It’s easy to be distraught by the national-level Republican Party. But look to the states, and you will find Republicans making positive reforms from sea to shining sea.

I wrote in the last print issue of NR about the ongoing state tax-cut revolution. Every state with a unified Republican government that has an income tax, except Alabama, has passed a rate cut in the past two years. Five states — Iowa, Mississippi, Georgia, Arizona, and Idaho — have passed laws to implement a flat tax, and several more have reduced their tax complexity by reducing the number of brackets. Republican governors in Iowa, Mississippi, and North Dakota have talked about joining the soon-to-be eight states (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, and in 2027, New Hampshire) that don’t tax individual income at all.

The budget that Ohio Republicans recently passed is yet another example of good policy from the states. Here are some of the best reforms it included, from a summary by the Columbus Dispatch:

There are some stinkers in there, too, such as a tax credit for film production (which is a single-industry handout that analysis has repeatedly shown doesn’t deliver the benefits it promises) and a sales-tax holiday (which is a gimmick that doesn’t make any difference in economic performance). The budget also failed to include some restrictions on university DEI initiatives that would have been a welcome reform.

All in all, though, this budget is what conservatives should want from state government. Ohio is joining Florida as a populous, former swing state with effective Republican governance that is putting conservative ideas into practice. Don’t let the federal government get you down.