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Columbus, OH – It’s Friday, which means there’s a week’s worth of infighting and barb-trading to recap in today’s #OHSEN Slugfest newsletter. This week, the infighting reached new heights as Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose traded barbs over State Issue 1’s flop. LaRose, who made himself the face of State Issue 1, continues to be criticized by Republicans writ large for being spineless and mishandling the August election.

Multimillionaire Matt Dolan also felt the heat this week after a new report showed that he is using a “cheap loan” to bankroll his Senate campaign and avoid paying taxes. Dolan’s sweetheart deal did not go unnoticed by his primary foes, who jumped into the slugfest to criticize him for his too-good-to-be-true deal. 

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

MORENO AND LAROSE TRADE BARBS

The gloves were off this week with Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose trading barbs on conservative radio over State Issue 1’s flop. LaRose, who made himself the face of an amendment designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans, has been taking water from Republicans writ large for how he mishandled the issue, which Moreno described as a “preview of what would happen with Frank LaRose at the top of the ticket in 2024.”
But LaRose is not letting Moreno’s attacks go unanswered. This week, LaRose called out Moreno for not donating to the State Issue 1 campaign in August despite his massive “personal wealth.” The next day, Moreno clapped back by calling LaRose “disingenuous” and “pathetic.” Ouch!

MORE #OHSEN INFIGHTING:

The Intelligencer: “‘Matt and Frank are two sides of the same coin,’ Moreno said. ‘If you want a professional politician who is going to be there forever, who thinks this is a career and is an insider and is going to basically be part of the D.C. thing, (voters have) two choices…’”

Heartland Signal: “ Even though the Republicans were united in their support for Issue 1, the U.S. Senate candidates are using its failure to bash LaRose as Issue 1 is the first major blow to his Senate campaign.”

LAROSE MAKES A BOLD CLAIM… 

After being caught red handed downplaying Trump’s endorsement months ago behind closed doors, LaRose told Jewish Insider this week that he is “likely” to get the Trump endorsement. 

Reminder: Donald Trump has praised Bernie Moreno, who has also secured the J.D. Vance endorsement.

Also notable: Ohio Republicans slammed LaRose for being weak and spineless on Trump this week. Read the highlights:

Matt Mayer: “What kind of a spine does [LaRose] have…boy I tell you that that’s not the guy I want next to me in a foxhole if you know what I mean…that is just not the kind of politician we need to send to Washington.”

Bruce Hooley: “So I’m looking at this from the outside of what I see and what I know. And it just feels to me like Frank LaRose, hoping to get Donald Trump’s endorsement is a Hail Mary, because these two guys have not really been close. I know Trump endorsed LaRose, but it was like a blanket endorsement at the time…”

IT’S GOOD TO BE RICH! MULTIMILLIONAIRE MATT DOLAN USING “CHEAP LOAN” TO BANKROLL HIS SENATE CAMPAIGN 

Cleveland.com: “Dolan pays .832% interest on the loan, a staggeringly low rate from the company through which Dolan owns millions in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other investment vehicles. For comparison, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate for the U.S. in 2021 was between 2.7% and 3.2%, according to the Federal Reserve. That year, credit card interest rates were 14.6%, according to the Fed, and 24-month personal loans were 9.4%.”

WATCH MORE FROM SPECTRUM NEWS

Quote of the Week:

Bernie Moreno on the Brandon Boxer Show:  “Well, you know, it’s just kind of pathetic that Frank’s trying to use the loss and Issue One where a lot of conservatives put their blood, sweat and tears and really use it to advance his Senate campaign. The reality is this, Boxer, that Frank went out and raised money into a super PAC for six or seven months, a super PAC, that he completely controlled the money. He allegedly raised over a million dollars, ironically, from mostly out-of-state people and didn’t direct one cent of that money to Issue One.”

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New report shows Matt Dolan is using sweetheart scheme to bankroll his Senate campaign

Multimillionaire Matt Dolan owes Ohioans answers about how he secured a “cheap loan” with a “staggeringly low” interest rate to funnel money to his U.S. Senate campaign. Dolan secured a “very, very low” 0.832% interest rate on a loan valued up to $25 million, raising questions about what Dolan promised to secure a deal too good to be true. 
 
As Dolan’s sweetheart scheme is exposed, here are three questions the multimillionaire must answer:

1. Will you release the full terms of your loan for Ohioans to see? Ohioans – who face far steeper rates when borrowing money for home mortgages, personal and business loans – deserve to know the total amount of your practically interest-free loan. 
    
2. Will you quantify your personal, business, and family’s business investments with Morgan Stanley and explain the process of how you gained access to a loan that would not be available to any hardworking Ohioan?
    
3. What did you promise Morgan Stanley to get this sweetheart deal?

Watch more from Spectrum News:

Key Points:

• Curtis Jackson, Spectrum: “Current State Senator and U.S. Senate candidate Matt Dolan is funding his Senate campaign in a very unusual way…”
   
• Laura Hancock, Cleveland.com: “He took out a loan somewhere between $5 and $25 million at a very, very low interest rate – less than 1%, 0.83% – because he was taking out a line of credit against his investments. You have to remember that Matt Dolan is a very wealthy person. He’s associated with the family that owns the Cleveland Guardians, so he was able to take out this loan because he’s got so many investments that he could take out this loan – and this is much lower than a normal consumer loan or a mortgage that regular, more middle class people would have to pay in interest.”
   
• Jackson: “How does Dolan’s loan compare to what the rest of us sort of experience?”
   
• Hancock: “…A normal person going through a bank for a loan would be paying quite a bit more in the interest than what State Senator Dolan paid.”

Dolan’s sweetheart deal “speaks to some of the financial gateways available to wealthy politicians but closed to most the constituents they represent”

Columbus, OH – A new report from Cleveland.com today shows multimillionaire Matt Dolan is using a “cheap loan” – valued between $5 – $25 million with a “staggeringly low” interest rate of less than 1% – to fund his Senate campaign. Dolan’s 0.832% interest rate is far lower than the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate and credit card interest rate, speaking “to some of the financial gateways available to wealthy politicians but closed to most the constituents they represent.”

Financial experts say Dolan is following a “‘buy, borrow, die’ tax avoidance strategy.’” Of the top 10 wealthiest Senators, only one has used a loan to fund their campaign – and paid an interest rate between 4.25% and 5%. 

Dolan reported a net worth between $14.5 million and $41 million last week – including multiple dressage horses – and has already loaned himself $4 million this cycle to fund his Senate campaign. 

Read more: 

Cleveland.com: How a multimillionaire U.S. Senate candidate financed his race with a cheap loan

Jake Zuckerman

August 22, 2023

• When Matt Dolan needed cash for his first U.S. Senate run in 2021, he found it in an unusual place: the Morgan Stanley office in Pepper Pike.

• He pays .832% interest on the loan, a staggeringly low rate from the company through which Dolan owns millions in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other investment vehicles. For comparison, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate for the U.S. in 2021 was between 2.7% and 3.2%, according to the Federal Reserve. That year, credit card interest rates were 14.6%, according to the Fed, and 24-month personal loans were 9.4%.

• The Morgan Stanley financing speaks to some of the financial gateways available to wealthy politicians but closed to most the constituents they represent. However, even in terms of a U.S. Senate crammed with millionaires, Dolan’s financial arrangement sticks out.
  
  
• The loan Dolan took out seems to follow the “buy, borrow, die” tax avoidance strategy, according to Edward McCaffery, a tax law professor at the University of Southern California who’s said to have coined the phrase. The idea is that wealthy Americans can limit their tax liabilities by accumulating assets like stocks that appreciate in value without producing taxable income; borrowing money against those assets; and passing the assets on in death to their heirs.
  
  
• Had Dolan sold off his stock holdings to pay for the race, he’d need to pay a capital gains tax on the sale. Instead, he can borrow money at an interest rate lower than the rate that the stock appreciates in value. McCaffery said it’s a common tactic among billionaires… 

• “It’s good to be rich,” McCaffery said.

• “If you’re not super wealthy, a bank is not going to give you a personal loan to fund a political campaign,” [Bob Salera] said.
  

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Columbus, OH – It’s been two weeks since State Issue 1 flopped and Frank LaRose officially became Ohio’s biggest loser after making himself the face of an issue designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans, suffocating his Senate campaign before it started.

LaRose is now being criticized by Republicans writ large for how he mishandled State Issue 1, including from primary opponent Bernie Moreno who has said State Issue 1’s failure is a “preview of what would happen with Frank LaRose at the top of the ticket in 2024.”

As LaRose accepts the reality of his loss, the Ohio Democratic Party today sent him a consolation prize to remind LaRose that he is officially Ohio’s biggest loser.

More on Frank LaRose being Ohio’s biggest loser at the outset of his Senate campaign:

Ohio Capital Journal: Frank LaRose’s very bad day. Sec. of State dodged press, issued angry statement as Issue 1 failed

Marty Schladen

August 11, 2023 

• At 11:23 p.m., LaRose broke his silence by issuing a statement. It was angry, misleading, and hardly a concession that voters disliked his proposal, which they defeated by a 14-point margin. Making the loss even more bitter, some counties that had voted for Donald Trump in 2020 joined the chorus in voting “no” on Issue 1.

• In the end, all the fibs and inconsistencies appear to have cost LaRose and his allies.

• It’s a democratic norm that when politicians lose an election, they concede defeat and acknowledge the will of the voters. But for about 90 minutes after Huffman spoke and two-and-half hours after AP called the race, from the LaRose camp there were… crickets.

ABC News: Ohio referendum jolts marquee Senate race

Isabella Murray and Tal Axelrod

August 10, 2023

• But now, after voters defeated the Republican-backed ballot measure, LaRose is left searching for a new campaign message.

• The referendum’s 14-point loss Tuesday sent Republicans not only scrambling to address a drumbeat of losses after last year’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, but also speculating over the lifespan of LaRose’s nascent Senate campaign.

• “I think the issue for LaRose is, what is the thing that would reinvigorate his campaign? Because Issue 1 was supposed to be the thing,” said David Niven, a political scientist at the University of Cincinnati. “I don’t want to call the crash cart in, but what’s the thing that’s gonna make this a healthy campaign? It’s hard to see what that would be right now.”

The Messenger: Ohio Voters Reject GOP Initiative Seen As Proxy Vote on Abortion

Matt Holt and Dan Merica

August 8, 2023

• The biggest loser in the fight over this issue is Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

• LaRose, a Republican, made himself the face of the “yes” campaign, crisscrossing the state to urge voters to back the issue and centering is newly launched Senate campaign on the issue.

• “The implosion of Issue 1 could be extremely detrimental to LaRose’s fundraising,” said a Republican strategist working in Senate races. “He made himself the face of this issue and then it went down in brutal fashion.”

Columbus Dispatch: How Ohio Issue 1’s defeat could shake up Frank LaRose’s 2024 U.S. Senate campaign

Haley BeMiller

August 13, 2023

• Voters rejected the proposal to make it harder to amend Ohio’s Constitution last week, 57-43%, dealing a blow to LaRose and other Republican leaders who backed it.

• Now, LaRose is barreling into the 2024 U.S. Senate primary with the cloud of Issue 1 above his head. 

• Still, some Republicans say the Aug. 8 results raised a red flag about LaRose’s ability to message on the campaign trail.

Akron Beacon Journal: Editorial: Misguided LaRose loses as Ohioans protect their rights to keep Statehouse accountable

Akron Beacon Journal Editorial Board

August 10, 2023 

• LaRose…clearly believes his personal future is more important than his elected role.

• He’s been caught lying to the public about Issue 1 (it’s not about abortion, he first claimed), wasted $20 million on an August vote after persuading lawmakers to ban summer elections and sought attention at every turn.

• That’s horribly disturbing, considering his role in our elections — including the 2024 presidential race and his own Senate bid.

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Columbus, OH – Frank “Ohio’s Biggest Loser” LaRose sat down with WCMH’s Colleen Marshall last week and was called out over and over again for lying to Ohioans about State Issue 1 and the upcoming amendment to protect abortion rights. 

LaRose has pledged to support a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest if elected to the Senate and has admitted he would ignore and even overturn the will of Ohioans who support protecting abortion access. Recent polls show 58% of Ohioans support protecting reproductive rights. 

LaRose made himself the face of State Issue 1’s flop – an amendment designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans –  and is now “left searching for a new campaign message” at the outset of his Senate campaign. LaRose is facing criticism from Republicans writ large for how he mishandled State Issue 1, including from primary opponent Bernie Moreno who has said State Issue 1’s failure is a “preview of what would happen with Frank LaRose at the top of the ticket in 2024.”

WATCH LAROSE GET CALLED OUT FOR MISLEADING OHIOANS HERE

ON STATE ISSUE 1: 

[02:20] COLLEEN MARSHALL: “…You were front and center in that race [State Issue 1] and voters handily rejected it. You launched your Senate campaign in the middle of all that…”

[03:54] MARSHALL: “But, you know, you said outspent, outraised, the reality is that we reported just last week they raised $14 million, your side had $17 million. You weren’t out-raised, [they] didn’t have more money on the other side, and when you make statements like ‘Well, you know, they sent these deceptive ads out,’ it makes it sound as if you believe voters were duped. Voters that we talked to carefully studied this issue. Do you think voters were duped?”

[04:28] FRANK LAROSE: “I think some people were confused…”

ON THE UPCOMING AMENDMENT TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS:

[05:25] MARSHALL: “Will you be front and center of the reproductive rights race as well, the campaign for reproductive rights? Because some people say as Secretary of State, you oversee these elections, you’re taking a very active role in them.”

[06:12] MARSHALL: “But, as you know, there’s nothing in that proposal that would change existing parental rights laws in Ohio, is there? I mean the way it’s worded, even the people who drafted it say they had no intention to change parental rights laws. And as an example, as what we talked about in the debate, Children’s Hospital spokesman says no doctor would perform the kinds of surgeries they’re warning against without a parent permission.”

[6:59] MARSHALL: “It doesn’t have the word parent in it…”

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