Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted’s Out of Touch Attacks on Hardworking Families
April 13, 2026
Husted: “People living in poverty are just not very, they’re not very experienced at navigating the real world”
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Youngstown gathered for the third stop of Husted’s Real World Tour, calling out Jon Husted for his out of touch attacks on hardworking families.
Ohioans are already struggling with high grocery and utility prices, and the skyrocketing cost of gas is forcing families to cut back even more. Instead of working to lower costs, Jon Husted has insulted struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.
“Let me be clear: Ohioans don’t need a lecture on how to buy groceries. They need relief from the rising cost of groceries. They don’t need to be told affordability is just a ‘buzzword.’ They are living it every single day,” said State Representative Lauren McNally. “Politicians in DC like Jon Husted keep voting to make things more expensive. We have a responsibility to do something about it and fight back.”
“Jon Husted’s comments about the ‘real world’ ignore the reality that Ohioans are facing, where wages haven’t kept pace with inflation — making us work harder just to stay afloat. Jon Husted has spent all his time in DC voting to make things more expensive for families like mine,” said Dani Boatwright, a Youngstown resident and working parent. “My 12-year old easily recognizes that almost $4/gallon for gasoline is quite ridiculous & this doesn’t even scratch the surface of our day to day expenses that are seen as basic human needs.”
“Affordability is not a talking point. It is one of the most pressing concerns in our community. Families are dealing with rising grocery bills, higher utility costs, increasing rent and housing prices and the overall cost of simply getting by,” said Mayor of Struthers Catherine Cercone Miller.
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