COLUMBUS, Ohio — Of the competitive statewide races in Ohio, the candidates for attorney general share the most similar policy positions.
Ohio’s attorney general enforces state laws, oversees policing policy, investigates claims of fraud and helps with major prosecutions.
Republican Keith Faber is facing off against Democrat John Kulewicz to be the next top cop.
Faber, an attorney from Northwest Ohio, is the current state auditor. He has worked in state government for decades, including as Senate president. He attended law school at Ohio State.
"I have the education, the training, and the vision to keep our families safe," Faber said at a campaign stop in Strongsville.
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He has positioned himself as the candidate focused on backing police and making Ohio safer.
"I've got the support of law enforcement because we will give them the training and the tools to keep our family safe," he continued.
While touring different cities, Faber has been promoting his record of helping to convict more than 170 politicians and public officials who abused taxpayer dollars.
"I'm going to lock up the people who are engaged in cyber fraud, elder abuse, human trafficking, or the big companies who try to rip us off," Faber said. "We're going to hold them accountable."
Kulewicz has been a Columbus-area attorney for 40 years, as well as a member of the Upper Arlington City Council.
“It’s time to get back to the basic issues that Ohioans care about... taking on corrupt politicians and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse," Kulewicz said at a campaign event near Canton. “It means taking on price-fixing monopolies, scam artists and robocallers, Medicaid providers and nursing home fraudsters, and anyone else trying to rip us off.”
He worked for Columbus legal giant Vorys for decades and won cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. He attended Yale Law School.
His main focus is on protecting consumers and rooting out corruption.
"This is our state, and we have a right to know what the state government is doing with our money," Kulewicz said in an interview this summer.
At a debate between the pair in October, shot by NBC affiliate WFMJ in Youngstown, the candidates addressed the justice system’s hottest topics.
Both candidates have similar viewpoints on the controversial Flock cameras. Flock Safety cameras have typically been used as license plate readers, but our investigations show dispatchers have been accused of misusing the data.
The men agreed the cameras are good tools for law enforcement but want more guardrails.
"The first 48 hours of data, those should be able to be available to be reviewed by an officer following strict protocols for law enforcement purposes," Kulewicz said. "For the 48 hours to 30 days, it seems to me that we should require a warrant."
Faber added that those who abuse the system need to be held accountable.
"If you violate the law enforcement purposes, you access this system to track your girlfriend, or whatever else you're going to do, you're committing a felony, and you should go to prison," Faber said.
As the Trump administration is asking for more help with immigration enforcement, both candidates said they would assist.
"It's key that we have a situation where our local law enforcement cooperate with the federal law enforcement," Faber said.
It wouldn’t be Kulewicz's top priority, he said, but he would still comply.
"To the extent that that is discretionary, I would rather spend our resources on enforcing our state and the local laws, which I think our local forces are going to have to be doing," the Democrat said.
Both also agreed that they would continue the prosecution of FirstEnergy for its role in the largest bribery scheme in state history.
Former Attorney General Dave Yost wants his successor to finish the case. Yost was term-limited, making this an open seat.
This summer, Yost resigned to work for a conservative nonprofit law firm, and Gov. Mike DeWine appointed former Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson as the interim AG.
RELATED: Attorney General Dave Yost is on his way out of Ohio politics. Here's what he has to say about it.
Each candidate agreed that the law allows for the death penalty, and they would administer it.
Kulewicz did say he wants to make sure the method being used does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishments."
The U.S. Supreme Court did just block Alabama from using nitrogen gas to execute an inmate, upholding a lower court ruling that it was unconstitutional.
Follow Statehouse and Columbus bureau reporter Morgan Trau on X, Instagram and Facebook. Email her at Morgan.Trau@wews.com.
