Who can act

The legislature writes the penalty, the mental state, and the budget. On the question of how severely the law punishes peaceful conduct, this is usually the office with the text in its hands. One seat matters only as part of a majority, which is what winnability has to reflect. On home enterprise, the legislature can preempt local criminal penalties for peaceful home work and leave nuisance law in place. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Saul Nesser's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Saul Nesser is fictional.

2026 legislative elections

Endorse Saul Nesser

Placeholder legislature race for the 2026 cycle in Ohio. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Saul Nesser (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Saul Nesser

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 55.2

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Leah Vossman

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -24

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Ohio, Legislature. The issue in this office is “Criminal penalties for peaceful home enterprise.” Saul Nesser leads Leah Vossman after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Saul Nesser is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Judiciary

Placeholder

Judges rule on warrants, constitutional limits, and how a penalty is applied. They do not rewrite a clear statute, and this scorecard does not ask them to.

Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession

Placeholder scenario, not a claim about current state law. A non-prohibited adult faces a felony for possessing a firearm without a permission slip, or for a paperwork defect that involves no violence. Sample entry for Ohio.

Harm: 5
Reach: 2
Office impact: 3
Power: 30

Conduct 5 and penalty severity 4 (Felony imprisonment) blend 60/40 into harm 5. Power 30 = 5 × 2 × 3.

Who can act

Judges apply the text and the constitution. They can refuse an unreasonable search, limit a forfeiture, or strike a penalty that exceeds the charter. They cannot supply a mental state the legislature deleted. Office impact is high when the dispute is constitutional and low when the statute is plain. On a possession felony, judges apply the elements and the constitution. A clear prohibition is not theirs to erase. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Uma Wynn's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Uma Wynn is fictional.

2026 judicial elections

Endorse Uma Wynn

Placeholder judiciary race for the 2026 cycle in Ohio. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “clear” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Endorse Uma Wynn (The lead clears the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Uma Wynn

Limited-government placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 34.5

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Limited-government placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Olive Brant

Enforcement-first placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score -15

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Enforcement-first placeholder.

Placeholder call for Ohio, Judiciary. The issue in this office is “Felony penalties for peaceable firearm possession.” Uma Wynn leads Olive Brant after winnability weighting, with a winnability of 4 out of 5, and the gap clears the toss-up rule. The editorial call matches the formula. Uma Wynn is not a real candidate.

All calls for this state

Governor

Placeholder

The governor signs or vetoes statutes, issues and withdraws executive orders, appoints agency heads, and proposes the budget. The office does not write a criminal penalty on its own.

Warrantless long-term location tracking

Placeholder. Agencies collect a person's movements for weeks without a warrant and use the file to prosecute nonviolent offenses. The tracking is the intrusion; the downstream penalty is often a felony. Sample entry for Ohio.

Harm: 4
Reach: 3
Office impact: 2
Power: 24

Conduct 4 and penalty severity 4 (Felony imprisonment) blend 60/40 into harm 4. Power 24 = 4 × 3 × 2.

Who can act

A governor does not write the statute. The office can veto a penalty, refuse to expand it, appoint the people who enforce it, and propose the budget that feeds it. Where the harm lives in an order or an agency rule, the governor's pen is the direct instrument. On location tracking, the governor can order executive agencies to seek a warrant. Local departments may sit outside that order. Placeholder analysis, not a description of any current officeholder.

Winnability is Kurt Pellham's chance in this office, 4 of 5. It is a property of the leading score, not of the statute. Kurt Pellham is fictional.

2026 gubernatorial election

Toss-up

Placeholder governor race for the 2026 cycle in Ohio. Candidates are fictional. Alignments come from the “close” profile so the mix of calls is reproducible.

Formula: Toss-up — The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Leading score: Kurt Pellham. (The lead sits inside the toss-up gap.)

Each segment is issue power times alignment. Alignment runs from −1 to +1. Right of zero, the candidate would narrow the penalty. Left of zero, they would keep or expand it. Fictional candidates.

Fictional candidate

Rosa Becket

Cautious-reform placeholder · Winnability 3 · Score 12

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Cautious-reform placeholder.

Fictional candidate

Kurt Pellham

Incumbent-leaning placeholder · Winnability 4 · Score 13.8

Fictional placeholder. Not a real candidate. Incumbent-leaning placeholder.

Placeholder call for Ohio, Governor. The issue in this office is “Warrantless long-term location tracking.” Editors mark a toss-up because the score gap between Kurt Pellham and Rosa Becket sits inside the toss-up threshold. The lead sits inside the toss-up gap. Kurt Pellham and Rosa Becket are fictional.

All calls for this state