News Coverage

Summit County no longer has a representative in Congress. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci was leading U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton in the hotly contested 16th Congressional District race Tuesday night with about 52 percent of the vote, according to the unofficial election results. “I am deeply humbled by the opportunity that … Read more +

When the Beacon Journal last summer sought participants for focus groups titled “I’m mad as hell,” there were plenty of volunteers. People are angry, afraid, and some are in denial – blaming others – for the problems they face. But a lot of those emotions are understandable. Even before George … Read more +

BEREA, Ohio–Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio) economics professors are working to make sense of the barrage of numbers and economic claims in the final days of the election. Dr. Kay Strong and Dr. Lewis Sage have been featured speakers at “Reclaim November Ohio” events, sponsored by Jefferson Action this fall. Dr. … Read more +

Few House races better capture the way outside interest groups have taken over campaigns than the Member-vs.-Member face-off between Republican Jim Renacci and Democrat Betty Sutton in Ohio’s 16th district. It’s not just the incessant TV ads that have saturated the airwaves so thoroughly that, as one Renacci aide put … Read more +

OHIO — The donnybrook in northeast Ohio between two Congressional incumbents grappling to keep their jobs has become a leading electoral battleground and one of the most expensive House races in the nation. The contest is between Democrat Betty Sutton and Republican Jim Renacci, who were pitted against each other … Read more +

In bringing a representative sample of citizens from Ohio’s 16th U.S. House District face to face with candidates Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton, a group called Jefferson Action hoped to elevate the tone and substance of the political debate in one of the toughest, most expensive congressional races in the … Read more +

A panel of 23 voters in the 16th Congressional District, who were recruited by a Minnesota-based group seeking more substantive discourse in politics, gave higher ratings to the proposals and candidacy of congressional candidate U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, the group Jefferson Action said. Renacci and his Democratic opponent, U.S. … Read more +

A week ago, I was a little cranky about the attention Ohio is receiving from the presidential campaigns, but this week, I’m feeling it. What changed? Partly, the race became a lot more interesting. Mitt Romney grew a bit more clear in his positions and a bit more able to speak without … Read more +

When the letter from Jefferson Action arrived, Hilary Johnson’s first instinct was to throw it away. “I thought it was junk mail,” she recalled Saturday afternoon. “Some work-at-home scheme.” But by the time we spoke at a Fairlawn hotel this weekend, Johnson was very glad she had taken a second look at … Read more +

Over the weekend the candidates for Ohio’s new 16th Congressional District seat competed in an unusual, lengthy and sometimes intense citizens’ forum. Two dozen people from six counties selected by a non-partisan group grilled Republican Jim Renacci and Democrat Betty Sutton and then after jury-like deliberations gave their verdict. As … Read more +

A group of voters deemed U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci to be better positioned than his opponent to deal with the economic issues facing the 16th Congressional District. That’s the conclusion of an in-depth evaluation undertaken by 23 Akron-area voters this weekend under the leadership of Jefferson Action, a Minnesota nonprofit … Read more +

Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton will square off in their only debate Wednesday in Cleveland, well outside the 16th District in which the two incumbent members of Congress are running against each other. But over the weekend, they answered questions – albeit separately — from “Reclaim November Ohio,” a non-partisan … Read more +

The 16th District congressional candidates for the most part took a break from political attacks on each other Saturday morning at the Jefferson Action Citizens Election Forum. U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, and U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, each had about 75 minutes at the Radisson Hotel Akron/Fairlawn to make their case … Read more +

Jefferson Action forum promotes election involvement FAIRLAWN — The campaigns of Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton, along with outside groups supporting them, have peppered voters in the 16th Congressional District with print, radio, TV and Internet ads. Too much, many say. But on Saturday, nearly two dozen voters from the … Read more +

COPLEY TWP.: Many area residents spent their Saturday shepherding kids to soccer or mowing the lawn. But 23 waded into the fine points of economic stimuli, gross domestic product and tax policy. Participants in the nonpartisan Jefferson Action forum had the rare opportunity to question two Congressional veterans vying to … Read more +

A panel of 24 voters will question congressional candidates Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton on Saturday about what they’ll do to address weak economic growth, unemployment and the deficit if elected. A nonprofit group based in St. Paul, Minn., called Jefferson Action is organizing the event. The Citizens Election Forum, … Read more +

The newly drawn 16th Congressional District is more expansive than the one that was dominated by Stark County for a century. The new lines also tiptoe in and out of Medina, Wayne and Ashland counties. And that’s setting up a contentious race between two incumbents: Republican Jim Renacci and Democrat … Read more +

Not since Augustus Caesar carved up Italia into 11 regions has there been so much confusion over geographical piecework as Ohio’s newly minted congressional district boundaries sculpted by Republicans for the November elections. In fairness to the first Roman emperor, it should be mentioned that Augustus at least gave his … Read more +

A political billboard sponsored by JeffersonAction.org located on Rt. 18 just west of Medina-Line Road in Medina County. A public interest group that is attempting to bring civility to a hotly contested political campaign is using pointy horns to make its point. A billboard on state Route 18 near the … Read more +

STRONGSVILLE — Retired autoworker Charles Peck is tired of shallow and nasty political campaigns. “I’m getting tired of being treated like an idiot… I’m getting tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. I decided maybe somebody can do something about it,” he said. He is one of 22 … Read more +

I got a voice-mail message last week from a Rep reader who wanted us to update our Saturday editorial page listing of elected officials’ contact information. The caller said that Jim Renacci used to be her congressman but now she needed information about her “new congressman,” Bob Gibbs. Well, no. … Read more +

Awesome. Amazing. That’s how Anthony Lee describes his experience at a July citizens forum that brought together a diverse group of people from Stark and the other six counties in the new 16th U.S. House District. “Normally, when you get two people together, let alone 25, and talk about economics … Read more +

U.S. Reps. Jim Renacci and Betty Sutton will participate in a Citizens Election Forum Oct. 6 to discuss economic issues in their race for Ohio’s remapped 16th District. The two incumbents were placed in the same district when new congressional lines were drawn after the 2010 census, which required going … Read more +

Renacci? Sutton? Who? Only one in three voters knows who’s running for the 16th Congressional District, according to a poll released Monday by Jefferson Action, a nonpartisan Minnesota group that is focusing on the race. Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci has better name recognition than U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, his … Read more +

Three recent media moments typify today’s Citizens United political era: • Time’s cover this week has a Photoshopped for-sale sign on the White House lawn (asking: $2.5 billion) with the headline “How to Buy the White House.” • By court order, starting this week network affiliates in the top-50 markets are required to … Read more +

Robert Kilmer is a lawyer in Binghamton, N.Y. Ned Crosby is a political scientist in Minneapolis. They have two things in common: A deep desire to bring more substance and civility to politics. A plan. Crosby’s brainchild, called the citizens jury or citizens forum, is playing out this year in … Read more +

Sunday in The Rep’s Your Voice section, we shared two ideas for restoring some semblance of civility and substance to politics. The story described Minneapolis political scientist Ned Crosby’s “citizen juries” or “citizen forums,” including one now taking place in Ohio’s new 16th U.S. House District, in which a cross-section … Read more +

A Center for Marketing & Opinion Research poll; conducted 6/13-27 for Jefferson Action; surveyed 600 RVs; margin of error +/- 4.0% (release, 8/6). Tested: Rep. Jim Renacci (R) and Rep. Betty Sutton (D-13).  General Election Matchup J. Renacci 22% B. Sutton 21 Other 12 Not vote 21 Undec 24

Twenty-two citizens bravely have waded into the swamp of the 16th U.S. House District. Jim Renacci, a Wadsworth Republican, and Betty Sutton, a Copley Township Democrat, both incumbent lawmakers, were drawn into the district when congressional lines were remade last year. The race, which has attracted national attention, got off … Read more +

A group of Northeast Ohio voters who spent the weekend discussing the hotly contested 16th District congressional race wants the candidates to focus on the economy, unemployment and the federal budget deficit. The group of 22 citizens who participated in a three-day citizens forum called Reclaim November, Ohio! issued its … Read more +

Group wants race for the 16th Congressional district to stay positive, focused on the economy Congressional redistricting is pitting two incumbents against each other in the race for 16th District. Voters in Medina, Stark, Ashland and Wayne counties are being deluged with negative ads. But over the weekend, a non-partisan … Read more +

copley twp.: A group of Northeast Ohio voters wants to shape the debate surrounding the 16th District congressional race. The group is participating this weekend in Reclaim November, Ohio! It is a three-day citizens forum intended to influence the way the candidates, Republican Jim Renacci and Democrat Betty Sutton, conduct … Read more +

A second national group is planning a voter-engagement event focused on the hotly contested 16th Congressional District race. David Walker, a former U.S. comptroller general, will hold a town hall meeting Sept. 15 in Brunswick that will be part of a national bus tour to call attention to the need … Read more +

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci invited U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton this week to hold a joint town hall meeting on what promises to be one of the most contentious issues in their battle to represent the 16th congressional district this fall: health care. Renacci opposed the federal health care legislation, which the U.S. Supreme … Read more +

Some might say that civility and politics don’t mix. But three groups in the Akron area and an organization coming here from the Twin Cities aren’t willing to accept this. They hope to improve the level of discourse in politics. “We are here for the common reason of being frustrated … Read more +