This, in brief, seems to be Vivek Ramaswamy’s argument for why voters should choose him to be Ohio’s next governor instead of Dr. Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee: Democrats have made a mess of the statehouse, and only Ramaswamy and his GOP cleanup crew can straighten out Ohio.

Before, that is, 2024 presidential candidate Ramaswamy, of Upper Arlington, runs for president again.

But ... fact: Since 1990, a Republican has been governor of Ohio except for Democrat Ted Strickland’s single 2007-11 term.

Republicans, not Democrats, own Ohio's mess

Republicans have run the state Senate continuously since 1985. Except for two years, Republicans have run the Ohio House of Representatives continuously since January 1995. And since the late 1980s, the Ohio Supreme Court has had a Republican majority.

And though history will shame Ohio for it, the state cast its presidential electoral votes for Donald Trump every chance it’s had.

So George Voinovich, Bob Taft, John Kasich and Mike DeWine must have been secret members of the Democratic Party, as were such Ohio House speakers as Jo Ann Davidson and William G. Batchelder, such Senate presidents as Keith........

© USA TODAY