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Jul 23 2026

WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING: ‘Jon Husted says he wants to protect you from data centers, but he’s the one who invited them in’

Husted was called “The Face Of Data Centers” and led the charge to hand out billions in tax breaks

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting from the Plain Dealer perfectly sums up Jon Husted’s bill on data centers — after years of leading the charge to bring a record number of these “power-hungry” facilities to Ohio, Husted is now pretending he cares about protecting families from higher electricity bills.

According to the Plain Dealer, Husted was “a data center’s best friend” and “spent years rolling out the red carpet” for these massive corporations to come to Ohio. Now, three months away from an election, Husted is “suddenly positioning himself as the guy who’s going to rein them in.”

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

“Husted is shamelessly running away from his record of jacking up Ohioans’ utility rates and selling out Ohio to out of state corporations building data centers in the state. It won’t work because Ohioans know the truth, and they will hold him accountable in November.”

Read more about how Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio:

Jon Husted played such a large role in bringing data centers to Ohio, the editor of Cleveland.com referred to Husted as “the face of data centers.”

When he was Lt. Governor, Husted led the charge to give billions in out-of-control tax breaks to out of state corporations building data centers in Ohio.

Because of Husted’s efforts, Ohioans have seen their utility bills skyrocket, with Ohio seeing the second largest utility rate increase in the country over the last year.

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Jul 22 2026

ICYMI: Data Centers Send Utility Rates Soaring for Ohioans Thanks to Jon Husted

NBC 4 Columbus: Data centers cause Ohio’s energy demand to surpass supply

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting from NBC 4 Columbus shows that the massive data center boom in Ohio, spearheaded by Jon Husted, has caused energy demand to outpace supply, sending utility rates skyrocketing for Ohio families.

Jon Husted, who has been called “the face of data centers” in Ohio, led the charge to bring a record number of facilities to the state, helping cut sweetheart tax deals and fast track approvals for corporations to build massive data centers. CNBC even called Ohio one of the “best positioned to land AI data center deals despite rising public opposition.”

Thanks to Husted’s push to hand billions in tax breaks to attract data centers to Ohio, utility bills are skyrocketing for families — with Ohio seeing the second largest utility rate increase in the country over the last year.

For the second year in a row, the organization that supplies Ohio with electricity was unable to meet its full capacity target.

PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that includes Ohio and 12 other states, said the capacity of resources procured at last week’s auction is short of their reliability requirement.

PJM is facing a shortfall of about 6.8 gigawatts — the same amount of electricity it would take to power about 4 million homes.

It also signals to state lawmakers and consumer watchdogs that Ohioans’ electric bills are going to continue to get even higher.

State Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid) called the PJM auction results “the worst-case scenario.”

“We’ve got data centers entering the market quicker than we can get generation to enter,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, it means prices are probably going to go up and reliability is going to go down.”

PJM has also cited data centers as the primary driver of the overwhelming growth in energy demand.

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Jul 21 2026

Op-ed: Kathleen Clyde: Voting rights are under attack in battleground Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH – With all eyes on battleground Ohio, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde authored an opinion piece in The Hill on Ohio’s safe and secure elections and the anti-voter efforts that are creating headlines for all the wrong reasons. While Republicans in Columbus and Washington continue to spread election conspiracies, Chair Clyde emphasizes in her opinion piece that at a time when Ohio families are struggling in the face of sky-high costs, “what the Republican politicians are doing has nothing to do with safeguarding our elections — and it certainly has nothing to do with lowering costs. It is all about them desperately trying to create outrage over an issue that doesn’t exist because they hope it could increase turnout among their base.”

Read more below from Chair Clyde’s opinion piece featured in The Hill on the importance of standing against anti-voter efforts, and supporting eligible Ohioans in voting in Ohio’s safe and secure elections:

As Ohio returns to battleground status ahead of November’s midterm election, our state is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
In the span of just a few weeks, we’ve gotten an up-close-and-personal look at how the fight over voting rights is evolving. The Republican-controlled statehouse has pushed legislation and a constitutional amendment that would make it harder for eligible Ohioans to vote while the FBI, presumably on orders from Washington, raided a voting rights organization.
When looking at the dangers of these attacks on voting rights in Ohio, let’s start with a simple fact: Ohio’s elections are safe, they’re secure and they’re free from widespread fraud. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has stated this and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) has even called our elections the “gold standard.”
And yet, statehouse Republicans in Columbus recently attempted to pass legislation that would require voters trying to cast their ballot by mail to submit actual copies of their photo ID — legislation that DeWine had to veto because it was both harmful to eligible voters and unnecessary.
Statehouse Republicans also recently forced on the statewide ballot in November an unnecessary constitutional amendment to insert Ohio’s already existing voter ID requirement into the state Constitution. In other words, Republicans want voters to spend time and money enshrining in our Constitution a policy that is already state law, for Ohio’s elections — which are already safe, secure and free from widespread fraud.
We are fighting back. We are sending a message to the Trump administration and to Republican politicians in Washington and Columbus that no attempt to stoke fear, spread confusion and silence voters will stop us.
Ohioans want — and deserve — leaders who will keep our already safe and secure elections running smoothly for generations to come. What Ohioans do not want are needless barriers that only make it more difficult for Ohio’s seniors, military servicemembers, disabled people, college students and others to vote. What Ohioans do not want is federal law enforcement being weaponized to target organizations that help register eligible voters.
What Ohioans do want, in contrast, are leaders who will support Ohio families and lower the costs that they face at a time when Ohioans of all political backgrounds are struggling.
Of course, what the Republican politicians are doing has nothing to do with safeguarding our elections — and it certainly has nothing to do with lowering costs. It is all about them desperately trying to create outrage over an issue that doesn’t exist because they hope it could increase turnout among their base.
With Election Day approaching, it is critical that eligible voters feel confident that they can register, cast a ballot and participate in our democratic process without fear or confusion. We’re fighting back in Ohio because we know that our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters are able to vote.
Voting, after all, is how Ohioans make their voices heard. It is how we have a say in our state’s future. And, in case the statehouse Republicans have forgotten, it is also the core foundation of our democracy.

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Jul 21 2026

WATCH: Vivek Ramaswamy Lies About Plan to Shut Down Ohio Colleges & Universities After Backlash From His Own Party

Columbus, Ohio- New reporting from WEWS’ Morgan Trau caught Vivek Ramaswamy desperately lying about his plan to shut down Ohio colleges and universities to fund his extreme income tax scam.

WATCH THE CLIP HERE:

“In the spring, Ramaswamy posted a video to social media and wrote an article encouraging the state to shut down what he called struggling universities. He called out Cleveland State, University of Akron, Kent, and Central State University as problem colleges. He tripled down on that idea at a Turning Point USA event in April. ‘I don’t think you should be funding subpar universities.’”

Students, university presidents, and even Republicans including Governor Mike DeWine and State Sen. Jerry Cirino pushed back on Ramaswamy’s idea. DeWine said: “I’m not in favor of consolidating our colleges or doing away with any of our 14 public universities. It’s important to have them all over the state so frankly, people who can’t afford to live at the college and pay room and board, they can commute. We still have commuters.” When asked about Ramaswamy’s proposal, Cirino said, “I don’t know how much he knows about how higher education works.”

“Con man Vivek Ramaswamy is lying again because he knows shutting down colleges and universities is deeply unpopular with Ohioans, just like the rest of his costly and out-of-touch policy scams,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans know they can’t afford Vivek Ramaswamy’s schemes and they can’t trust him to stand up for their communities — he’s only out for himself.”

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Jul 21 2026

DEJA VU: Gas Prices Spike Again As Husted Voted 11 Times To Continue The War in Iran

ASSOCIATED PRESS: US gas prices hit an average of $4 a gallon again as the US and Iran launch attacks

Prices have skyrocketed in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Gas prices have spiked again in Ohio due to the endless war in Iran that has claimed the lives of three more U.S. service members since Friday. Yet Jon Husted continues to support the reckless war that has put further strain on families already struggling to afford groceries, utilities, health care, and other everyday expenses. Nationally, gas prices reached an average of $4 a gallon after continued attacks in Iran.

Meanwhile, Jon Husted has voted eleven times to support the endless war in Iran that has sent costs skyrocketing.

Husted claimed earlier this month that the military operation “went very well” while admitting the war he supported “has put a strain on Americans.”

When asked recently if he was okay with not knowing how long the war will last or how much taxpayer dollars will be spent, Husted replied, “it’s not really up to us.”

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

“Jon Husted has voted eleven times to support another endless conflict in the Middle East while admitting it’s hurting Ohioans — yet he keeps doubling down instead of working to lower costs at home. Gas prices are surging again thanks to the Husted-backed war in Iran, and Ohio families are once again being forced to pay the price.”

While Husted keeps voting to make everything more expensive, he also can’t help himself from insulting hardworking Ohioans struggling because of his votes:

When asked what he was doing to address rising gas prices for his constituents, Husted responded: “What do you want me to do?”

When a truck driver asked about soaring diesel costs, Husted brushed him off and responded by asking if he was comfortable with Iran being a nuclear power.

When asked about the pain that Ohio families are feeling at the pump, Jon Husted’s campaign “declined to comment.”

Jon Husted has claimed that he thinks the war is “good news for the global economy” and going “much better than anyone thought it would.”

Husted argued that Ohioans getting crushed with skyrocketing prices just have to “remain strong,” as gas in Ohio “remains astronomically high.”

Jon Husted continues to insult struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and consistently dismisses the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

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