LETTERS: Improve Ohio by voting Republicans out of office

Since 1992, the Republicans in Ohio have had 26 trifectas. This means that one political party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature (Senate and House of Representatives) and the governor's office. The Democrats have had none. Ohio has had a few years of a Democratic governor and a few years of a Democratic majority in the House, but they did not occur together.

So we can safely thank the Republicans for Ohio ranking No. 36 in the country, making it one of the worst states to live in (according to a study conducted by U.S. News and World Report in 2024). This study concluded that the Buckeye State landed in the top 20 in two areas but finished in the bottom half in several other categories:

• No. 17 in fiscal stability
• No. 20 in opportunity
• No. 27 in education
• No. 30 in infrastructure
• No. 33 in crime and corrections
• No. 35 in health care
• No. 39 in economy
• No. 41 in "natural environment” (This category includes air and water quality and pollution.)

According to another study conducted by Shield HealthCare, Ohio ranks No. 8 in infant mortality (only seven states have more infants die) and No. 42 in life expectancy (residents of 41 states can expect to live longer than Ohioans).

These studies and others aim to show how well states serve their residents. What the studies tell me is that our Republican officials are not doing well at all. Time for a change. Albert Einstein is supposed to have said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Come on, Ohioans! We have the right to expect different results. Let’s not do the same thing over again this year.

Joyce Campian, East Rochester

This article originally appeared on The Repository: LETTERS: Improve Ohio by voting Republicans out of office