COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A leading Ohio business group on Tuesday asked employees to model best practices for reducing the spread of the coronavirus as it warned of the impact the current spike in...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Troy Balderson of Ohio has been sworn in as the newest member of Congress.

Balderson, 56, defeated Democrat Danny O'Connor last month in an expensive, hard-fought special election to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, a Republican who retired in January.

Members of the Ohio delegation stood with Balderson as he took the oath. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat, and Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican, introduced him to his new colleagues.

Excerpts of recent editorials of statewide and national interest from Ohio newspapers:

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 26

Three cheers for Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for denouncing disinformation that rumormongers have tried to spread about the Aug. 7 special congressional election in central Ohio.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The window has opened for county election boards to begin the official count in Ohio's deadlocked special congressional election.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) says Saturday is the first day that official canvassing can begin. The formal tally must be wrapped up by Aug. 24.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Provisional voters in a deadlocked congressional race in Ohio have until Tuesday to provide an acceptable form of ID to their local election board in hopes their vote will be counted.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio election officials say voters only have a few days left to request an absentee ballot for next week's special elections.

The Ohio Secretary of State's Office says noon Saturday is the deadline to request an absentee ballot for the Aug. 7 elections.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence is coming to Ohio to campaign for a two-term Republican state senator who's in a closer-than-expected race for an open U.S. House seat.

The vice president's office confirmed in a release Sunday that Pence plans to attend a campaign event in Newark for Troy Balderson on Monday. Balderson, of Zanesville, is working to retain GOP control of the 12th District that Republicans have held for nearly 35 years.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Former Ohio congressman Pat Tiberi (TEE'-behr-ee) is donating his official papers to his alma mater, Ohio State University.

The papers from Tiberi's 17 years in Congress will become part of the Ohio Congressional Archives administered by the Ohio State University Libraries. The school says the documents will be sorted and arranged before they're made accessible to students, faculty and the public for research in 2023.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — President Donald Trump has endorsed state Sen. Troy Balderson for the 12th Congressional District, saying the Zanesville Republican "loves our Military, Vets & 2nd Amendment."

In tweets Saturday night, Trump calls Balderson's opponent, Democratic Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor, "a Nancy Pelosi Liberal who is WEAK on Crime & Borders." He says Balderson "is the total opposite" and has "my Full & Total Endorsement!"

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A second candidate surnamed O'Connor could soon be running for an open congressional seat in Ohio.

Cleveland.com reports that a party spokesman says Matthew Brendan O'Connor is preparing to run for Ohio's 12th congressional district as a Libertarian.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters can start casting ballots in next month's special election.

Early voting for the Aug. 7 special election and 12th District general election begins Tuesday. Residents can vote absentee by mail or in person without having to give a reason.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) says voters will decide four local issues across seven counties.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state senator backed by former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi will face off for the retired congressman's old seat against a county recorder from central Ohio based, based on the results of Tuesday's primaries.

Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson, of Zanesville, and Democratic Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor won their respective primaries for Ohio's 12th U.S. House District Tuesday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a story March 30 about Ohio's 12th district, The Associated Press reported erroneously an aspect of the district's geography. The 12th district stretches east to Zanesville, not west to Lima.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Competition fierce for open mid-Ohio congressional district

Eighteen candidates are vying for a rare opening for a U.S. House seat in central Ohio that Republicans have held for 35 years and Democrats now see as competitive

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Seven Democrats, 10 Republicans and a Green Party candidate are vying for the open 12th congressional district seat in Ohio. Two separate primaries will be on May ballots. One is for the remainder of the unexpired term of Republican U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, who left Congress in January. The second is for the full two-year term beginning in January. Here's a list of the candidates, listed alphabetically by party:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sihk) has announced dates for special elections to fill the seat of a Republican congressman resigning to take the helm of a business policy group.

Current U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (TEE'-behr-ee) is leaving Jan. 16 to serve as president of the Ohio Business Roundtable in Columbus.

Tiberi has held his seat in central Ohio since 2001. His two-year term was due to end in January 2019.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (TEE'-behr-ee) has decided not to run in Ohio's upcoming Senate race.

The nine-term Republican congressman announced his decision Tuesday.

Tiberi was seen as a potential general election threat to Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who faces re-election next year. Tiberi's moderate stances and support from the GOP establishment would have been contrasted with the veteran Brown's liberal voting record.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Legislation to honor an Ohio soldier who died in the Vietnam War by naming a Veterans Affairs clinic for him has been sent to President Barack Obama's desk.

The bill introduced last year by Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman cleared the U.S. Senate on Saturday. It designates the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Newark as the Daniel L. Kinnard Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — A memorial tribute to the late George Voinovich, former two-term Ohio governor and U.S. senator, is planned in Washington.

Ohio University says the bipartisan gathering Thursday at the National Press Club will include talks by Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, of Delaware, and Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi (TEE'-behr-ee), of Ohio. It also will include video messages from Ohio's senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Former Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette has been remembered for his work as a lawmaker and prosecutor during a memorial service at a Cleveland church.

LaTourette died Aug. 3 at his home in McLean, Virginia, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 62.