At a Time When Too Many Ohioans Are Struggling to Make Ends Meet, Ohio Democrats Argue Voters Can’t Afford Four More Years of Mike DeWine
This month, Ohio Democrats traveled across the state to highlight the high costs Ohioans are paying for GOP corruption under Mike DeWine’s leadership. At a time when Ohio families are worried about their ability to make ends meet, the last thing they should be spending their hard-earned money on is the corruption running rampant at Mike DeWine’s statehouse. Ohio Democrats are ready to offer a better way forward: investing in Ohio workers.
“At a time when too many Ohioans are worried about high costs and making ends meet, Mike DeWine and his fellow Republicans are making you pay the price for their corruption while Democrats are laser-focused on investing in working families. We can’t afford four more years of Mike DeWine and his Republican buddies running state government,” said Chair Walters.
Speakers at stops included: Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chair Elizabeth Walters, Ohio Attorney General candidate Jeff Crossman, Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington, Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark, Ohio Treasurer candidate Scott Schertzer, Lucas Co. Commissioner Pete Gerken, Ohio House candidate Eric Price, Hamilton Co. Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh, Muskingum Co. Commissioner candidate John Furek, Representative Juanita Brent, Lakewood City Council President Dan O’Malley, Ohio Young Democrats President Chris Anderson and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Ohio Democrats drew the contrast between the high cost of Republican corruption and the Democratic plan to invest in working families and put the interests of working Ohioans first.
Read more media coverage from Ohio Democrats’ Cost of Corruption Tour below:
WNWO-TV Toledo: Ohio Dems Discuss ‘Cost of Corruption’
“The Ohio Democratic Party is highlighting what it calls Republican corruption under Governor DeWine’s leadership. Party members are traveling around the state for their ‘Cost of Corruption,’ tour as they call it.”
“Party Chair Elizabeth Walters claims billions of state tax dollars are being spent on things like special interest tax giveaways and tax breaks for wealthy lawmakers. She’s also criticizing the continued battle over congressional district maps.”
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“‘The notion that elected officials should choose their voter rather than voters choosing their elected officials is just beyond the pale. Ohio Republicans just want to control Ohio voters. They don’t want to have fair elections. They don’t want to talk about their ideas, about their vision for helping working families in Ohio,’ said Walters.”
Hometown Stations Lima: Ohio Democrats bring “Cost of Corruption” Tour to Lima
“The Ohio Democratic Party is crossing the state with what they are calling the ‘Cost of Corruption’ Tour. They say it needs to stop and hardworking Ohioans shouldn’t be paying billions for the alleged Republican corruption from the largest public corruption scandal in state history to tax breaks for the wealthy.”
WKEF Dayton: Ohio Democrats bring ‘Cost of Corruption’ tour to Dayton
‘“Really, what we’re doing is putting forward a slate of candidates who are here to fight for working families, who are here to put the needs of everyday Ohioans first and make sure that we’re fighting for things that families need,’ Walters said.”
WFMJ Youngstown: Ohio Democrats Bring ‘Cost of Corruption’ Tour to Youngstown
“Ohio Democrats brought their ‘Cost of Corruption’ tour to Youngstown detailing what they say are billions of dollars in taxpayer money being wasted to cover corruption costs under Ohio Republicans. The group says the ongoing corruption in the statehouse needs to be corrected and they’re demanding full transparency from the DeWine administration.”
WKBN Youngstown: Democrats react to map ruling
“I think I speak for most Ohioans when we just are so completely frustrated that Republicans on the redistricting commission refuse to do their job. All of them put their hand on a Bible and swore an oath to the Ohio Constitution, and this is now the fourth time the Ohio Supreme Court has found them to have broken the law and violated the constitution.”
Lima News: Statewide Democratic candidates bring “cost of corruption” tour to Lima
“Three hopeful Democratic candidates stopped at Lima’s Hover Park stocked with a full arsenal of weapons to attack their Republican foes on Thursday.
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“They criticized DeWine’s leadership, laying a cult of corruption at his feet. Painting a picture of complicity, if not one of a participant in unethical acts, they accused Republicans of lining their pockets with ‘dark money’ from interest groups and forsaking Ohioans.
“Ohio Democrats lambasted the Republican-led state government, saying state leaders are corrupt and costing taxpayers by not repealing House Bill 6, refusing to pass fair district maps and more.”
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As part of the Ohio Democratic Party’s “Cost of Corruption” tour to several parts of the state, Party Chair Elizabeth Walters and two Democratic statewide candidates spoke at Wholly Grounds in Dayton on Friday morning.
“At a time when too many Ohioans are worried about high costs and making ends meet, (Gov.) Mike DeWine and his fellow Republicans are making you pay the price for their corruption while Democrats are laser-focused on investing in working families,” said Walters.
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“Democrats decried that under scandal-tainted House Bill 6, the state is paying subsidies to out-of-state coal plants to the tune of $287,000 every day, up to $1.8 billion by 2030.”
Xavier Newswire: Ohio Democrats highlight state corruption
“Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters visited Cincinnati on Friday with a slate of other Democrats to bring attention to state corruption scandals. The group – which included Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington, Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark and Hamilton County Clerk of Court Pavan Parikh – aimed to tie Republicans and Governor Mike DeWine to recent corruption in Ohio.
“In particular, this group sought to tie the GOP to House Bill 6 (HB 6). The bill, a nuclear energy bailout that was engulfed in scandal after former House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested on federal bribery charges in 2020. Prosecutors have alleged that Householder orchestrated a $60 million bribery scheme in exchange for passing HB 6.”
Andy Chow, Statehouse News Bureau
Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News
Ohioans are paying BILLIONS of dollars for GOP corruption at Mike DeWine’s statehouse, including:
- $287,000 every single day for subsidies that bail out an out-of-state coal plant and are tied to the largest public corruption scandal in state history. The subsidies are estimated to cost Ohioans up to $1.8 billion by 2030.
- $9 billion for special interest tax giveaways that mostly benefit for-profit corporations.
- $1.85 billion in tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected, including wealthy GOP lawmakers who leave working Ohioans behind.
- $118 million in improper Medicaid payments made to ineligible dead or incarcerated individuals.
- $17.5 million settlement for a man who was paralyzed after being tackled by state prison guards.
- $9 million for the election chaos created by Republicans who refuse to pass fair maps. Their refusal to do their jobs will likely make a May 3 primary impossible, likely costing Ohioans another $20 million.
- $763,000 and counting to litigate the GOP-gerrymandered maps in court.
- $39,000 for Mike DeWine’s private airplane travel to taxpayer-funded photo ops in 2019.
Frank LaRose Throws Away All Credibility So He Can Lose a Senate Race in Two Years
Last week, Ohioans saw Frank LaRose sell out and throw away all credibility as he fully embraced Donald Trump and all of Trump’s election lies – all so he can lose a Senate race in 2024.
Here’s a sampling of what LaRose had to say about Donald Trump in the past:
- “I like the idea of a president that’s a role model for our children. Our current president doesn’t really fall into that category.” [Cincinnati Enquirer, 8/13/18]
- “LaRose called Trump’s characterization of the media as the enemy of the people a ‘dangerous’ precedent.” [WOSU-Columbus, 2/19/19]
- “‘I’m not responsible for the president’s decision making process or social media strategy. But I will say that nobody’s immune from what I just said, that it is irresponsible to fear monger about elections administration… ‘Doesn’t matter where you are, and certainly if you have the largest megaphone in the world, then you should think very carefully before you say something that would cause people to lose faith in elections.’” [Columbus Dispatch, 2/5/20]
- “Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said that candidates for public office should have faith in the safety, security and accuracy of Ohio’s election process. ‘If a candidate chooses not to accept those results, I think that’ll look ridiculous,’ LaRose said. His comments were in response to a question about President Trump citing ‘fraud’ in the yet-to-come election results, including mail-in voting.” [ABC 6, 9/25/20]
Now, LaRose is throwing all credibility he has in the trash by repeating Trump’s election lies and embracing Trump’s endorsement because he wants to run for Senate in two years and has faced lots of criticism this cycle from Ohio Republicans – from his name being booed at a Strongsville GOP event to facing threats of being left off the Ohio GOP endorsement slate.
LaRose even went further last week and endorsed J.D. Vance for Senate, who has falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, something LaRose has been critical of in the past. LaRose told the Akron Press Club in 2018: “Nobody should overstate the existence of either fraud or suppression because I think what it does is underminds the confidence that voters have.”
“Ohioans can’t trust Frank LaRose to care about anything but himself and a Senate race he’ll lose in two years. Rather than do his job and stand up for election integrity or pass fair maps, LaRose is busy falling in line behind Republican politicians who lie about elections being stolen and attack Ohioans’ right to vote. Like Vance, LaRose is just another political phony who will sell out Ohio and do or say anything to advance his own interests,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.
ROUNDUP: Trump’s Vance Endorsement “Escalated The Tension And Nastiness” As GOP Voters Vow Not To Support Vance
Donald Trump’s endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance has “escalated the tension and nastiness” in the Ohio GOP Senate primary. Instead of uniting the party, Trump has only created more vicious infighting with a week left in the primary.
Read more:
NBC News: Trump’s J.D. Vance endorsement breeds more chaos in Ohio’s GOP Senate primary
Henry Gomez
April 23, 2022
- …it’s clear [Trump] has shaken up what was already the nation’s most chaotic and expensive Senate race in ways that no one — not Vance, not his supporters or his opponents — expected.
- Rather than clearing the field or creating a unified front of GOP support for Vance, Trump’s endorsement has escalated the tension and nastiness that from the start have served as the race’s hallmarks.
- In a letter to the former president this week, several pro-Trump activists in Ohio, including one of his 2016 state directors, called the endorsement a “betrayal,” citing Vance’s past attacks on Trump and his lack of relationships with the party’s grassroots leaders. Until his Senate bid, Vance was known primarily for “Hillbilly Elegy,” his memoir-turned-Netflix movie, and for his ties to Republican mega-donor and tech executive Peter Thiel.
- “I’m livid,” said Ralph King, a 2016 convention delegate for Trump who helped organize the letter. “This endorsement reeks of the swamp. Donald Trump is selling us out.”
- The Club for Growth, a conservative group that supports the early front-runner Josh Mandel but had been friendly with Trump, announced it would continue airing a TV ad that emphasizes Vance’s past criticisms. Trump Jr. retaliated on Twitter by branding Mandel as “establishment,” in part because he supported 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, whom Trump also endorsed that year. Those involved in the race are preparing for more pointed attacks on Mandel from Trump at Saturday’s rally, or from Trump Jr., who is scheduled to campaign with Vance again next week.
- A source close to Trump Jr. who requested anonymity to discuss strategy said that Dave McIntosh, the Club for Growth president, “didn’t do Josh Mandel any favors” with its endorsement.
- “Instead of just trying to push J.D. across the finish line, Don is going to do everything in his power to cut Mandel to pieces.”
- The senior Trump also threatened legal action this week against Winning for Women Action, a PAC that supports Jane Timken and has emphasized her close ties to the former president. A recent ad from the PAC features footage of Trump and Timken embracing, with a narrator telling of how Trump “turned to Jane Timken” when he needed a “conservative fighter” — a reference to her successful 2017 campaign for Ohio GOP chair. In a cease-and-desist letter, Trump’s team asserted that the ad “implies” a Senate race endorsement.
Cleveland.com: Not everyone’s convinced Trump’s nod to J.D. Vance in Ohio’s GOP Senate primary makes the race a layup
Andrew Tobias and Seth Richardson
April 24, 2022
- But it’s also ruffled some feathers, particularly among the more engaged Republicans at the county party and grassroots activist level.
- “A lot of them aren’t happy, to be honest with you,” said Bob Frantz, a longtime conservative talk radio show host in the Cleveland area.
- Dave Johnson, the influential chairman of the Columbiana County Republican Party, said the last-minute endorsement hasn’t sat well with most people he knows who are closely involved with state Republican politics.
- “Folks who have worked so hard for him and worked so hard for his message sort of felt betrayed because he picked a guy who worked against that message and was against him otherwise in almost every way,” Johnson said.
- In an interview, Michael Biundo, a top adviser to the Gibbons campaign, didn’t strongly contest the new pro-Vance polling that showed Vance jumping out to a lead. But, he said news of the endorsement comes late in the race and could have a hard time breaking through, particularly as other candidates, including Gibbons, try to launch ads and other measures to counteract it.
- “He’s got a lot of questions he has to answer, and that is an anchor on him right now as he tries to take full advantage of the Trump endorsement,” Biundo said.
Washington Examiner: Trump’s Vance endorsement gets mixed reviews, even among supporters
Kate Scanlon
April 24, 2022
- Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance has been met with mixed reviews among even his most ardent supporters.
- The endorsement sparked criticism from some Republicans in the state who asked Trump to reconsider his choice, arguing in a letter that Vance is a “political chameleon” who called Trump and his supporters “racist” in 2016. In his own remarks at the Saturday rally, Vance offered his full support to Trump, calling him “the best president of my lifetime.”
- But in interviews at Trump’s rally Saturday in Ohio, many attendees who self-identified as Ohio voters and Trump supporters said they were still undecided in the upcoming primary or that they planned to support one of the other candidates, including Josh Mandel or Mike Gibbons.
“You Can’t Sit With Us” “No Show” and “Here We Go Again:” What’s Making Headlines With Republican #OHGOV Candidates This Week
Welcome back to Mike Check, your weekly source of all the infighting, conspiracy spewing and corruption that’s making headlines in and around the Republican governor’s race and Mike DeWine’s statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party.
As the gubernatorial race heats up, Republicans are in disarray with Mike DeWine’s popularity dropping by the day, facing attacks both inside and outside of the Republican Party and having to answer for the largest public corruption scandal in state history. It’s hard to keep up with all of the corruption and mess surrounding Mike DeWine and the GOP gubernatorial primary, so here are some stories you may have missed:
YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US. Mike DeWine was left off of Donald Trump’s hefty Ohio Republican endorsement list last Friday, a sign that the DeWine/Trump rift is still a very real thing. Trump endorsed a number of statewide Republicans ahead of his rally here last Friday, but not DeWine and Husted, which could spell trouble for them among the GOP electorate. Trump has previously called for a primary against DeWine and DeWine has seen his numbers tank with Republicans over the last six months, causing him to cave over and over to extremists in the legislature – with apparently nothing to show for it.
NO SHOW. After promising to take the lead on redistricting, DeWine was a no-show when Democrats tried to convene the redistricting committee today to pass the fair maps that Ohioans and several courts have called for. Citing a ‘scheduling conflict,’ DeWine joined the rest of the Republican commissioners in skipping out on the meeting, despite the impending May 6 deadline to pass fair maps. We have different definitions of leadership, Governor.
HERE WE GO AGAIN. It’s a day that ends in Y, so DeWine is once again trying to claim credit for the American Rescue Plan, legislation he opposed. Today, DeWine tweeted about funding for local law enforcement in Ohio.The problem? Even DeWine’s own press release points out that the Ohio Violent Crime Reduction Grant Program’s budget “was increased last month to $58 million with the addition of American Recovery Plan Act funds.” Thanks, Ohio Democrats!