Election Day for the November midterms is quickly approaching. Early voting starts on Oct. 12.In each election, Ohio’s voters decide the fate of candidates and issues on their ballot. In 2022, voters throughout Ohio will cast their ballots for local candidates and issues.Ahead of the mid-term elections, we created a voter guide to help you learn more about the candidates running for office.OHIO SENATE CANDIDATESRepublican Ohio Senator Rob Portman announced his retirement in January of 2021. That announcement set off a highly competitive race to fill the seat and could very well reshape the battle for control of the U.S. Senate.J.D. Vance- Hometown: Middletown, OhioJ.D. Vance served in the Iraq War as a Marine. He’s also worked as a venture capitalist. He’s known best for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy which attracted significant attention during the 2016 election.Here are the issues Vance is prioritizing in his campaign:Protect Conservative Values: Per Vance’s website, he wants to stop funding universities in the country that teach Critical Race Theory or radical gender ideology. Supports parents’ choice for picking their children’s access to education.Restore America’s Manufacturing Base: Wants to bring back jobs that were shipped overseas and continue imposing former President Trump’s Tough on China ApproachDefend American Small Businesses: Wants to raise taxes on companies that outsource jobs.Dismantle Big Tech Oligarchy: Wants to break up Big Tech companies and ban the theft of personal information.Conserve Traditional Families: On his website, Vance says the current tax code penalizes marriage and family. He wants to change it to reward marriage & family and make it easier to support single-income families.End Abortion: Supports eliminating abortion and making society more pro-child & pro-family.Solve Southern Border Crisis: Per his website, if elected he will oppose amnesty, finish the border wall and double the number of border agents in the country. Also wants to reform the immigration system based on skills rather than family relations.Combat Drug & Opioid Epidemic: If elected, promises to tackle the drug epidemic, eliminate drugs entering the community & help those affected by addiction.Protect Second Amendment Rights: Promises to push back against people infringing on Second Amendment rights.Restore Sanity on Covid-19: On his website, Vance questions the need for Americans to show COVID-19 vaccine information to go to restaurants & opposes masks in schools.America First Foreign Policy: Supports foreign policy that prioritizes Americans.Spending & Inflation: Wants to get inflation under control.Election Integrity: Per Vance’s website, he opposes ballot harvesting and mail-in voting. Supports Voter ID & signature verification on absentee ballots.Tim Ryan – Hometown: Niles, OHTim Ryan currently serves as the United States Representative for Ohio’s 13th congressional district. He has been in office since 2003. Previously Ryan served half a term in the Ohio State Senate from 2000 to 2002. Ryan has previously challenged Rep. Nancy Pelosi as party leader of the House Democrats. He was also a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination before ending his campaign to run for his 10th term in 2020.Here are the issues Ryan is prioritizing in his campaign:Cutting Workers in on the Deal: Supports raising the minimum wage, expanding access to affordable childcare and closing gender & racial pay gapsRebuilding Country: Supports Ohio’s Renewable Energy industry, infrastructure bill that supports rebuilding roads & bridges and affordable high-speed internet.Investing in Affordable Healthcare: Supports expanding Medicare by lowering the age to 60, allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, investing in research to end the Black maternal mortality crisis, add ending the opioid epidemic.Giving Seniors a Pay Raise: Strengthening Medicare and protecting hard-earned pensions of senior citizens.Protecting Natural Resources: Supports revitalizing clean energy manufacturing and investing in safe drinking water for all Ohioans.Strengthening National Security: Per his website, Ryan is working to close the pay gap between National Guard members & active duty service members. He also supports ensuring a smooth transition to civilian life. Also supports the developing of new defense technology jobs in Ohio.Helping Students Win the Future: Promises to work on expanding loan forgiveness, access to tuition-free college in exchange for public service, affordable childcare, universal pre-k and two years of tuition-free community college.Creating New Opportunity for Rural Ohio: Ryan says he’s pushing to make sure Ohio’s rural hospitals have all the resources they need. He’s also committed to expanding rural mental health care for veterans and telehealth services for those fighting addictions. Also wants to invest in farmers and the agriculture industry.Ending Racial Disparities: Supports passing voting rights legislation to protect Black voters. Also investing in training and accountability for law enforcement.Keeping Ohioans Safe: Supports ending gun violence with proposals such as expanding background checks. Also wants to ensure law enforcement has the resources to stop the spread of opioids in the community. Supports efforts to expand racial bias training & and address police brutality and systemic racism.Modernizing Immigration: Per his website, Ryan says he’s committed to reforming the immigration system, opposes separating immigrant families and legally establishing a path to citizenship.Strengthening Democracy: Ryan says he’s pushing to pass critical legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act and supports abolishing the filibuster. He also supports legislation requiring dark money groups to disclose donors.Protecting Reproductive Freedom: Supports funding Planned Parenthood and codifying Roe v. WadeStanding with LGBTQ+ Ohioans: Supports banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas of society. His website states he’s also working to ensure LGBTQ+ veterans get the healthcare they need within the VAOHIO GOVERNOR’S RACEAnother major race in Ohio this year is the one for Governor. Mike DeWine – Hometown: Yellow Springs, Ohio Mike DeWine is the incumbent in the race. He has served as Ohio’s governor since 2019. He has previously served as Ohio’s Attorney General from 2011-2019, U.S. Senator from 1995-2007, Ohio Lieutenant Governor from 1991-1994, U.S. Representative from 1983-1991 and State Senator from 1981-1982.DeWine’s website does not highlight the issues he’s prioritizing in this campaign, instead, he has listed accomplishments during his tenure.Running Mate: Current Lieutenant Governor Jon HustedWinning Historic Investment for Ohio: His website touts the Intel Semiconductor Factory project as a major achievement in this category. DeWine says this puts Ohio on the frontlines of the U.S.-China tech fight.Enacting the largest tax cut in history: The website claims DeWine has cut taxes by more than $2 billion, calling it one of the largest tax cuts in state history. The website also says he tightened the state budget when the COVID-19 pandemic first started and issued millions in funds to help businesses stay afloat.Creating Jobs in Ohio: DeWine’s website says he’s committed to bringing manufacturing jobs back to the state and has prioritized career, technical & vocational education to help thousands of Ohioans enter the workforce.Fighting Crime: His website says he is committed to supporting law enforcement and combating the opioid epidemic. He also helped set up the OneOhio Foundation, which helps fight the opioid crisis.Protecting Ohio Families: DeWine’s website claims he’s “the most pro-life governor” in state history. The website lists the Heartbeat Bill & Born Alive Infant Protection Act specifically as support for this claim. DeWine’s website also states his commitment to Ohioans’ gun rights, like Constitutional Carry, and First Amendment Rights.Nan Whaley – Hometown: Mooresville, IndianaNan Whaley served as the mayor of Dayton, Ohio from 2014-2022. In 2005 she was elected to the Dayton City Commission and served on it for two terms. She was one of the youngest women ever chosen for a commission seat. Whaley is also president of the United States Conference of Mayors.Running mate: Current Chief Executive Officer of the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation Cheryl Stephens.Here are the issues Whaley is prioritizing in her campaign:Jobs: Per her website, Whaley is committed to investing in companies that invest in Ohio and revitalizing Ohio communities by bringing back Main Street businesses.Ethics: Whaley says she’s committed to restoring public trust by creating a public accountability commission, bolstering funding to agencies upholding ethics and holding administration and appointees accountable.Environment: If elected, Whaley wants to repeal laws that gutted Ohio’s renewable energy standards.Abortion: Whaley’s website says she will work to defend Ohioan’s right to choose.Education: Committed to strengthening K-12 schools, making preschool universal and higher education affordable.Families: Whaley’s website says she’ll fight for paid family leave for all Ohioans, if elected.Veterans: If elected, Whaley is committed to ensuring the needs of veterans in Ohio are met.SECRETARY OF STATECandidates: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Democrat Chelsea Clark, a suburban Cincinnati City Council member and businesswoman, and independent candidate Terpeshore “Tore” Maras in November’s general election. LaRose won the Republican nomination for his second term in office. Clark ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.Maras, a conservative podcaster who embraces former President Donald Trump’s discredited claims of a stolen 2020 election, is eligible to run as an independent, according to the Ohio Supreme Court.LaRose, a former Green Beret and ex-state senator supported Trump in his inaugural run for president and was part of a team that handled logistics for his 2017 inauguration. This year, LaRose found himself in the primary spotlight again because of his dual roles as the state’s elections chief and as a GOP representative on the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission, charged with drawing new legislative maps. LaRose announced a new public integrity unit in response to what he called Americans’ “crisis of confidence” in the electoral process even while acknowledging the state’s reputation for secure voting.The unit, taking effect in October, will consolidate and highlight the Ohio secretary of state’s investigative work and eventually have one or more dedicated investigators, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in a statement.His Democrat challenger, Clark is a small business owner, city councilwoman, a sixth generation farmer and single mother.According to her website, Clark grew up in Allen County and graduated from Elida High School. She then went to Miami University and studied business, started the campus chapter of the ACLU, and helped organize better wages for university employees.Prior to joining Forest Park City Council, she worked as a financial analyst and a teacher and started a nonprofit to provide services for parents helping their children learn math and science.In her plan, Clark outlines she’s committed to ending voter purges, expanding automatic voter registration, expanding voting hours, introducing same-day voter registration, and allowing online voter registration and ballot requests. On the topic of election integrity, Clark said she plans to bolster the state’s cybersecurity and guard against foreign interfaces, modernize the statewide voter registration database and hold dark money accountable. Terpeshore “Tore” Maras will appear on ballots as an independent.Maras embraces aspects of the QAnon conspiracy in her “Tore Says” podcast. The Ohio Supreme Court’s recent ruling affirming her eligibility to run for office marks the latest twist in Maras’ rollercoaster bid to seek the office overseeing Ohio elections. She previously met the deadline to run as a Republican candidate for the ballot back in February but fell short of the required valid signatures. LaRose’s office later cleared her to run as an independent, but a Republican official — acting in his capacity as an Ohio voter — filed a challenge, asserting a number of her signatures were invalid. A judge ruled in the official’s favor and LaRose’s office upheld that decision and invalidated her candidacy. According to her website, her objectives if elected include a return to paper ballots, getting rid of voting machines and making state IDs free.OHIO’S 8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTOhio’s 8th Congressional District is up for grabs this year as well. Warren Davidson- Hometown: Sidney, OhioWarren Davidson is the incumbent in the race and serves as a U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 8th Congressional District since 2016. Before politics, Davidson was an officer in the United States Army.Here are the issues Davidson is prioritizing:Immigration: Davidson’s website says he supports building the wall at the southern border and employers using programs like E-verify to confirm employees’ work eligibility.Right to Life: Committed to protecting life at all stages and stopping federal funds or grants for Planned Parenthood.Second Amendment: Supports protecting Second Amendment rightsReligious Liberty: Per his website, Davidson supports people, organizations & businesses who believe marriage is only between one man and one woman.National Security: Committed to keeping a strong military.Economy: Opposes reduction in Social Security benefits. Wants Congress to vote on all spending annually, not just 30% of federal spending.Healthcare: Supports people finding the best care and coverage that’s perfect for them. Wants to eliminate most federal mandates and grant Medicaid on a per citizen basis and eliminate surprise bills.Vanessa Enoch – Hometown: Cincinnati, OhioDr. Vanessa Enoch is a graduate of Ohio State University. She has a master’s degree from Xavier University and a Ph.D. from Union Institute and University.Enoch is an expert in public policy and social change and has spent more than 20 years working to drive change in local communities. Here are the issues Enoch is prioritizing: Racial Equity: Committed to bringing substantive representation and much-needed change to the issues that Black Americans face at the hands of systemic racism and inequities.Gerrymandering: Committed to working across party lines in Congress to ensure fairness in the voting process, and to ensure that citizens of the 8th district have a voice in Washington, D.C.Education: Supports an equitable redistribution of public school funding to help: Prepare students for the jobs and careers of the future, Create lifelong learners, Strengthen vocational programs, Ready access to technology, Value teachers by paying them wellGun violence: Supports sensible gun laws that eliminate bump stocks and similar modifiers used in mass shootings.Social Security: Committed to supporting legislation that repeals the income tax on social security. Path to Citizenship: Committed to establishing a pathway to citizenship with policies to ensure lawful immigration and naturalization.Climate Change: Committed to promoting the expanded use of renewable energy like solar, wind and geothermal. Work to end unnecessary tax breaks for oil and gas companies. Hold companies accountable for damaging the environment. OHIO’S 2nd CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT Brad Wenstrup – Hometown: Cincinnati, OhioIncumbent Republican Congressman Dr. Brad Wenstrup is running for re-election for Ohio’s second congressional district.Wenstrup has represented the second district since 2013.He’s a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, serves in the US Army Reserve and has deployed to Iraq as a combat surgeon.Wenstrup is also a small business owner and has treated patients in southwest Ohio for 26 years.Here are the issues Wenstrup is prioritizing: Jobs and Economy: Supports policies that promote job creation without over-regulation of government.National Security/Defense: Supports sending the military to secure the border.Healthcare: Committed to fighting for free market health care solutions to increase access to care, lower costs, increase transparency, protect Americans with pre-existing conditions, and give Americans more choice.Gun Rights: Wenstrup is a gun owner and life member of the NRA and is committed to supporting the Second Amendment.Pro-Life: Wenstrup is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception. He supports efforts to halt the expansion of public funding for abortion. Samantha Meadows – Hometown: Portsmouth, OhioMeadows is running against Wenstrup for Ohio’s 2nd District. According to Ballotpedia, Meadows’ professional experience includes working in triage at a pediatric clinic. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Christian University in 2021. Here are the issues Meadows is prioritizing: Abortion: Believes abortion is not a moral issue – it is a Constitutional issue. Supports the Constitutional rights of women to have an abortion.Medicare, Social Security, Retired Workers: Supports programs to safeguard families from losing their savings and homes due to extended illnesses. Committed to making sure Medicare must include vision, dental and hearing. Economy: Support unions in the fight for fair wages and worker protections. Committed to working to take the burden off of the lower and middle class.OHIO’S 1st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTOne of the hardest fought, most closely watched races is the one for Ohio’s 1st congressional district. The district covers much of Hamilton County and Warren County.Incumbent republican congressman Steve Chabot is running against current Cincinnati city councilmember Greg Landsman.Steve Chabot – Hometown: Cincinnati, OhioChabot is a lifelong Cincinnatian. He graduated from LaSalle High School before going to College of William and Mary with a law degree from Northern Kentucky University.Before politics, Chabot taught at St. Joseph’s School and at the University of Cincinnati. He’s now serving his 12th term in congress and lives in Westwood.Here are the issues Chabot is prioritizing:Revitalizing the Economy: Committed to legislation to make federal agencies look for alternatives that will ease the burden on small businesses, and let them get back to what they do best, growing their businesses and creating jobs.Healthcare: Supports repealing “massive healthcare power-grab by the federal government” and replacing it with market-based reforms that will give American families more options at a lower cost.Energy: Is a strong proponent of the Keystone XL pipeline. Introduced legislation in an effort to stop price-gouging and anti-competitive behavior by OPEC nations. Government spending: Believe the federal government should be required to operate in a fiscally responsible manner. Advocate for a balanced budget amendment to Constitution. Social Security: Supports Social Security Preservation Act, which says that the money paid into Social Security can only be used to pay for Social Security. Veterans: Supports legislation and funding efforts that would ensure veterans’ access to medical care, education and financial services.School safety: Helped produce legislation reauthorizing COPS Secure Our Schools grant program for ten years and more than doubles the funding available for important security measures, including metal detectors, improvements in identifying and treating mental health issues, the installation of improved communications systems that allow for better communication between law enforcement and schools and easier reporting of potential threats, and security training for school employees and students.Cybersecurity: Committed to focusing on steps small businesses can take to prevent and combat cyberattacks. Introduced legislation to give small businesses tools and resources to defend themselves against cyberattacks, both foreign and domestic. Greg Landsman – Hometown: Cincinnati, OhioHis challenger is democrat Greg Landsman who is currently serving his fifth year as a Cincinnati councilman.Landsman graduated from Talawanda High School and then Ohio University with a degree in economics and political science. Landsman also has a Master’s degree in theology from Harvard UniversityHe also worked as a Spanish teacher in Virginia.Landsman lives in Mt. Washington.Here are the issues Landsman is prioritizing:Jobs and Economy: Supports the bipartisan COMPETES Act. Committed to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and expanding access to high-quality and affordable childcare. Reproductive Health and Rights: Believes rights are not the place of the government to dictate the decisions that Americans make about their own bodies. Committed to working to address the racial discrepancies in maternal mortality.Education: Believes early childhood education is key to childhood development. Believes college should be accessible to everyone, and when in Congress, will vote to lessen the burden on students and their parents. Infrastructure: In Congress, Landsman will support continued investments in projects to improve roads and bridges and the expansion of digital infrastructure to ensure access to broadband for everyone. Public Safety: Committed to working with anyone to improve public safety for the neighborhoods and families.Gun Safety: Landsman has been named Gun Sense candidate by Moms Demand Action. Committed to fighting for common sense gun reform in Congress. Supports requiring universal background checks on all gun sales and banning the sale of weapons of war like assault weapons.Voting Rights: Supports expanding voter registration and voting access, outlawing voter purges, increasing our election security, strengthening our ethics requirements, and establishing independent redistricting nationwide. Healthcare: Committed to pushing for lower healthcare premiums and eliminating surprise billing. Support bipartisan legislation that holds Big Pharma accountable and lowers the price of prescription drugs. Strongly supports allowing Medicaid to negotiate for lower prices.Veterans: Committed to making sure veterans suffering from toxic exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan get the support and medical attention they deserve.Environment: Committed to protecting access to clean air and water and holding polluters accountable for damages that disproportionately impact our already marginalized communities. Equality: Committed to making sure everyone has the resources they need to survive. Supports the Equality Act to ensure that no one can be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Supports codifying marriage equality into federal law.Foreign Policy: Promises to advocate for Israel’s right to self-determination and work to build bridges between the U.S., Israel, and others in the region to achieve sustainable peace in the region. Supports efforts started by the Trump administration’s Abraham Accords and continued by the Biden administration to normalize relations between Israel and her neighbors.KENTUCKY STATE SENATEU.S. Sen. Rand Paul will face off against Democrat Charles Booker for the state’s Senate seat.Booker, a Black former state lawmaker, defeated three primary opponents to become the latest nominee to try to snap the long losing streak of Kentucky Democrats in U.S. Senate races. The Bluegrass State hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992.Paul, who is seeking a third term, has gained a national voice in promoting a philosophy of limited government and restraint in U.S. foreign policy. The senator, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2016, is known for going his own way at times in the Senate. The senator’s libertarian leanings have included denouncing what he saw as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul has waged high-profile clashes with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, over the federal government’s coronavirus policies and the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic. He has used those disputes to raise campaign contributions. Booker gained the Democratic nomination after coming up just short in his prior Senate bid. In 2020, his campaign surged as his racial and economic justice message coincided with nationwide protests over the deaths of Black Americans in encounters with police. He barely lost the Senate primary that year to an establishment-backed rival who was routed by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell in the general election.Back with the same “hood to the holler” campaign theme, Booker was the frontrunner from the outset in this year’s Democratic primary. He promotes such social programs as Medicare for All and a basic universal income, saying it would uplift people extending from poor urban neighborhoods and struggling Appalachian towns to other corners of the state.Paul, an ardent free-market advocate, sees such social programs as an encroachment by an overly expansive federal government.After years of reinforcing his image as a political outsider, Paul could be on the verge of gaining more influence in the Senate if ultimately reelected to another term. The senator says he is in line to assume a committee chairmanship if the GOP wins Senate control after the November election. The Senate now has a 50-50 split, but Democrats have a slim edge because Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote.KENTUCKY’S FOURTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTIncumbent Thomas Massie, Matthew Lehman and Ethan Osborne are running in the general election for U.S. House Kentucky District 4.Thomas Massie is seeking reelection after winning the GOP nomination for Kentucky U.S. Representative. The libertarian-minded congressman represents a district stretching across Northern Kentucky. Massie won an endorsement of former President Donald Trump leading up to the primary.Massie is running against Northern Kentucky native and Democrat Matt Lehman. According to his website, Lehman is a product of St. Joseph Elementary in Crescent Springs and Covington Catholic High School.Lehman currently consults with the healthcare industry, helping academic startups and organizing clinical trials. He also consults with the thoroughbred industry preparing for legislative changes.Independent candidate Ethan Osborne is on the ballot for U.S. House Kentucky District 4. Osborne is a veteran, arborist and wildland firefighter and is a community and union organizer (on hiatus during the active fire season) with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. OHIO BALLOT ISSUESOhio Issue 1:Proposed Constitutional Amendment proposed by Joint Resolution of the General Assembly to amend Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.The proposed amendment would:• Require Ohio courts, when setting the amount of bail, to consider public safety, including the seriousness of the offense, as well as a person’s criminal record, the likelihood a person will return to court, and any other factor the Ohio General Assembly may prescribe.• Remove the requirement that the procedures for establishing the amount and conditions of bail be determined by the Supreme Court of Ohio.If passed, the amendment will be effective immediately.Ohio Issue 2Proposed Constitutional Amendment proposed by Joint Resolution of the General Assembly to amend Section 1 of Article V, Section 3 of Article X, and Section 3 of Article XVIII of the Constitution of the State of Ohio.A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.The proposed amendment would:• Require that only a citizen of the United States, who is at least 18 years of age and who has been a legal resident and registered voter for at least 30 days, can vote at any state or local election held in this state.• Prohibit local governments from allowing a person to vote in local elections if they are not legally qualified to vote in state elections.If passed, the amendment will be effective immediately.KENTUCKY BALLOT ISSUESKentucky Constitutional Amendment 2Would ban the right to abortions in the state and prevent state and federal dollars from funding them.A “yes” vote supports amending the Kentucky Constitution to state that nothing in the state constitution creates a right to abortion or requires government funding for abortion.A “no” vote opposes amending the Kentucky Constitution to state that nothing in the state constitution creates a right to abortion or requires government funding for abortion.