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Columbus, OH – After Donald Trump promised to dismantle the Affordable Care Act if elected, Frank LaRose last week doubled down and supported jeopardizing care for millions of Ohioans: 

Frank LaRose: “President Trump was right from day one…Obamacare continues to be a disaster and I will work with him when I’m in the U.S. Senate to fix the many mistakes of the Obama and Biden administrations.”

While LaRose doubles down, Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan can’t outrun their dangerous, anti-healthcare records. If the #OHSEN field gets their way and dismantles the ACA, 857,000 Ohioans would be at risk of losing their coverage and nearly 2 million Ohioans with a preexisting condition could be denied healthcare.

What you need to know about Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan’s attacks on Ohioans’ healthcare:

• Bernie Moreno: “[The Affordable Care Act] actually made health care much more expensive. So we have to let the markets work… So that’s, that’s answer number one on healthcare.”

• Frank LaRose: “I’m committed now more than ever to work to repeal this bad law and replace it with real healthcare reform…”

• Matt Dolan: “[The Affordable Care Act] was conceived wrongly, implemented poorly and has become a tool of partisan grift.”

Read more:

The Messenger: Democratic Senate Candidates Relish Chance to Run on Obamacare After Trump Floats Repeal

Dan Merica, Matt Holt

December 1, 2023

• Trump’s recent pledge to “REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE” gives these Democrats, many of whom ran on fighting the repeal of the popular health care law in 2018, a chance to retool their winning message from six years ago. Polls show that 60% of adults have a favorable view of the ACA, commonly known as Obamacare.

• In Ohio, Democrats aligned with Sen. Sherrod Brown jumped on Trump’s comments, using them to attack the three top Republicans vying to take on the incumbent next year. Reeves Oyster, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, pledged Ohio voters “will know that Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan would attack their access to health care and side with insurance companies.”

• Trump’s comments could put Republican Senate candidates in a tough position, however, given many of these candidates are vying for his support in a primary and don’t want to be seen as breaking with their party’s preeminent power center.

• “President Trump was right from day one,” said Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, one of three candidates running for the state’s Republican Senate nomination. “Obamacare continues to be a disaster and I will work with him when I’m in the U.S. Senate to fix the many mistakes of the Obama and Biden administrations.”

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Columbus, OH – This week, the #OHSEN slugfest included *more* calls for resignation, *more* brawling, and as always, *more* scandals. Over two weeks past the deadline, LaRose still hasn’t filed his personal financial disclosure, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t found the time to pour gasoline on the infighting by picking fights with Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan! Buckle up, this brawl is just getting nastier…  

Here’s what you missed in what has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country. 

BERNIE MORENO’S GEORGE SANTOS PROBLEM

Ohioans are wondering: What did Bernie Moreno see in George Santos to max out to his campaign?

FRANK LAROSE DOESN’T THINK THE RULES APPLY TO HIM

🚨 COUNTDOWN: IT’S BEEN 17 DAYS SINCE LAROSE MISSED THE DEADLINE TO FILE HIS PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 🚨

LaRose is making it crystal clear he doesn’t think the rules apply to him – again. After receiving an extension in August, LaRose missed the deadline to file his personal financial disclosure over two weeks ago…Read more from Mother Jones: 

“As Ohio’s Secretary of State, Frank LaRose is responsible for overseeing state election laws. But as he seeks the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in 2024, LaRose has not complied with a federal law requiring US House and Senate candidates to submit information about their income and assets. And this has heightened a mystery about a $250,000 loan LaRose, who characterizes himself as an everyman of modest means, made to his campaign in September.”

AND WHILE HE BREAKS THE RULES… FRANK LAROSE ADMITS TO COLLUDING WITH OUT-OF-STATE SPECIAL INTERESTS TO BAN ABORTION 

A must read Cleveland.com report this week exposed LaRose for colluding with special interest groups to ban abortion by rewriting the State Issue 1 ballot language to be intentionally misleading.

What they’re saying…Sandusky Register Editorial Board: “There’s nothing wrong with aligning with one cause against another or taking a stand unless you are the secretary of state, and it’s your job to ensure fair elections. In this instance, it was exactly LaRose’s job to assure fair elections, and he did exactly the opposite in helping one side gain an advantage in the 2023 general election.”

JABS THROWN WHILE MORENO AND DOLAN GET THROWN UNDER THE BUS

In an attempt to distract from his continuous cycle of scandals, LaRose poured more gasoline on the infighting by throwing Moreno and Dolan INTO the fire 🔥

We all know mega-millionaire Moreno can afford a nicer car than that…

Yikes! But that didn’t stop Moreno and Dolan’s teams from attacking one another…

Bernie Moreno at a campaign stop in Van Wert: “My two opponents have other important jobs and either they’re not going to do the job properly or they’re going to campaign. You can’t do both.”

LaRose Spokesperson on Moreno’s recent poll: “Just like a used car salesman to exaggerate the value of a product he’s trying to sell. I wouldn’t buy a Porsche from Bernie, and I’m certainly not buying his ‘poll.’ Ohio voters won’t buy his flip flops on immigration, President Trump, or abortion next March either.”

DID SOMEONE SAY SCANDAL? LAROSE MOVES INTO HIS NEW *COSTLY* SECRETARY OF STATE OFFICE

This week, LaRose officially moved into his new *costly* Secretary of State office. This marks the first time the SOS office has moved in nearly two decades. But at least it will be a smooth transition since LaRose is already familiar with the building… It is his campaign HQ after all!

Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal, which highlights how LaRose’s $600,000 move is being bankrolled by taxpayer dollars.

Ohio Capital Journal: “In addition, spokeswoman Amato told NBC4 that taxpayers aren’t funding the move, because fees from business filings are. That ignores the fact that tax funds would have to make up for any losses in filing fees and vice versa. Another question that received no response: If business filing fees are so plentiful, would LaRose support cutting them to help small businesses?”

#OHSEN FIELD CONTINUES TO BE DOGGED FOR SUPPORTING NATIONAL ABORTION BAN

Earlier this month, Ohioans made it clear that women’s health care decisions should be between them and their doctors – standing in stark opposition to the entire #OHSEN field who opposed Issue 1 and have already said they would overrule the majority of Ohioans by voting for a national ban. 

Read more from The New York Times: 

“Frank LaRose, the Ohio secretary of state, has supported a national ban and opposed exceptions for rape and incest — and also unsuccessfully campaigned against the abortion ballot question…

“Another contender, Bernie Moreno, a businessman seeking his first elected office, has said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the woman, but he told a reporter from Breitbart News last year that he did not. He has also expressed support for a 15-week federal ban…

“Matt Dolan, a state senator, opposed the state’s constitutional amendment this month… Mr. Dolan opposes a national ban, though he has said he is willing to reconsider that stance.”

SLUGFEST COUNTDOWN

109 days left until this Slugfest comes to a head and the infighting just keeps getting worse. 

WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING ABOUT THIS SLUGFEST

Columbus Dispatch: How should the U.S. help Israel, Ukraine? Ohio Senate candidates clash on path forward

Cleveland.com: Secretary of State Frank LaRose says abortion opponents helped craft ballot language to aid defeat of Issue 1

Ironton Tribune: EDITORIAL: A pledge for more partisanship? No thanks

New York Times: Could Abortion Rights Rescue Red-State Democrats in the Senate?

Mother Jones: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Frank LaRose Just Blew Another Deadline to Disclose His Finances

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Sec. of State LaRose concedes he politicked out of building where he moved his state office

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Law Professor on LaRose’s Mystery $250,000 Self-Loan: “I would assert, not as an academic expert, but just as an American, that it’s unusual for someone in the middle class to have $250,000 lying around…Highly unusual.”

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Mother Jones: “Frank LaRose is responsible for overseeing state election laws. But as he seeks the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in 2024, LaRose has not complied with a federal law requiring US House and Senate candidates to submit information about their income and assets.”

Columbus, OH – Mother Jones is out with a new report about Frank LaRose being seventeen days past the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee’s deadline to file his personal financial disclosure – 106 days past LaRose’s initial August deadline. After mocking his opponents by claiming to be the only “thousandaire” in the race, LaRose continues to avoid questions about loaning $250,000 to his campaign which experts note is “highly unusual.” 

Read More:

Mother Jones: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Frank LaRose Just Blew Another Deadline to Disclose His Finances

Abby Vesouli

November 30, 2023

• As Ohio’s Secretary of State, Frank LaRose is responsible for overseeing state election laws. But as he seeks the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in 2024, LaRose has not complied with a federal law requiring US House and Senate candidates to submit information about their income and assets. And this has heightened a mystery about a $250,000 loan LaRose, who characterizes himself as an everyman of modest means, made to his campaign in September.

• The 1978 US Ethics in Government Act requires candidates to file financial disclosure forms within 30 days of making their candidacy official. LaRose entered the competitive Senate race on July 17, giving him until August 16 to comply. On August 9, LaRose was granted a 90-day extension, requiring he submit the filing “no later than November 14, 2023.”

• As of November 30—106 days from his initial deadline—LaRose has still not submitted the legally required financial information to the US Senate.

• LaRose is running what he calls a “thousandaire” campaign against two wealthy challengers: Bernie Moreno, a luxury car dealer, and state senator Matt Dolan, a scion of the family that owns the Cleveland Guardians.

• LaRose’s current finances don’t appear to have improved substantially from when he served as a state senator, when his primary sources of income were $67,100 from the state, plus between $25,000 and $50,000 for consulting work he did for a local food bank, his 2018 state financial disclosure form shows.

• Filings also show that LaRose amassed debts at American Honda Financial Services, Capital One Automotive Finance, Lowe’s Consumer Credit, American Express, Capital One Visa, and Bank of America Visa every year from 2018 to 2022. 

• These financial disclosures raise questions about how he loaned his campaign a sum of $250,000 on September 30, according to Federal Election Commission records.

• “I would assert, not as an academic expert, but just as an American, that it’s unusual for someone in the middle class to have $250,000 lying around,” says Kathleen Clark, a law professor with expertise in government ethics at Washington University in St. Louis. “Highly unusual.”

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LaRose Claims to “Understand The Struggle of Average Americans” While Dodging Questions About Self-Funding $250,000 

Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose is now sixteen days past the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee’s deadline to file his personal financial disclosure. After dodging questions about self-funding $250,000 to his campaign – despite mocking his opponents by claiming to be the only “thousandaire” in the race – LaRose is now claiming to “understand the struggle of average Americans” while acting like the rules don’t apply to him. 

What Ohioans are reading recently about LaRose believing the rules don’t apply to him: 

• Cleveland.com: “Secretary of State Frank LaRose has gently mocked his wealthy opponents in March’s Republican Senate primary election by referring to himself as a humble ‘thousandaire.’ But the public will have to wait for details that could shed more light on LaRose’s financial situation, as a federal deadline for a mandatory financial disclosure passed Tuesday without a report from LaRose.

• Ohio Capital Journal: “Despite that 90-day reprieve, LaRose has yet to file. The Ohio Capital Journal reached out to his campaign to see if the report has been filed but not yet posted or if the campaign has requested a further extension. The campaign did not respond…LaRose’s failure to file thus far is particularly notable given a $250,000 personal loan he made to his campaign in September.”

• Heartland Signal: “Candidates are required to publicly disclose their finances within 30 days of announcing their candidacy. LaRose announced his run for Senate on July 17 and subsequently asked for an extension on his filing on Aug 9. Despite an extra 90 days, LaRose again blew past his deadline on Nov. 14.”

• Ohio Capital Journal: “LaRose’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for more information about the source of his loan, but it seems like a substantial sum given his current state salary income.” [10/20/23]

• Tribune Chronicle: “I questioned how LaRose could come up with $250,000 out of his pocket for his Senate campaign. But Ben Kindel, his campaign spokesman, didn’t respond to my numerous inquiries.” [10/20/23]

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Columbus, OH – After trying and failing twice to rip fundamental rights away from Ohio women this year, Ohio Republicans keep doubling down on their disgusting attacks on women and saying the quiet part out loud. It’s more than a pattern, it’s a clear indication that these out-of-touch GOP politicians aren’t backing down from their ongoing war on women. 

“It’s clear from their lengthy list of disgusting attacks how Republican politicians view women in this state. These comments are not only disturbing, they’re disqualifying for any elected official. Regardless of how many times Ohioans stand up and push back, these out-of-touch politicians never learn their lesson. Time and again, the Ohio GOP has shown us exactly who they are, it’s past time we believe them,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Republican politicians not only tried to take away abortion rights, they’ve supported spousal rape, cast doubt on a ten-year-old rape victim, called rape an ‘opportunity,’ and said they want to ‘go as far as we can’ to limit reproductive healthcare. It’s clear these politicians are disconnected from reality and hold extreme views that are dangerous for the future of our state. 

Read more from Republican politicians in their own words: 

• Bill Dean on voting ‘no’ on legislation that would make spousal rape illegal: “I personally don’t believe that a man, if he’s married and has physical relations with his wife, that can be considered rape. I think this law can be used as a wedge between husband and wife and families and a husband and wife’s relationship.”

• Dave Yost on a ten-year-old rape victim forced to travel out of state for critical healthcare: “Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication…What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.”

• Jean Schmidt calling rape ‘an opportunity:’ “It is a shame that it happens but there is an opportunity for that woman, no matter how young or old she is, to make a determination about what she’s going to do to help that life be a productive human being. Just because you have emotional scars doesn’t give you the right to take the life.” 

• Bernie Moreno doubling down in support of banning abortion while lying about November’s Issue 1: “As a dad of two girls, it’s about having that girl be able to be raped and having a rapist force her to have an abortion — all without your consent — as a minor.” 

• Frank LaRose admitting he worked with special interests to ban abortion by rewriting the November ballot language to be intentionally misleading: “That [writing ‘woman’] was something that the pro-life community felt very strongly should be included in that. And they liked that as well, because the name of the ‘no’ campaign was Protect Women Ohio, and the yard signs said: ‘Protect women.’ So they wanted that, they thought that was reasonable and would be helpful to them.

• Mike DeWine: Said he wanted to go “as far as we can” to rip away abortion rights. 

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