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Some thoughts as we head into August:
With the way politics have been going, it should come as no surprise that the campaigns for governor and senator in Ohio are even.
While there’s some variation, based on who has commissioned any particular poll, it’s pretty obvious that Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton are in a dead heat in the race to replace Gov. Mike DeWine.
It’s the same with the race for U.S. Senate -- Republican Jon Husted, who replaced J.D. Vance in that spot when Vance became vice president, and Democrat Sherrod Brown find themselves in a statistical deadlock as the campaign season gets ready to really heat up.
Both of those races are being closely watched around the country, as the Democrats are looking to make substantial gains, especially in the Senate, where they say Brown must defeat Husted for them to have any chance of gaining control there.
It seems certain that those races will get voters out to the polls. Locally, there is only one contested race on the ballot: Incumbent Republican Eric Timmons is being challenged by Democrat Brent Nemeth for a seat with the Jefferson County commissioners.
There are a lot of days between now and the Nov. 3 election -- fewer between now and the start of early voting in Ohio on Oct. 6 -- and there are a lot of things that can happen.
No matter what, though, it looks like we will be in for an interesting campaign season -- and if you haven’t done it yet, the deadline to register to vote will be Oct. 5.
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It also should not be a shock that different polls will show us that the different candidates hold different standings with the voters -- or that when you add all of the numbers, you will find there to be a statistical tie -- which is a different way of saying the results are within a margin of error, which itself can be problematic based on the sample size.
A case in point -- several of the surveys that were released during July, which was National Ice Cream Month.
When you try to break down their results, you will find that it’s nearly impossible to figure out which ice cream is the favorite choice in each state.
InnerBody Research, for example, crunched its numbers earlier this year and told us that New Jersey is the state that is most enthusiastic about ice cream. Based on Google search data, Innerbody, the San Carlos, Calif.-based site that reminds us that seeking better health should not be so stressful that the pursuit itself feels detrimental to your health, also reports that Arkansas is the least enthusiastic.
Our region falls in the middle, with Pennsylvania being the 17th most enthusiastic state, West Virginia the 25th most enthusiastic and Ohio the 29th must enthusiastic.
Strawberry is the favorite flavor across the country -- and in Ohio. Pumpkin is listed as the favorite in West Virginia, with chocolate chip topping the flavors in Pennsylvania -- and coming in second in the U.S.
No matter which flavor you choose, we do like our ice cream -- the average American eats 4 gallons each year, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. We spend about $22 million on the frozen treat every year, which works out to about $290 per person.
Those numbers are indisputable. Not so, however, when it comes to the best flavor.
In May for instance, Taste of Home listed the most iconic ice cream flavor in every state. In Ohio, it’s peanut butter and chocolate, which, as the report shares, is a tribute to the classic buckeye treat. In West Virginia, the magazine that focuses on home cooks reports, it’s black walnut and in Pennsylvania, it’s teaberry.
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National Hot Dog Month also falls in July, something that makes sense.
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans usually consume about 7 billion hot dogs, which works out to about 818 hot dogs a second. In money, that translates into $1.16 billion dollars, and it represents 38 percent of the total number of hot dogs sold each year.
The council reports that Nielsen Co. data shows that there were 900 million pounds of hot dogs sold in retail stores in 2025, and that adds up to $3 billion in retail sales. There are 20 million pounds of hot dogs sold in Major League Baseball stadiums alone.
When it comes to sausages, the council said there are 1.2 billion pounds of dinner sausages sold each year, which works out to $5.7 billion in sales. There are 4 million pounds of sausage sold in MLB stadiums, with Milwaukee and San Francisco leading the way.
As for breakfast sausage, the council and Nielsen say there are 418 million pounds sold each year, which comes out to $2.1 billion in sales.
The favorite topping for hot dogs? Mustard, which is preferred by 71 percent of respondents. That’s followed by ketchup (52 percent), chopped onions (47 percent), chili (45 percent) and pickle relish (41 percent), the council reports.
When it comes time to make a decision, though, we’re very not sure until the end just what we will choose, no matter what the polls and surveys say, whether we are looking at a politician, a scoop of ice cream or what you want on your hot dog.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is senior writer of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)