91 Day Dash: Ohio Republicans Desperately Try to Outrun the FirstEnergy Scandal
August 4, 2026
COLUMBUS, OH – With 13 weeks until Election Day, Ohio Republicans are spending the final stretch looking over their shoulder at the FirstEnergy scandal that looms large over their campaigns. While “one of the most high-profile tasks Ohio’s next attorney general will face is overseeing the second prosecution of ex-FirstEnergy executives Chuck Jones and Mike Dowling,” Cleveland.com Today in Ohio hosts are emphasizing the reality that “if you care about the FirstEnergy prosecution, the choice between Kulewicz and Faber could determine whether justice is ever actually served.” And in the Treasurer’s race, Republican candidate Jay Edwards faces scrutiny for his record after he voted for House Bill 6, was included in reporting from the FirstEnergy trial, and was even asked at the time to step down from House leadership over his connection to Larry Householder, whom Edwards emphasized he still considered “a friend” even after Householder’s arrest.
“It really will be a final sprint to election day for Ohio Republicans like Keith Faber and Jay Edwards who are spending the last 91 days of this election in a desperate dash to try to outrun the FirstEnergy scandal that has raised energy costs for Ohio families,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “While decades of Republican control in Columbus have been marked with backroom meetings and sweetheart deals for corporate special interests, Ohioans are ready to hold Republicans accountable for it by electing Ohio Democrats who are making clear that corruption will no longer be tolerated in Columbus.”
As Ohio families are struggling with sky-high costs, including thanks to the FirstEnergy bribery scheme that has contributed to electricity costs increasing by $663 a year, and as Faber gets slammed as “tone deaf” for his “unconscionable” refusal to commit to continuing the FirstEnergy case, read more about how the scandal continues to “loom” over Jay Edwards too.
TiffinOhio: Walsh: Jay Edwards kept FirstEnergy’s money, stood by Larry Householder and now wants to manage Ohio’s billions
- Democrat Seth Walsh’s campaign for Ohio treasurer has opened a social media offensive against Republican nominee Jay Edwards, launching a series on Instagram and TikTok under the name “No Way Jay.”
- State campaign finance records show FirstEnergy’s political action committee gave Edwards’ campaign $5,000 the day before the 2018 general election, and the Athens News reported in October 2020 that the company had also supported him in earlier years at higher levels.
- After the July 2020 arrest of then-Speaker Larry Householder, some Ohio legislators redirected FirstEnergy contributions to charity. Edwards did not.
- “I know that I have done nothing wrong and so I’m not going to go out and feel the need to go do something with money that I know came to me legally,” Edwards said in a 2020 interview with the paper. Asked about the principle of keeping money from a company then under federal investigation, the Athens News reported, Edwards dodged the question and said FirstEnergy was innocent until proven guilty.
- In the same interview, Edwards said he had no advance knowledge of the scheme and that Householder’s arrest came as a shock. He also said he remained on good terms with him.
- “I’ll openly admit I still consider Larry Householder a friend,” Edwards said. “Am I upset by him and some of his actions? Yeah, absolutely, but I think he deserves an untainted day in court and we’ll find out what happens.”
- Edwards voted for House Bill 6, the 2019 nuclear and coal subsidy law that federal prosecutors later described as the product of a $60 million racketeering scheme. He served on Householder’s leadership team as majority whip. In 2021, when the Ohio House voted 75–21 to expel Householder, Edwards was among the Republicans who voted against expulsion. Householder was convicted in 2023 and is serving a 20-year federal sentence.
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