Is Ohio's Democracy for Sale? Secretary of State Candidates, the FirstEnergy Mistrial, and Tim Grady's Independent Vision

Radell Lewis breaks down one of Ohio's most important and overlooked races: the 2026 Secretary of State election. With Frank LaRose term-limited out and running for auditor, five candidates across three party primaries are competing to control how Ohioans vote, how businesses get registered, and how ballot language gets written. Radell goes candidate by candidate through Republican primary frontrunner Robert Sprague (Ohio's current treasurer who dropped out of the governor's race in under three weeks to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy), his challenger Marcell Strbich (a retired Air Force intelligence officer pushing one of the most aggressive election security platforms in the country), Democratic establishment pick Allison Russo (the former House Minority Leader facing scrutiny over her 2023 redistricting vote and an ongoing employment discrimination lawsuit), Democratic outsider Bryan Hambley (a cancer doctor from Warren County running on ending gerrymandering with zero corporate PAC money), and Libertarian candidate Tom Pruss (a Toledo small business owner campaigning for equal ballot access). Radell also covers Trump's executive order on mail voting and what it means for Ohio, the FirstEnergy bribery mistrial that stunned the state, Ohio officials opening thousands of acres of public land to fracking, and the broader 2026 statewide landscape where every executive office is turning over. Then Radell sits down with independent gubernatorial candidate Tim Grady for a deep conversation about what it takes to run outside the two-party system in Ohio, why independent voters are the largest voting bloc but have the least representation, the rise of populism on both sides, whether Democrats are capable of governing long term, and what a "radical centrist" vision for Ohio actually looks like. Whether you are tracking the Ohio primary election, researching Ohio 2026 candidates, or trying to understand Ohio election reform, voter registration deadlines, redistricting, gerrymandering, or the future of independent politics, this episode has you covered. Ohio voter registration for the May 5 primary closes April 6 and early voting starts April 7.

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