COLUMBUS, Ohio — Attorney General Dave Yost isn't worried about his competition in the race to become Ohio's governor. We sat down for a one-on-one interview to learn why — and how he plans to lead the state.
"My job is to make my case to the people of Ohio — and that's what I intend to do," Yost told me Monday.
It’s not the typical kind of court case the Republican from Central Ohio is used to working on. It’s his bid to become Ohio’s next leader.
"I believe it's my duty to walk this path," he added.
I sat down with Yost to hear about his campaign, why voters should choose him and his vision and goals for the Buckeye State.
"I intend to shift away from a problem-based approach to public policy to a goal-based approach... I intend to break that mold and to talk about where I think Ohio can and should go," he said.
"Where is that?" I asked.
"I think that I'd like to see a growing population that is on average younger... But economic dynamism and our workforce and family growth, all of that stuff, it happens with young people and government has a series of choices that they can make that will help or hinder that," he said, noting that he also cares about older individuals in the state.
He touts his decades of experience as AG, state auditor, Delaware County auditor and county prosecutor.
"I'm a guy that's actually done the work," he said.
What would an Ohio look like under Yost?
We went through the major issues.
When it comes to marijuana, Yost, unlike Gov. Mike DeWine, isn't too unfamiliar. He said he would follow the will of the voters.
"I went to college at Ohio State at a time that — it won't surprise anybody, probably — that I did and I inhaled," he said, seemingly referencing former President Bill Clinton's famous line denying he got high because he "didn't inhale." "But I was not for the referendum; Once again, it's the law of the land and so we need to do the best possible job regulating and having a safe, fair marketplace that's as healthy as it can be."
When it comes to abortion and access to reproductive healthcare, he had a similar argument.
"The will of the voters is the will of the voters and it's enshrined in the highest law of our state right now," Yost continued. "I think they made an error in that choice, but my oath of office requires me to honor that and so I will, I have."
"But you are fighting against the 6-week ban [repeal] in court right now," I responded.
"I predicted this would happen at the beginning of the campaign for Issue 1 and its constitutional amendment," he responded. There are things that are other than the heartbeat bill that are around the periphery of this. It's not clear how or if they're impacted and so that's working its way through the courts."
On the topic of reproductive rights, one of Yost's largest public controversies includes his denying the existence of a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio who needed to go out of state to get an abortion. This was promptly fact-checked by the Columbus Police Department, who arrested the alleged perpetrator.
RELATED: Man arrested for raping 10-year-old girl from Ohio who went to Indiana for abortion
I asked if he regretted the statements he made.
"Those comments were made very early in the investigation and they were true as far as that goes," Yost said, defending himself. "The subsequent events showed that this did occur and it was terrible tragedy."
I also asked if he was worried about his opponents using that case against him, as it sparked anger across the aisle.
"I've been in politics [long enough] to know that if my opponents don't use what I actually did against me, they'll make things up," he said. "So that's just part of the political milieu I'm afraid."
He aligns with the GOP leaders who want to cut public school funding and prioritize sending state dollars to private schools.
"I don't like the idea of funding schools," he said. "I like the idea of funding students."
He supports the will of the voter on redistricting reform. When it comes to raising the sports betting tax to help fund professional sports teams' renovation projects, like the Browns, he would rather leave regular taxpayers out of it.
"If the state is going to offer public money for private enterprises, like sports franchises, it makes sense that the general public wouldn't be taxed for that — that that would be some kind of a voluntary user tax."
He has realistic goals for Ohio because he said he knows the state — unlike his opponent, he added.
Primary
He faces off against Heather Hill, a former school board president in Morgan County who agreed to do an interview with me Thursday, but strategists consider his major opponent to be Ohio businessman and President Donald Trump-ally Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy officially announced his bid for Ohio governor Monday evening during a rally in Cincinnati.
RELATED: Vivek Ramaswamy announces bid for Ohio governor
Read more about Ramaswamy's views by clicking or tapping here.
"Now, to the extent that we have a primary this year, I embrace that — I welcome it because competition breeds innovation," the 39-year-old said during the rally. "I'll be conservative without being combative in this race, though, I will fight to win when necessary."
Claws were out with Yost, though.
"The difference is I've been there and I've done it," Yost said. "I have a proven track record — he's got a couple of books and some speeches."
After our interview and Ramaswamy's announcement, Yost issued the following statement:
"I welcome Mr. Ramaswamy to the race for however long he sticks around," Yost said. "We'll see if he actually stays in — Mr. Ramaswamy quit on President Trump and DOGE on day one, he quit on Ohio and moved his company to Texas, and he quit his presidential campaign after a devastating fourth-place finish in Iowa."
There is also a possibility that DeWine lined up current lieutenant governor Jim Tressel, the former OSU football coach, to be his successor.
RELATED: Tressel punts question on future gubernatorial run, instead talks OSU scandal, abortion, marijuana
I asked Yost if he was worried about Tressel since Ohioans know — and love — him. He said that they have been friends for years and that competition makes candidates better.
He was not worried, at all, about Democratic candidate Amy Acton.
When it comes to Ramaswamy, though, Yost does face a unique challenge. The businessman is a multi-millionaire and can fund his campaign himself.
"How do you compete with that?" I asked Yost.
"Well, it's not a matter of having the most money, it's a matter of having enough money," he responded, referencing how state Sen. Matt Dolan had significantly more money than his competitors for the U.S. Senate race in 2024 but got second.
The Trump endorsement is also essential at this point in Ohio politics. Yost said he has had communications with his team but that the only candidate in the race to get an endorsement from the president so far is himself.
Already, Ramaswamy has received two statewide official endorsements: Sec. of State Frank LaRose and Treasurer Robert Sprague.
"What does that say about your relationship with them?" I asked Yost.
"Well, you'll have to ask them," he said. "I represent them in court and win cases — particularly for Frank LaRose who gets sued all the time — but at the end of the day, it probably says more about their part in the machine in Columbus than it does about me."
He considers himself an outsider, not getting along with sometimes combative former Gov. John Kasich and having differences with much more moderate DeWine.
"I'm an outsider to Columbus and the insiders don't like it very much," he said. "But I care about what the people think and I think that's why they gave me more votes than any attorney general has ever received in the 2022 election."
Still, Yost isn't deterred.
"When we talk about government efficiency, that's a promise kept," he said. "I found $260 million in efficiency savings. I was DOGE before DOGE was cool and we didn't have to have any lawsuits over it."
He also brought up his goal of rooting out public corruption, resulting in 170 criminal convictions. Integrity is important to him, he said.
"What are you looking for in a lieutenant governor?" I asked him.
"Well, I've heard your name floated, but I don't think we're politically aligned," he joked, to which I responded that I am a nonpartisan journalist and playfully asked him to not deflect the question.
"Somebody that could take over if something happened to me somebody who cares about Ohio and the people of Ohio... I'm talking about the people who can't get a phone call returned that lack the resources to be able to navigate the system, who need the government to make sure that everybody plays by the same rules — that's all the rule of law means: same rules for everybody."
Any final thoughts?
"I would say if you are in Ohio and you look at Ron DeSantis in Florida or Greg Abbott in Texas and you wish that Ohio had bold leadership like that, Dave Yost is your candidate," he smiled.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
