COLUMBUS, Ohio — Both frontrunners for Ohio governor have proposed suspending the state's gas tax as prices have soared and the race has become more competitive.
At the Farm Science Review, an outdoor trade show for the agriculture industry, Vivek Ramaswamy told reporters how he wanted to combat the $4.49 average gas price.
"A gas tax holiday for Ohioans, I think the reason is pretty clear: gas prices are way too high, and Ohioans aren't responsible for it," Ramaswamy said.
He is now working with state lawmakers to pass a bill suspending Ohio's motor fuel tax for 90 days. The tax is $0.385 per gallon for gasoline and $0.47 per gallon for diesel.
"It's not permanent, but for a period of time when gas prices have spiked...they shouldn't have to be paying extra on top of what they already are," he said.
He, with the help of his running mate, Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), is confident that lawmakers will suddenly return from their summer break to pass this bill. I asked what happens, politically, if it doesn’t.
"When I am governor in January, it will happen," he said.
Critics are skeptical of Ramaswamy’s sudden push, saying this is just a political ploy to win votes. Supporters of Democratic opponent Dr. Amy Acton agree, mentioning how she suggested pausing the tax first. She came out a day before Ramaswamy with a request for a suspension.
"We come out on something, and then he throws something together," Acton said at the Farm Science Review. "But we've been thinking about this issue deeply and the holistic impact it has on families."
Libertarian Don Kissick and running mate James Mills also agree that gas taxes should be paused.
"The state should be willing to use its Rainy Day Fund to help make that possible and [we] look toward other methods of revenue to support this change in the long-term," Mills said.
Gov. Mike DeWine has typically been against suspending the gas tax, explaining that the money is used to maintain and construct roads, highways and bridges — as well as fix potholes.
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"The job of the governor, of course, is always to look at the big picture, and look at not only what impacts us today but what may impact us in the future," DeWine told me, also at the event.
But Acton said that this is a compromise.
"We have to make some short-term trade-offs with some longer-term solutions," she said.
And that long-term solution? Well, according to President Donald Trump, gas prices will go down soon. He believes his war with Iran, which helped lead to higher gas prices, is going to end after the midterms.
"We will make a deal right after the election," Trump said in a speech Tuesday. "It doesn’t make sense not to."
Lawmakers have told us they support some break, but they’re not sure how quickly they can do it.
Ramaswamy is set to speak with other legislative leaders Wednesday morning to give more details on his plan. DeWine is waiting to hear more about this bill before commenting further, he said.
Follow Statehouse and Columbus bureau reporter Morgan Trau on X, Instagram and Facebook. Email her at Morgan.Trau@wews.com.
