This newsletter was sent to all email subscribers on August 16, 2025. To be added to our subscriber list, click here.
Dear friends,
We are excited to hear the recent news that Sherrod Brown is running for U.S. Senate in 2026! He will be running to defeat Jon Husted, who was appointed to the Senate when J.D. Vance became vice president. If you’ve ever tried to contact Jon Husted about one of the issues you care about, you know at least one big reason that we need to defeat him in 2026. We’ll have more information on how you can support Sherrod Brown in the coming weeks and months.
Town Hall without Troy Balderson
I want to make sure you know about a very special event coming up soon, organized by our friends at Knox County Indivisible. They invited our congressman, Troy Balderson, to speak in a Town Hall, but he declined the invitation. Undeterred, Knox County Indivisible is holding a Town Hall without Balderson, but with a great lineup of guest speakers instead – Jerrad Christian, Ken Harbaugh, and Mason Blankenship. All three are veterans, and each has a unique perspective both on what the Trump Administration is doing and what Congressman Balderson should be doing.
A town hall is an old-fashioned political ritual of community building. What’s important is expressing our thoughts out loud, together, and in a large group. If the person we are trying to communicate with won’t participate, we take it to them. This town hall will be video’ed, and the video delivered to Balderson after the meeting. Come let your opinions be known!
The Town Hall without Troy Balderson will be held in Mount Vernon on Saturday, August 23, 2:00 – 4:00 pm. The exact address will be sent to you once you are registered. Take a minute now to register for this event here.
Ohio Redistricting Update
Ohio congressional districts are slated for re-districting later this year, ahead of the 2026 election.
Background: In 2022, the state legislature did not create congressional district maps that met rules about bi-partisanship, and so the Ohio Supreme Court correctly ruled that they are unconstitutional. This means that, while Ohio was allowed to use the proposed unconstitutional districts for the 2022 and 2024 elections, re-districting (for U.S. congressional maps only) is required ahead of the 2026 election. Unfortunately, this leaves open the possibility that the new districts will be even less fair, because now Republicans have a clear majority in both the legislature and the Ohio Supreme Court.
The process is complex, so I won’t attempt to describe the details here, but I urge you to follow the news on this and be ready to make your opinions known when the process begins to unfold. To find out more, sign up for emails and Zoom meetings with Common Cause / Fair Districts Ohio.
A poignant story of the impact of gerrymandering on one district in Ohio is here: https://www.lwvohio.org/strangers-in-the-district — well worth your time to read!
The Ohio Equal Rights & The Ohio Right to Marry Amendments
Petitions for both amendments have officially been certified by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and the organization spearheading these initiatives, Ohio Equal Rights, has decided to move forward.
This means we can start collecting signatures soon. And, assuming enough signatures are gathered throughout Ohio, we will vote on these two amendments to the Ohio constitution in November 2026. We will certainly let you all know the minute we have petitions and can start gathering signatures.
REMINDER: Meet a Candidate for Ohio Secretary of State!
Bryan Hambley, a candidate for Ohio’s Secretary of State, is coming to Knox County to meet with us, and you can meet him via Zoom on August 26 at 7:00 pm. Please register for the Zoom event with this link. Registration is required by end of day August 19, and participation is limited.
It may seem early to be thinking about 2026 candidates, but with Ohio’s extreme gerrymandering and threats to voting rights, the Secretary of State is an especially critical position.
Where You Can Find Us
- The Fredericktown Tomato Show, Wednesday, September 3 – Saturday, September 6
- First Friday, Main Street, Mount Vernon – Friday, September 5
- Knox County Democratic Party Headquarters, 9 E Vine Street, Mount Vernon, open most Wednesdays and SAturdays, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Plus, of course, many of us will be attending Knox County Indivisible’s Town Hall without Troy Balderson, and we hope to see you there. Please register for that town hall now!
All my best,
Kathy Tate, Chairwoman
Knox County Democratic Party