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Former Vice President Mike Pence – who has called for a national abortion ban – will be in Ohio today to speak at an anti-abortion organization’s fundraiser in Cincinnati. Pence’s visit is a reminder that all Republicans running for Ohio’s Senate seat hold extreme positions on abortion, including support for extreme bans that make no exceptions for rape or incest.

“Mike Pence’s visit in Cincinnati is a reminder for all Ohioans that Matt Dolan, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose and Warren Davidson support an extreme abortion ban,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “Ohioans will hold them accountable for their out-of-touch, unpopular positions.”
 
Here’s what else you need to know about #OHSEN Republicans and abortion: 

• At his campaign launch, Bernie Moreno said he is “unequivocally pro-life.” He does not support exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother.

• Warren Davidson recently signed onto an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to restrict a widely used, safe abortion medication. He supported a national ban on abortion that makes no exceptions for rape or incest.
   
• Frank LaRose celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade and has supported an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
   
• Matt Dolan celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it “exciting.”
• Last Friday, the Ohio Republican Party voted to formally oppose a reproductive rights amendment that would protect a woman’s right to choose. 
• Republicans are expected to vote on a measure this week that would effectively end citizen-led ballot initiatives in Ohio and put them one-step closer to passing a total abortion ban.

Columbus, OH – Tomorrow, the Ohio House of Representatives is set to vote on a measure that would effectively eliminate citizen-led ballot initiatives in Ohio. The time has come for Ohio Republicans to decide if they’re going to let an out-of-state billionaire buy Ohio’s Constitution or stand up for working Ohioans. 

“Republican politicians in the House have a choice to make: are they going to side with Ohio voters or an out-of-state, out-of-touch billionaire? Ohio’s Constitution belongs to the people of Ohio, not the highest bidder. It’s time for Republicans to do the right thing and kill this bill,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, billionaire Richard Uihlein is bankrolling the Super PAC working to effectively end citizen-led ballot initiatives in Ohio. Uihlein has a long history of donating millions to conservative causes and attempting to buy elections. 

Here’s what you should know about Uihlein:

• Uihlein is an Illinois-based billionaire and “one of the GOP’s biggest mega donors.” who has funneled millions to out-of-touch political causes and candidates.
  
  
• Uihlein has repeatedly used his fortune to try to buy elections. In 2016 alone, Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth spent nearly $24 million on candidates, PACs and parties across the country. 

Read more about Richard Uihlein in the Columbus Dispatch HERE and below:

• A conservative megadonor is funneling more than $1 million into Ohio to persuade House Republicans to vote on a measure that would make it harder to amend the state constitution.
  
  
• Richard Uihlein gave roughly $1.1 million this month to the newly formed Save Our Constitution PAC, which is urging lawmakers to set an August election for Ohio voters to decide on the proposed amendment. The measure, if approved, would require 60% of the vote to enact new constitutional amendments, instead of a simple majority.
  
  
• Save Our Constitution PAC has already been running radio ads against Stephens and Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, in southern Ohio. But the group is ramping up its efforts with texting, digital and television ads targeted at Stephens and other key House Republicans.
  
  
• Uihlein is the PAC’s sole benefactor. The Illinois billionaire and his wife, Elizabeth, are major Republican donors and spent roughly $54 million during the 2022 election cycle. Richard Uihlein donated to several Ohio GOP congressional candidates and gave millions to the anti-tax group Club for Growth, which backed Josh Mandel’s 2022 U.S. Senate campaign.
  
  
• Proponents of the resolution are pushing for an August election to get ahead of a November ballot question that would enshrine abortion access in Ohio. The proposed amendment would also require petitioners to gather signatures of support from all 88 counties, instead of 44, and eliminate a 10-day period for them to replace invalid signatures.
  
  
• Critics say the plan would take power away from citizens and make the process so onerous that only well-funded outside groups could get something on the ballot. Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters’ of Ohio, said it’s hypocritical for the resolution’s backers to use out-of-state funders to fight their cause.
  
  
• “Ohio’s constitution is not for sale to out-of-state billionaires,” Miller said. “The Ohio General Assembly must reject this undemocratic and unfair attack on citizens’ abilities to amend the constitution. There’s nothing good government about this.”
  

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It’s been another busy week in what’s already been called “one of the messiest,” “most expensive,” and “bruising” primaries in the country. Here’s what you might have missed.
 

REPUBLICAN OPERATIVES AGREE: THIS BRUISING PRIMARY IS ANYONE’S GAME
 
From The Hill: “It’s wide open. Even more wide open than last time…If you don’t have $10+ million, it’s almost not plausible [to complete]. That’s the first, second and third hurdle for anyone.”
 
Plus, Bernie Moreno, Matt Dolan, Frank LaRose and Warren Davidson are still expected to continue to “duke it out” for months.
 
FRANK LAROSE ADMITS HE HAS A TRUMP PROBLEM
 
Frank “ideological chameleon” LaRose was caught telling attendees of a “closed-door political event” that Trump’s support “doesn’t carry the same weight it used to.” 
 
At the same time, LaRose criticized Bernie Moreno – who Trump has praised – in just the latest sign that this primary is only getting messier from here.
 
Will Bernie Moreno respond to LaRose’s attacks? Only time will tell…



 AND MATT DOLAN GETS CAUGHT PRIORITIZING PROFITS OVER OHIOANS 
 
The Sandusky Register reports that Matt Dolan owns up to $50,000 in Norfolk Southern stock. 
 
Since derailments across Ohio – including in Sandusky – Dolan has refused to endorse the bipartisan Railway Safety Act legislation which would enhance safety procedures to protect workers and Ohio communities while enforcing greater penalties on corporations like Norfolk Southern for wrongdoing.
 
Coincidence? We think not. 

Columbus, OH – In case you missed it, Ohio veteran Connie Pillich penned an op-ed for Cincinnati.com this week outlining the ways that Frank LaRose’s anti-voter legislation is also anti-veteran. The bill, championed by Frank LaRose, prevents veterans from using their county-issued photo IDs to cast their votes and shortens the window for service members to return their absentee ballots when they’re serving overseas.

“Our servicemen and women should be focused on the mission at hand and keeping themselves safe when serving overseas, not rushing to mail in their ballot so their vote can count like the rest of us. Our veterans at home shouldn’t have to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to cast their vote. But Republicans are scared that voters will hold them accountable for their out-of-touch policies, so they’re making it harder for all of us − including members of our military − to vote,” wrote Pillich. 

Read more from Cincinnati.com HERE and below:

• Earlier this year, Republican politicians at the Statehouse − bolstered by Secretary of State Frank LaRose − enacted one of the worst anti-voter bills in the entire country. The bill, among other things, disenfranchises Ohio’s veterans and military members who put their lives on the line for our democracy and the sacred right to vote. 
  
  
• This bill is a slap in the face to any Ohio veteran who has ever put on a uniform and served our nation. LaRose and his Republican cronies at the Statehouse should be ashamed of themselves.
  
  
• Not only does this legislation prevent veterans from using their county-issued photo IDs to cast their votes, it shortens the window for our service members to return their absentee ballots when they’re serving overseas.
  
  
• Our servicemen and women should be focused on the mission at hand and keeping themselves safe when serving overseas, not rushing to mail in their ballot so their vote can count like the rest of us. Our veterans at home shouldn’t have to jump through bureaucratic hoops just to cast their vote. But Republicans are scared that voters will hold them accountable for their out-of-touch policies, so they’re making it harder for all of us − including members of our military − to vote. 
  
  
• LaRose knows better. But LaRose will always put his own political ambitions over the needs of the people he swore an oath to serve. 
  
  
• Late last year, LaRose chose politics over people when he voted for GOP-gerrymandered maps he privately described as “asinine.” And right now, he’s pushing legislation that would effectively kill citizen-led ballot initiatives and create a $20 million, taxpayer-funded election in August − all so that politicians at the Statehouse can pursue their special interest agenda while the voters they’re elected to serve are hurt the hardest. 
  
  
• LaRose has sold out our state so he can run for U.S. Senate. And we’re the ones paying the price. 
  

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Frank LaRose was caught on tape downplaying the value of a Trump endorsement – an admission of his own problems with the former president and the latest sign of how messy the Republican primary will become. LaRose told attendees of a “closed-door political event” that Trump’s support “doesn’t carry the same weight it used to” and. at the same time, criticized Bernie Moreno who Trump has praised. 
 
“Frank LaRose knows he has a Trump problem which is why he’s trying to convince Ohio Republicans behind closed doors that the former President’s support doesn’t matter and attacking the candidate Trump has praised,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “This is just the latest sign that this primary is only going to get messier from here as candidates are forced to duke it out to earn their conservative bona fides.”
 
Read more: 
 
POLITICO: Top Senate GOP recruit privately casts doubt on power of Trump endorsement
Meridith McGraw
May 4, 2023

• Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement is widely viewed among Republican candidates as the golden ticket to the nomination. But at least one prominent GOPer weighing a bid in a competitive state has privately conveyed he thinks the former president’s seal of approval is overstated.
• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a potential candidate in the race to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, recently told a group of Ohio Republicans at a closed-door political event that while Trump’s endorsement “matters,” it doesn’t carry the same weight it used to. He pegged the proportion of Republican voters who would “vote for whoever” Trump endorses at just 20 percent.
• “Max [Miller] has been making trips down to Mar-a-lago saying hey Mr. Trump, President Trump, can you endorse my father in law? Notice that [Trump] didn’t endorse him but he said nice things about him,” LaRose said in the recording.
• Few, if any, GOP candidates would openly downplay the significance of Trump’s endorsement. At the GOP event, he said that the 2022 midterms proved that the Trump endorsement doesn’t carry as much weight as it once did.
• LaRose, for his part, has not endorsed Trump’s current presidential campaign. Neither he nor Dolan have said whom they would support. So far, Moreno is the only candidate who has endorsed Trump.
• Trump has conveyed to aides he is less concerned with putting his stamp of approval on other candidates when he is running for president himself. He has been working the phones and meeting with state leaders in an effort to earn endorsements of his own.