On Monday, Ironton was host to its first statewide candidate of the 2022 election, with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, visiting the city and making stops at several downtown businesses.

We are glad she took the time to visit Lawrence County and, as we pointed out recently, Gov. Mike DeWine, who she seeks to face off against in the general election has made a number of visits to the area, both as governor and as a candidate.

Some of the candidates who will appear on next year’s ballot will not be unfamiliar to those in the area, with Republican U.S. Senate candidates J.D. Vance, Mike Gibbons and Jane Timken all having visited the area at some point in recent years, while incumbent Ohio Auditor Keith Faber and Treasurer Robert Sprague have also both campaigned in Ironton.

We hope that all who are running for statewide and federal office do not neglect southern Ohio, which can sometimes feel forgotten, both due to its lower population and its voting patterns not making it a swing area and campaign priority.

But there are issues here and concerns from voters that anyone serving Ohio needs to address.

We are thankful Whaley took the time to talk to local media outlets while she was here, as, by doing so, she is making herself available to all of you reading this as well.

Throughout the next year, do not hesitate to contact us if there is an issue you would like us to raise as candidates appear in the county and we will do our best to have them addressed.

And this also goes for the off-year races coming up locally in November.

Speaking of these, we recently sent questionnaires to all candidates running for trustee, councils and school boards in our county. Beginning this Saturday, we will publishing the results of those, starting with the trustee races, with the others following in successive weeks.

So be sure to look for those.