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NEW REPORTING: Husted Voted Against Epstein Files Release After Taking $116,892 From Jeffrey Epstein Co-Conspirator Les Wexner

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting reveals Senator Jon Husted has taken $116,892 from Les Wexner, the longtime friend and benefactor of pedophile and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Further, Husted even took the maximum donation from the Epstein confidant just last July, only weeks before he voted against releasing the Epstein files.

The new reporting comes after Husted voted last year against a bipartisan effort to release the files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and Husted has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted has been bankrolled by Jeffrey Epstein’s largest supporter and has even taken his money just last year as he voted  to block the release of the Epstein files. Ohioans deserve truth and someone who’s actually working for them — not a Senator who protects pedophiles and sides with the rich and powerful. The question is simple: what else is Jon Husted hiding?”

Read more:

Punchbowl News:

• Donation watch. Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) has a lengthy history of accepting donations from the former CEO of Victoria Secret parent-company, L Brands, Leslie Wexner. Wexner is also a former Jeffrey Epstein associate whose name appears repeatedly in FBI files on the disgraced financier. Wexner’s most recent $3,500 donation to Husted came in July 2025.

• Husted’s campaign committees have directly received a total of $79,900 from Wexner dating back to 2001. Wexner also donated $10,000 to Husted and Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s transition fund, in addition to $27,000 to DeWine’s campaign after Husted was named his lieutenant governor.

• An FBI document from 2019, recently released as part of the Epstein files, listed Wexner as a co-conspirator for Epstein. Wexner’s legal team has insisted Wexner was “neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect” to the Epstein probe. Wexner hired Epstein to manage his personal finances in the 1980s. Wexner cut ties with Epstein following Epstein’s 2007 Florida indictment.

• Wexner is a prominent GOP megadonor who’s given to scores of Ohio pols over the years. Husted’s team didn’t respond to a request for comment and hasn’t previously commented on the Wexner donations.

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Columbus, Ohio – New reporting from the Dayton Daily News highlighted how Vivek Ramaswamy’s tax on working families could cost hardworking Ohioans by as much as 15% more in income tax and raise prices by 18% on all goods.

On day one of his campaign, billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to eliminate income and property taxes, which even Mike DeWine said would be “absolutely devastating” for Ohio families. Ramaswamy’s high-cost campaign strategy also includes saying Ohioans struggling to make ends meet should just earn more and that rising costs are only in Ohioans’ imaginations.

If Ohio replaced property taxes with income taxes, rural Ohioans will be among the hardest hit. Harrison County residents could see their income tax increase as much as 27.01%, while Monroe County residents could see an increase of 26.75% along with an increase of 21.17% for residents of Noble County.

“The cost of living is higher than ever, and Vivek Ramaswamy’s tax scheme would fall entirely on Ohio’s working families,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Under Ramaswamy, Ohioans would struggle even more to make ends meet while he cruises above them in his private jet and calls them lazy.”

READ: Nixing Ohio property tax could lead to 15% income tax, 18% sales tax

• Kimberly Murnieks, director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management, said that filling the $24 billion property tax void with income or sales taxes would be “fiscally impractical and economically harmful.” 
• She wrote income tax rates “would need to quadruple or more reaching 11% to 15%” and the state sales tax would have to increase from 5.75% to 15% to 18% which “is significantly higher than any other state.”
• To put things in perspective, the 5.75% rate adds $1,725 to the price of a $30,000 car and $5,400 if the sales tax rate jumped to 18%. For a $1,300 refrigerator, the sales tax would jump from $75 to $234.

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Columbus, Ohio – As working families in Ohio are struggling to make ends meet as costs rise, Vivek Ramaswamy called Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake” and said Ohioans have only “perceived” rising costs. Earlier this week, Dr. Amy Acton joined David Pepper and Ohio healthcare providers to discuss the rising cost of healthcare.

Statehouse News Bureau: Candidates for Ohio governor talk about the cure for Ohio’s health care affordability 

• “Four out of ten births are on Medicaid. Three out of eight children receive their health insurance through Medicaid,” Acton said. Acton said 11 Ohio hospitals are in danger of closing, which she blames on Republicans in Congress and lack of affordable healthcare has hurt rural providers.

• “I keep hearing stories from Ohioans that they have to travel in many parts of the state now an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to deliver a baby or to have their kid’s cavity filled. I’m actually hearing stories that babies are being born roadside again,” Acton said.

Columbus Dispatch: Amy Acton, Vivek Ramaswamy spar over Medicaid, health care costs

• Ohioans are hurting from the cost of health care. Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat running to replace Gov. Mike DeWine, says she’ll work on a cure.

• Pepper said Ramaswamy’s comment shows a disconnect with Ohio voters who rely on these programs. “It’s quite clear that he’s someone who has no purpose for Medicaid and Medicare, and if you take that seriously, that (not) only doesn’t help the crisis, it makes it far, far worse,” he said.

Toledo Blade: Rising cost of health care top issue in Ohio, Acton says 

• Ohioans across the state are worried about the increased costs of housing, child care, energy prices, and property taxes — but one issue trumps all of those, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton said Tuesday.

• “The number one thing I’m hearing about … it’s the rising cost of health care that is really putting people over the edge in this state,” Acton said during a news conference outside the OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in downtown Columbus. She was joined by running mate David Pepper, former nurse Jan Lanier, and other supporters.

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Columbus, Ohio – Ohioans are struggling more than ever with the high cost of living. But instead of doing anything to help lower costs, Vivek Ramaswamy called affordable care programs like Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake.

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW:

“Ohioans won’t elect a governor who can’t be trusted to fight for affordable healthcare,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy has made it clear he thinks affordable healthcare was a mistake and that’s what Ohioans will be thinking about when they head to the polls in November.”

While Ramaswamy calls Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake,” here’s what Ohioans are actually feeling:

• Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio cities rank among the most medically expensive, analysis finds
• Columbus Dispatch: Ohioans’ health insurance was expensive this year. It will cost even more in 2026
• Cleveland.com: 120,000 Ohio families lost health insurance this month. Here’s who to blame
• NBC4: Report: Ohioans paying more for healthcare without receiving proper value
• Signal Ohio: ACA health insurance plans surge in cost as subsidies for low-wage Ohioans are set to expire

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Husted: “You don’t hear from the ones that love it, right?”

Columbus, Ohio — In a new interview with Julie Mason, Jon Husted once again defended the reckless tariffs that are driving up costs for Ohio farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses, while dismissing the very real pain that Ohioans are feeling across the state.

WATCH HERE: 

Transcript:

Julie Mason: And you know, Senator, I’ve heard anecdotally that a lot of small businesses also feel hard hit by the tariffs.

Jon Husted: Yeah, they do. There’s no doubt that — I mean, some of them feel — you don’t hear from the ones that love it, right? You hear, you hear from the ones that get hit. And there’s no doubt that there are some small businesses that have had a great boost as a result […]. 

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted was caught defending the reckless tariffs that are driving up prices across Ohio. While small business owners are struggling to keep their doors open and farmers face rising costs, Husted is dismissing their pain and pretending everything is fine. Jon Husted is completely out of touch with the people of Ohio.”

Husted’s comments are the latest example in a long pattern of dismissing the real struggles Ohioans are facing: 

• Husted has dismissed concerns from struggling Ohioans, claiming that he has helped lower grocery and gas prices and that affordability problems do not exist.

• Husted revealed he has no solutions to actually lower prices, suggesting that Ohioans should just “earn more” to make ends meet.

• Husted insulted Ohio families who are working harder than ever to get by, complaining that Ohioans have a “broken” work ethic.

• Husted voted three separate times last year to block efforts reining in the reckless tariffs driving up costs and closing off markets.

• Because of the Husted-backed tariffs sending costs soaring, some small businesses in Northeast Ohio may need to close. 

• The Husted-backed tariffs are costing a Grove City manufacturer millions of dollars in business, potentially threatening hundreds of jobs. When the company reached out to Jon Husted, his only response was that he “passed along” the concern to the administration.

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