Gov. John Kasich’s collective-bargaining reforms may go down to defeat on November 8, but the governor is looking on the bright side. The hullabaloo over Senate Bill 5, the legislation in question, kept attention off the state budget:

“One really good thing that I will tell you is that as a result of a lot of the hubbub around this issue, we were able to pass our budget with a minimal amount of problems, which is fantastic because it is that budget that has set the framework for the state of Ohio to rebuild,” Kasich told reporters following a speech at a Zanesville restaurant.

On the homepage, I talk to Ohio Republicans about how they got to this point. Here’s the lede:

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R.) rallied Republicans in the state legislature to limit collective bargaining by public employees. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie (R.) coaxed a Democrat-led state legislature to increase public employees’ share of their health-care and pension costs. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R.) secured merit pay for public-school teachers.
But in Ohio, a bill containing all these reforms is headed for defeat in a referendum on November 8. According to an October 25 poll by Quinnipiac University, 57 percent of Ohioans oppose the bill, while 32 percent support it. Meanwhile, its most prominent advocate, Gov. John Kasich (R.), is unpopular: Fifty-two percent disapprove of his performance; 36 percent approve.
Why might the Ohio GOP lose this referendum? Buckeye Republicans say they miscalculated.

Read more here.