Jo Ingles (Ohio Public Radio)

The Ohio Republican Party has a new leader. Matt Borges, the party’s acting executive director, will take over as Chairman in June. Borges, who was supported by Governor Kasich and Republican leaders, won by a large margin, 48 to 7, over tea party activist Tom Zowistowski. He says there’s a difference in goals between his supporters and party loyalists.

Name calling has already begun in the race for Ohio Governor but it’s not what you think. The Ohio Republican Party has requested documents that Democratic Gubernatorial candidate and Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald has not signed because his name was not spelled correctly. And the Ohio Democratic Party is firing back with a similar request of its own.

It looks like Medicaid expansion won’t likely be part of the proposed two year state budget that will come out of the Ohio Senate.

Governor John Kasich, Business leaders and even Democrats want Medicaid expansion in the Ohio Budget.  But Republican Ohio Senate President Keith Faber says that’s unlikely.

"You need two chambers to move a bill and the house has indicated they simply don’t have the votes to get Medicaid expansion done in the budget," says Faber.  "Therefore I do not believe Medicaid expansion is on the table as it relates to this legislation in the budget."

An estimated two thousand five hundred Ohioans stood out in the pouring rain at the state’s capitol today to do one thing – send a message to lawmakers to expand Medicaid in the state budget.

Democrats, Union leaders, Faith leaders of many different churches and leaders of business groups rally at the Ohio Statehouse….holding signs and chanting to lawmakers inside the building.

Republican Governor John Kasich says he still wants Ohio lawmakers to include Medicaid expansion in the Ohio budget. Yet Kasich says there are limits to what he, as Governor, can do to change the situation. He says it’s time for supporters of the Medicaid expansion plan to make the case for it with Republican lawmakers.

That involves this entire community, says Kasich.  "The provider community, mental health community, they just have to say how important it is to them."