Only weeks remain until the general election on November 4, and Ohioans will be choosing candidates for several high-profile positions this fall. Neither Sherrod Brown nor Rob Portman are up for re-election to U.S. Senate, but all 16 U.S. Congressional seats will be voted on, and the gubernatorial race will likely have an impact on how Ohio votes in the 2016 presidential election.

Republicans currently have the advantage on Ohio’s seats in the U.S. House, 12-4, but most seats will have a Republican-vs-Democrat matchup (Bob Gibbs is currently unopposed in the 7th district). All 16 incumbent representatives will be seeking re-election, including current Speaker John Boehner, and Marcy Kaptur, the most senior woman in the House. It will be interesting to see if the GOP can hold onto their seats and keep the majority of the U.S. House.

Ohioans will also decide a gubernatorial election, between Republican incumbent John Kasich and Democrat Ed FitzGerald. I wrote about the two candidates last May, after FitzGerald had won the Democratic primary. One poll’s latest projection shows Kasich with a healthy lead, and the last incumbent Ohio Governor to lose a re-election race was John J. Gilligan in 1974. Will Kasich win a second term, and influence Ohio when the state votes for a new President in two years?

Early voting started last week after a ruling to honor the original date, instead of beginning in September. Current figures show it could be a big year for Ohio Republicans, who hold five of the state’s top individual leadership positions (Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Auditor). Will the Democrats be able to spring a lot of surprises over the next three weeks? Leave a comment on who you think will win the races below!

Thursday’s historic vote saw Scottish citizens elect to remain a part of the United Kingdom, by a 55%-45% margin. Over three million votes were cast in this election, which would’ve seen Scotland become an independent nation had the majority gone to YES votes. CNN provides a quick timeline of how the day went http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/world/2014/09/19/orig-scotland-vote-salmond-cameron.cnn“>here.

On Friday, Alex Salmond announced he will step down from his two positions as first minister of Scotland, and as leader of the Scottish National Party. Salmond had been first minister since May 2007, and will remain in office until November.

“Many nations welcome verdict” is the BBC’s headline of choice when reporting on how other countries are reacting to Thursday’s result, but this vote does raise questions about other territories seeking independence.

Will the Alaskan Independence Party – a political organization that advocates, among other things, a possible vote to leave the United States – draw inspiration from Scotland’s YES campaign?

What about Székelyföld, a territory located entirely within Romania but with many people from that region claiming Hungarian heritage? There were questions about whether the Székelys would seek autonomy after Kosovo became independent; will those inquiries return in light of the events in Scotland?

We’ll have to wait and see how other territories around the world react to this historic referendum. Is there a region you think is likely to become independent soon? Share below!

By now, you’ve likely heard the news that Robin Williams died Monday. Reports in the last few hours indicate that the 63-year-old hanged himself. The news spread so quickly last night that this was what I encountered when I looked his name up on Wikipedia around 7:30 pm:

The first movie featuring Robin Williams that I saw was Aladdin, when he lent his voice talents to the role of the Genie. Williams also voiced the Merchant from the film’s opening scene, but this clip where Aladdin meets the Genie (uploaded to YouTube by waltdisney406) is one of my favorite character entrances:

In live-action films, Williams had that unique gift to make his character funny, yet at the same time relate to ordinary humans. Some roles where I’ll remember his extraordinary abilities include Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning, Vietnam; Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting (for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), and the titular character in Patch Adams. Other roles I enjoyed were Alan Parrish in Jumanji, Tom Dobbs in Man of the Year, and his brief appearance as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in The Butler. I must admit (at the time I’m writing this) I haven’t seen Dead Poets Society or Mrs. Doubtfire, but I certainly plan to soon.

What I’ll remember the most is the way Williams delivered his humor. The way he impersonated Rodney Dangerfield and Jack Nicholson (among others) in Aladdin, or how he made Adrian Cronauer a hilarious radio DJ in Good Morning, Vietnam. His humor never failed to make me, and many others, laugh.

Rest in peace, Robin Williams. You will definitely be missed.

James Brady, the former White House Press Secretary who served under President Ronald Reagan, died Monday at the age of 73. Brady was seriously injured after being shot in the attempted assassination of President Reagan in March 1981. While Reagan himself was shot at the Washington Hilton, the President recovered quickly; Brady, however, was left paralyzed and brain damaged.

In his book We Interrupt This Broadcast, author Joe Garner discusses the networks reporting at one point during the assassination attempt that Brady had died in the shooting. Brady did survive the attack, and would campaign with his wife Sarah for stricter handgun regulations. In 1993, President Clinton signed into law the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which called for mandatory background checks on potential gun buyers. This video, uploaded to YouTube by BradyCampaign, shows part of the bill-signing ceremony.

Brady would keep his position as Press Secretary throughout Reagan’s two terms, but deputies Larry Speakes and Marlin Fitzwater would take over media-briefing responsibilities. The would-be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr., pled not guilty for reason of insanity; he was sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, although recently he was given permission to leave for extended periods. Reagan served as President until 1989, and passed away in 2004 following complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

If you want to share your thoughts on the Brady Law, or if you remember seeing the assassination attempt covered as it happened, feel free to post a comment!

UPDATE (August 8): A Virginia medical examiner has ruled Brady’s death as a homicide. The Associated Press was first to report.

10 years ago today, Ken Jennings, a then-30-year-old software engineer from Salt Lake City (he currently lives in Seattle), appeared on Jeopardy! for the first time. Jennings would go on to win 74 shows, and it all started when he correctly answered this Final Jeopardy question…

Category: The 2000 Olympics

Clue: She’s the first female Track & Field athlete to win medals in five different events at a single Olympics.

Do you know the answer? Click here to see if the other contestants that night did!

Last night, Ed FitzGerald defeated Larry Ealy in the Democratic primary for Governor of Ohio, and he’ll face John Kasich in the November general election. Here’s a quick look at the two candidates…

Democratic: Ed FitzGerald

FitzGerald is currently the County Executive for Cuyahoga County, a position he has held since 2011. He is the first County Executive after voters chose to adopt a new county government. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Lakewood, one of Cleveland’s western suburbs. He has received endorsements in the last year from former Governor Ted Strickland, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, and the Ohio State Council of Machinists. He would be Ohio’s 24th Democratic Governor.

Republican: John Kasich

Kasich was elected Governor in 2010, defeating incumbent Ted Strickland, after serving in the U.S. House from 1983-2001. In between his jobs in government, he was a commentator & investment banker, most notably as a Fox News television host. One of Kasich’s main themes in his first term has been job creation, and according to this graph from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ohio’s unemployment rate has dropped 4 percentage points since mid-2009. While in Congress, Kasich was best known for sponsoring the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. He is Ohio’s 30th Republican Governor, the 69th overall, and the 22nd to have also served in the U.S. House.

A lot will happen between now and November 4th. With Ohio’s history in presidential elections, the winner will almost certainly have a significant impact on the 2016 race. With Ohioans eager to learn more about the two candidates in the coming months, this election will be fun to watch.

Welcome to Matt Digby’s World. Here’s a little info about me…

I was born and raised in Ohio, and I’m a broadcast journalist currently working as a freelance sports commentator. I am a lifelong sports fan, so most of what you read here will be sports-related, but I’ll also post about the latest news of the day as well. I always enjoy a good conversation or debate, so if you have a comment or question, feel free to post a response. Hope you enjoy reading this blog!