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Host Radell Lewis sits down with two Ohio libertarian write-in candidates ahead of the May 5, 2026 primary in a double feature episode of Purple Political Breakdown. First up, Jason Stoops, an auto mechanic from Wilmington running in OH-1, who shares how he was politically retaliated against by his local administration, why he believes cash-pay healthcare beats the insurance bureaucracy, and how the FirstEnergy scandal exposed the rot in Ohio's GOP machine. Then drunk uncle Mike Veloff joins from Galion to talk about his OH-5 campaign against eighteen-year incumbent Bob Latta, his focus on bail reform and ending the prison industrial pipeline, and why Mike DeWine's reversal of voter-approved cannabis policy proves the duopoly ignores the people. Both candidates dig into the non-aggression principle, gerrymandering, the collapse of civics education in Ohio schools, the Epstein files vote, the Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton governor's race, and what it means to give a middle finger to the political establishment. Whether you're a disenfranchised conservative, a frustrated independent, or just an Ohio voter who wants real accountability, this is a conversation about what the third party option actually looks like in the 2026 midterms.
Keywords woven throughout: Ohio midterm elections 2026, libertarian candidates, OH-1, OH-5, Bob Latta, Jason Stoops, Mike Beloff, FirstEnergy corruption, bail reform, non-aggression principle, Mike DeWine cannabis, gerrymandering, Epstein files, single-payer Medicaid, third party candidates, Purple Political Breakdown, Radell Lewis.
Author
Mike Oppenheim has been interested in entertainment since he was a child, but became serious in 1999 when he began his career in music.
In 2006, he started his weekly essay series, The Casual Casuist, which is sometimes featured in newspapers across the USA, and is a top 25 in philosophy on Substack.
In 2011, he earned an MFA from Mills College in Fiction with his first novel, Dysfunction. He soon published Baby Doll: The Book, followed by Too True to be Good in 2017, and The Apology in 2021, and his fifth novel, Ardor, will hit bookshelves in 2022.
In 2020, Mike began an episodic TV show, Books Out Loud and a year later began his podcast, Coffin Talk, a weekly show that explores “The Meaning of Death.” Mike also hosts monthly interviews with experts on Casual Conversations.
Mike also indexes books, eats avocados, runs writing workshops, and loves his family.
Candidate for US House OH-1
Jason Stoops is a lifelong Wilmington resident, downtown property owner, and community advocate running for U.S. House in Ohio’s 1st District. An outsider to politics, he believes government should serve the people, not protect insiders.
Guided by Libertarian principles of individual freedom, limited government, and personal responsibility, Jason is focused on restoring accountability, enforcing laws fairly, cutting wasteful spending, and protecting constitutional rights.
He is not a career politician, he is a neighbor and investor who understands the real impact of government decisions and is running to challenge the status quo with transparency and fairness.