The views and opinions expressed into the points are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of public media.

Ohio's political landscape is changing, and younger voters may be driving more of that change than many realize.

From affordability and housing to social issues, technology and trust and institution.

What matters most to Ohioans under 40?

Joining us is Jaden Jefferson, reporter for the Toledo Free Press, who has been following the voices, concerns and political attitudes shaping the next generation of voters.

We'll explore where Ohio is headed and whether traditional political labels still fit.

I'm Danny Miller, and this is to the point.

Connect with us on our social media pages.

You know how to do that.

You also know how to email me at Doni Underscore Miller at wgte dot org and for this episode and any others that you might want to see, don't hesitate to go to wgte dot org To the point.

I am excited to have a fellow politician follower with me today.

This is one of my favorite things to talk about is politics, by the way.

So I'm so excited, Jaden, to have you here.

You are a bit of a celebrity in your own right.

Having done this kind of work since you were just a child.

Yes.

So I am very, very excited to have you back into what looks like familiar digs to you, I'm sure.

Yeah.

Thank you for having me.

You are absolutely welcome.

You are now the government and political reporter for the Toledo Free Press.

Yes.

Like it?

Yeah.

It's been a good gig, you know, because I've kind of been on this beat since I was 11.

Like you said.

And now being able to spend more time doing it is a good thing because, you know, for the longest time I tried to cover every story under the sun.

But I think my niche is definitely in politics.

And I think especially now, people need to be informed and not just of what's happening on the federal level, because we hear about that all the time, but also state and local government, which has such a tremendous impact on our lives that maybe people weren't already paying attention to.

So let's start there.

This political season seems different to me.

Yes, it feels different.

People are responding differently to it.

Why do you think that is, regardless of age?

Yeah, I think one of the biggest factors is economic, because I think for the last 20 years, and I know people are familiar with the messaging.

Right.

It's been talking about jobs.

How do we grow the economy.

But when you look at what's happening in the economy, it's being reflected in our politics.

We're going through what is a K shaped economy, which essentially means that high earners, they are doing better and they're making more, while those at the bottom of the K, they're earning less.

Their wages are not keeping up with the rising prices of everything.

And so that frustration is now being funneled into our politics, you know, but we've said this an awful lot.

I mean, actually, you can go back to every single political election.

And what they talk about is that exactly that we are not keeping up with the rising cost of things, that people are not earning more, but still nothing changes.

It feels like the system of political information is broken.

100%?

I think so.

The way I hear people talk about prices and costs, it definitely is reflective of that, because a lot of people will point to a specific time when they believe prices were higher, when in reality, we've had these price fluctuations happen across history a very long time.

Yeah, for a very long time.

I think what makes this situation unique, though, is the fact that we came out of the pandemic, and I don't think a lot of people drew that line between the pandemic and prices because we had a supply shock, which essentially led to everything getting more expensive.

It wasn't one government policy that all of a sudden made everything expensive.

It was the fact that we had barges waiting to be unloaded for a good period of time because we were in a pandemic.

And so that's a big part of this.

But of course, there also is the corporate greed conversation to where there are companies that have, you know, hiked the cost of everything when they didn't necessarily have to have to do that.

Do you think that why do you think we're so off track?

Oh, this is a system that's desi to support the needs of an entire country, to get people into office that get it, you know, and know how to get it done.

But it seems like we're off track.

Or does it seem like we're off track?

I think the argument can be made that we're certainly off track, and I think a big part of this is a lot of the money in politics.

You know, a lot of people are being exposed to messaging that is not truthful, that is not authentic.

And what tends to be the result of that is the kind of political polarization that we're seeing.

You can turn on any local TV channel these days, and you're being bombarded with ads.

And what's different now than throughout history is the fact that these ads aren't actually being paid for, in many cases by campaigns themselves.

It's outside groups that are pouring in money to push these ads into funnel certain messaging that benefits them.

And so I think that's a big part of the reason why our discourse has gotten this bad, because the messaging has gotten more blatant.

It's very much, you know, provocative.

And that's what we're dealing with right now.

Yeah.

It also seems, from at least my perspective, that we are learning less about the candidates through the ads 100%.

Yeah, these ads are certainly riding on anger.

If you look at a lot of political messaging, there was a time when ads maybe tried to sell a vision of hope or positivity.

Now it's selling.

Look at all these things that you should be scared of.

I'm going to be the person to take them on.

And that is obviously convenient political messaging because it doesn't require the candidate to offer solutions.

You know, if you are just acknowledging people's pain and not offering a solution, you know, you're just kind of running on the emotions of the moment.

And so that's kind of what we've been seeing a lot of.

One of the other things that is pretty apparent, or it seems it seems present anyway, is the withdrawal of a large number of folks under the age of 40 from the process.

If you think that is, I think there is a lot of reason for the apathy.

You know, I think a lot of communities like Toledo, for instance, that have been promised things repeatedly throughout history and have not had those promises fulfilled.

People here have reasons to not participate in the democratic process, but at the same time, I would encourage people to use that as reason to participate in the democratic process.

What are you hearing from your peers, though?

They are very much disaffected.

You know, young people are tremendously frustrated.

And I think a couple big reasons are one, they don't exactly feel like anyone's listening.

And part of that is because they don't really have to appeal to people my age.

You know, we are a very small voting bloc, and I think in Ohio, only 23% of 18 year olds are registered to vote.

And so no person running for public office thinks that they have to talk to us.

The math shows that.

But the other thing is that a lo young people, they have thought that there would be change.

They felt periods of progress.

And then that progress has kind of been walked back.

And so I think young people are just feeling like they're not being paid attention to.

And then when their issues are to some extent, being addressed, that progress is erased only a couple of years later.

And so you can combine those factors and kind of see why there's frustration.

But I think another third thing here is the economy, too, because young people who are graduating from college, they're frustrated about the fact they can't find jobs.

They're deeply concerned about what AI will do to the job market.

And so young people have a lot that they're going through right now.

Aren't the issues, though, that are affecting everyone else also affecting folks who are under 40, for sure.

I think that this election is definitely a cost of living election, similar to how 2024 was a cost of living election.

These issues persist because in 2024, the entire conversation is, how are we going to bring down prices?

And we're still having that conversation now and then you throw in the Iran war and now gas has gone up.

And so it's like you have a culmination of all these different factors that make it very much a cost of living election.

And of course, housing affordability is another part of that conversation.

Obviously, Northwest Ohio to some extent is cheaper than other parts of the country, for sure, but certainly even here, rents are still going up.

And so wherever you are in this country, you're feeling it.

Yeah.

From, from your point of view as someone under 40 is the division.

Do you feel a division in the country.

And how does that impact your age group.

Yeah I think it definitely exists.

And I think what makes this division unique is that it isn't strictly political.

It's also a values kind of division.

It's also a moral division.

And I think we're at this reckoning point where people in the country are trying to decide where they fall along the spectrum, not politically, but in terms of what they value.

And that's certainly goes to a lot of the cultural debates that we're having as a country right now.

And that's why I think it's so potent.

And that's why we're all feeling it, because it's not like a 2008 Romney Obama division.

This is more of a what kind of people do you value kind of conversation.

And that adds a lot of emotion to the conversation.

What do you think the what do you think the response is when that question is asked, what kind of people do you value?

Yeah, it can vary, you know, because I think a lot of Americans, regardless of how they identify politically, they will tell you that they would like to see money, resources allocated to, you know, solving problems that exist here in the country.

But of course, there are some people who have a more external view of the world where they view the United States as a small part of a larger global community.

And so it's kind of this spectrum of, do we want to put all of our attention on just issues domestically, or do we want to expand the aperture to talk about issues internationally, and that division even exists within parties?

If you look at the Republican Party, for example, right now, Donald Trump campaigned heavily on being an isolationist, on focusing on just the United States.

But there are people in the Republican Party who harken back to the Reagan era where they're saying that wasn't our role in the 80s, so why are we kind of diminishing it a bit?

And so these tensions have existed for a while now.

Well, and the impact of being an isolationist country is something that we feel throughout, throughout the society.

Yeah, it's a huge thing.

And I think even when you look at support for Israel, support for Ukraine and people, they can be very their opinions can vary on this because there are some people who are complete isolationists.

They don't want the US involved in any foreign entanglements.

Absolutely.

But then there are some people who say, I'm maybe not supportive of Israel, but I would like money to be sent to support Ukraine.

And so people can have very nuanced takes on this.

But at the end of all of this, I think the commonality is that we appear to be a country that is going in different directions.

Yeah, yeah, these diverging interests.

It's really hard to run a country that way when one half of the country wants to be involved and the other doesn't.

And I think you're also seeing that, of course, with the war in Iran right now, where a lot of people feel like this is a rock all over again.

And certainly when I look at the politics of the situation, it appears that way.

Because if you recall the midterm election after Iraq, it wasn't very good for the Bush administration.

There was a lot of concern about how the U.S.

was going to get out, why the US went in in the first place, and you're kind of seeing those similar questions being raised right now.

Yeah, absolutely.

You see those questions raised right now.

How do you think.

And we're going to go to break in just a minute.

So but I do want to I do want to try and get this in.

We have about a minute left in this segment.

What do you think.

Why do you think.

Let's start with the Democratic Party clearly missing it.

Clearly missing the point here.

Democratic socialism.

Democrats.

No one quite knows what it means to be a Democrat anymore.

Why do you think that's happened?

Yeah, I think a lot of younger people, and I think it's important to keep this conversation on younger people, because I think they play a big role in this.

Younger people aren't settling anymore.

If you look back at 2018, a lot of young people voted for Democratic candidates simply to be a check on president.

But now the conversation is more so about money in politics.

And if you look at the Michigan U.S.

Senate primary there, that was a huge issue.

And so I think candidates, a lot of younger people are looking at candidates with their other interests are they're not just looking at that one issue.

I want to I want to get back to that.

When we come back, we're going to go away for just a second.

But you'll stay with me, won't you?

I will, thank you so much.

We will be back in just a moment.

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We have Jaden Jefferson with us, the amazing Jaden Jefferson with us, who is now the government and political reporter for the Toledo Free Press.

We're talking about all things politics around the town and town and around the country right now.

Thank you for taking this time.

There's so much to talk about in this whole idea of how folks under 40 are influencing the political landscape is fascinating, but I'd like you now to shift with me, if you would, to some of the races that we would consider, consider local races.

I am particularly fascinated by what's going on with Sherrod Brown.

We know it's a statewide race, but we absolutely look at it as being very personal locally, very, very, very interested in what's going on with him.

He has been he had that seat for more than 30 years, 32 years.

I want to say, yeah, he's been in Congress for a combined 30 or so years and so years.

He served three terms in the Senate and but fall from grace was was loud and clear.

Was he getting a message or was that something else going on there?

I definitely think it was an environmental factor, because if you look at 2024 and I know some people don't like to look back at 2024 for a variety of reasons.

But certainly when you look back at the political environment, it was a red year.

And the last time that Sheard Brown was elected to the Senate was 2018.

It was a bluer year.

And so what you saw was a lot of Trump voters that were also voting for, shared Brown's opponent.

And so the makeup of the electorate was significantly different.

And then the other thing is that President Trump carried Ohio by 11 points, whereas Sherrod Brown only lost by about 3.6 points.

So there's that big gap where there were some Trump voters who actually did vote for Sherrod Brown.

But given just the sheer volume of Trump voters in 2024, it was enough to really it was enough to unseat him.

And you had Senator Bernie Moreno elected.

And so the environment has a huge impact.

Absolutely.

So let me take you back to the Obama election.

Where are those people who.

The big question.

Yeah, it's my question.

It's my question all the time.

Where did they go and what made them move?

Thoughts on that?

It's politically fascinating because it happened in so many states.

He was one of them where it kind came out of nowhere.

And that's what a lot of pundits will say.

But there were underlying factors that I think.

So it goes back to the economy, economy, a lot of disaffected people.

And I think that that's a big part of it, because you go back to the 2016 messaging, just as he did in 2020 and 24, Donald Trump leaned into the economic hardships of people.

And obviously policy can diverge from that in many cases.

But that's what he leaned into.

So but let me ask you this as an electorate, are we being unrealistic in expecting these people who are bound by the regulations of a larger system in terms of what they can do, except I do I do want to talk about the ability of the president to walk outside of that system, but being bound by a larger system.

Are we being unrealistic and expecting?

Are we expecting miracles in terms of change?

You could say that.

I mean, because if you look at a lot of other high income countries, the United States is by far not the only high income nation in the world, although we like to think we are.

There are many, many of them, and they all are seeing similar things that their manufacturing base has essentially disappeared or been smaller in recent years.

And that's just a result of what has happened in the economy.

And free trade is a big part of that, certainly.

But we have seen this pattern play out not just in the US, but in other countries as well.

And so it's kind of like expecting one person to stop a bullet train.

It's something that we are already a part of.

We are now part of this global system.

And I think it's more so about how do we manage a lot of the jobs that have been lost, rather than trying to bring them back.

Now there are success stories, for sure, but I think that it's going to take a lot to get us back to the World War Two booming economy.

It would probably take a war, yes, or something quite similar to that.

And what what is our obligation to educate ourselves to do a better job of educating ourselves and making sure that we are sending people into office who are who reflect the things that we think are important?

Yeah, I think it's going to take us looking at policy, and I know people do not like to look at policy.

It's work.

Yeah, it takes work.

You have to kind of do your homework because a lot of candidates have proposals about manufacturing and about how they want to bring in economic prosperity.

And it does take doing your homework to see how these policies have performed before.

Because the good thing is we have seen what has happened when some of these policies have been implemented.

And so we do kind of have a framework to look off of and kind of see, should we try this again?

Should we try something different?

A lot of things that we have done to address manufacturing have been tried before.

And so we can look at the past results and kind of make an informed decision based on those.

So given that and given the idea that that at least you are suggesting that as a country, we need to be more forward thinking in the way we address things.

Do long term ers like Sherrod and like Marcy, do they have an opportunity in this next term?

Should they win or should they?

Should we be looking for different voices?

Yeah, I definitely think it's going to be decided by the voters regardless.

But at the end of the day, yeah, I mean it's going to be hard, especially when the conversation of AI begins to arise, because Congress thus far has not passed any legislation, any sweeping legislation on AI.

And when you look at the makeup of Congress, it's hard to see how that could happen, because we're talking about a lot of people that don't necessarily have skin in the long term effects of AI, artificial intelligence, that well, the biggest thing is that younger people will see the biggest impact from artificial intelligence integration into the workforce.

And so I don't know if it's going to be very easy for older generations to put themselves in the shoes of younger people and make informed policy based on what the potential impacts could be, such as unemployment or the environmental harms as well.

Everybody's sort of learning about AI at the same time.

Yeah.

It's overwhelming.

It is overwhelming.

And it it's a little disheartening to think that someone who's over 50 wouldn't be able to make a decision, at least from your perspective, on the long term impact of AI.

Are you hearing that from other folks that are for sure.

And there are some Congress people who are being exposed to this very recently.

One congressman who recently did an interview said he didn't find out about ChatGPT until a week before that interview.

You know, and so it is definitely something that can be disheartening.

It doesn't exactly provide confidence that things are going to progress in a way that we're making informed decisions, taking things slow.

We really don't have the information to work off of, and that makes it extra difficult.

Yeah.

Let me let me ask you a question about the cafe race.

We see Congresswoman Kaptur out there, lots of commercials going on.

You don't see her opponent at the same level that you are seeing her.

There seems to be an underlying strategy to that.

Certainly, it's not an issue of money.

In his campaign, he was heavily supported in his first run.

The presumption is he is heavily supported this time as well.

What do you think the strategy is there?

Yeah, I think the strategy began back in 25, and that was when Ohio redrew its congressional maps.

And just to kind of provide some context on this, a lot of states did that in 2025, and they mainly did it because they were a part of this nationwide redistricting fight that the president encouraged.

It began in Texas.

California responded, and some other states jumped in.

The reason Ohio redistricted in 2025 was not for that reason, but rather because the maps that we had previously approved did not have bipartisan support.

And so when a map was passed without bipartisan support, we redraw every five years rather than every ten years.

And so what happened back in 25 was that captors district, which was already pretty strong.

Republican lean got even redder.

And so I think part of the calculation is that Republicans in Washington are kind of looking at this race and thinking the districts even redder than it was last time, and we only lost it by 2300 votes in 24.

That seems a sort of risk.

That seems to be a little bit risky.

It is a bit risky because it's counting on the voters that were there in 2024, being here in 2026 and having the same sentiments as they did in 2024, voters can change a lot.

I mean, looking at Ohio, the fact that we're even having a conversation about this race being competitive is an exemplary of that.

It shows that Ohioans, they can change radically in a short period of time, period of time, or any voters, to be honest.

Right.

It also, one of the things that voters are prone to do is vote by name recognition.

Correct.

Which would lend you to a strategy that says, I need to say my name a lot.

Yeah.

And we're not seeing that for sure.

And even looking back at the Republican primary in this race, there were a lot of different Republicans who threw their name into the ring here because they saw Opportunity and Derrick Marion emerged the strongest candidate in that race.

And I think part of that is that voters look back at 24 Republican voters, and they said he did pretty well against Marcy.

Maybe we can do it this time.

And I think that that's what they're looking at right now is he's already got some name recognition from 24 race.

And they're hoping that that carries over into this year.

Let me ask you, in the few minutes that we have left your perception or what you're hearing about local, local government, local, city, city council.

What do you hear.

So you're going on.

It's a lot going on.

I mean, it's it's a big bad done pack.

But certainly one of the biggest issues recently has been flock cameras.

For instance, the city of Toledo has a contract with flock for those cameras, these automatic license plate readers.

But the bigger question has been about the privacy.

There's a lot of concern about this becoming a way for law enforcement to essentially go past the Constitution, and we've seen that happen, right?

We've seen that happen.

And so bypassing the Constitution has kind of come up as a big part of this conversation, but also many different cases of law enforcement abusing this technology for improper purposes.

There have been cases where officers have used it to spy on XZ of theirs, or to spy on other people.

That's what we've seen.

Yeah, yeah.

And so that's a huge concern.

And while the Toledo Police Department and other law enforcement agencies will make the argument that it solves more crime and it does more good than it does harm, a lot of people have significant reasons to be weary of implementing this further.

Absolutely.

In this last minute, do you think what do you think the most important thing City Council can focus is?

What can City Council focus on that will have the most impact?

Well, one of the biggest things is going to be our budget, because we have to do this process annually.

And one of the biggest challenges facing the city of Toledo right now is that we're not taking in revenue enough revenue to cover our budget.

And so it becomes a problem when you're running a deficit year after year, because our rainy day fund, while it is strong, it's not going to be everything we need.

You know, we're going to have to have population growth.

We're going to have to expand our tax base.

And certainly this is a conversation that's going to have to be had in coordination with the state of Ohio.

And so until those two are on the same path, I don't know if this is going to be an area of success for us.

I agree with you.

We have about five seconds left.

Tell your peers to vote.

Tell them how important please vote.

Please vote.

I will cry if you don't vote.

It is.

It impacts so many things that we didn't have.

If you don't vote, we don't want to do that.

And there are so many things that not voting impacts that we just don't have the time to talk about today.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We really appreciate that you spent this time with us, and we will see you next time.

On to the point.

Enjoy the day.

The views and opinions expressed into the points are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of public media.

To the point is supported in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.