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After LaRose’s attempt to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans failed, LaRose “playing dirty” to mislead Ohioans

Columbus, OH – Ohioans, columnists, and editorial boards across the state are slamming Frank LaRose for “trying to stack the deck” against the will of Ohioans by rewriting the ballot language that over 700,000 Ohioans had already signed on to support ahead of the November election. LaRose previously made himself the face of an August amendment designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans. In the wake of his massive failure, LaRose is now trying again by “twist[ing]” the November ballot language to “confuse” and silence Ohio voters. 

And he won’t stop there. LaRose has already said that if the November amendment passes, he would overrule the majority of Ohioans who support protecting reproductive rights by voting for a national abortion ban if elected to the Senate.  

“Frank LaRose isn’t working for us and has proved he’ll do whatever it takes to silence and overrule Ohioans to support his own political ambitions,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster.

Read more: 

WVXU: Analysis: Ohio GOP’s re-write of abortion rights ballot language is unlikely to make a difference

Howard Wilkinson

August 30, 2023

• In the Aug. 8 special election, Frank LaRose, Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, was told in no uncertain terms that voters had no use for his plan to raise the bar for passing constitutional amendments to 60%.

• Issue 1 failed miserably; and was clearly aimed at making it harder for abortion rights advocates to pass the reproductive rights amendment on the November ballot, which would write access to abortion into the Ohio Constitution.

• LaRose was left with egg on his face.

• But the secretary of state/U.S. Senate candidate wasn’t done.

• Now, the Republican majority of his five-member Ohio Ballot Board — chaired by LaRose and tasked with the job of approving ballot language — stands accused of trying to stack the deck against the abortion rights amendment by inserting what abortion rights groups call misleading, inaccurate and inflammatory language into what should be a simple statement of fact.

• LaRose declined to be interviewed for this column.

• “Clearly, Frank LaRose and his allies are trying to put their thumbs on the scales,” Lewis of Common Cause said. “But people will see through this.”

The Chronicle-Telegram: Trying to spin the ballot

Editorial Board

August 29, 2023

• Frank LaRose and his fellow Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board are up to their old tricks again, massaging ballot language for political advantage.

• The answer is that the GOP Ballot Board members want to spin the language voters will see in a way that could hamper passage of Issue 1.

• It’s disappointing that LaRose would resort to such linguistic tricks. As Ohio’s chief elections official, he should be striving for neutral language to summarize ballot initiatives, regardless of his personal political views.

• Recall that LaRose, who is running in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate next year, pushed to make the Constitution harder to amend, something he said at one point was “100 percent” about abortion. He’s likewise been adamant in his opposition to abortion.

Ohio Capital Journal: LaRose pushes unfair, inaccurate language for voters on November Ohio reproductive rights amendment

Marilou Johanek

August 29, 2023

• Lawmakers rushed a game-changing ballot amendment to an August election (in violation of state law) to sabotage the abortion rights amendment in November. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose spearheaded the shady maneuver to cancel self-governance by majority vote — just to keep a majority of Ohio voters from having their say on abortion access as a constitutional right. 

• The state’s elections chief actively campaigned to end the only enduring recourse of ordinary citizens to circumvent a crooked government because he didn’t want an abortion rights amendment to pass. Sit with that for a minute. The guy who administers the electoral system in Ohio tried to undercut the electorate.

• Frank LaRose, the public servant responsible for conducting free and fair elections in Ohio is playing dirty to win. It’s wrong. But it’s only the beginning. Issue 1 was a preview of the depths Ohio Republicans will go to when they can’t persuade. They cheat. 

The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Frank LaRose, Theresa Gavarone trying to rig system to stop abortion rights

Toba Feldman, Columbus

August 30, 2023

• Secretary of State Frank LaRose and State Senator Theresa Gavarone, both members of Ohio’s Ballot Board, were part of the attempt to increase the requirement of a supermajority for citizen proposed constitutional amendments in the August special election. 

• Their goal was to defeat the reproductive rights issue in the upcoming November election. They failed. However, they did not give up. Now they are trying to rig the November election with ballot language supporting their opposition to the issue. 

• The 700,000 petition signers for the issue, of which over 495,000 were qualified voters, knew exactly what language should be submitted to voters. Stop the games. Run a fair election and debate the facts not the fear. Approve the full text of the proposed amendment.

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After LaRose’s attempt to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans failed, LaRose leads effort to mislead Ohioans ahead of November election

Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose, who made himself the face of an August amendment designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans, is now “twist[ing]” ballot language to protect abortion rights to “confuse” and silence Ohio voters. LaRose has already said that if the November amendment passes, he would overrule the majority of Ohioans who support protecting reproductive rights by voting for a national abortion ban if elected to the Senate.  

LaRose is facing criticism from Republicans at the outset of his Senate campaign after State Issue 1 flopped in August – including from primary opponent Bernie Moreno who said the amendment’s failure was a “preview of what would happen with Frank LaRose at the top of the ticket in 2024.” 

“Frank LaRose isn’t working for us and has proved he’ll do whatever it takes to silence and overrule Ohioans to support his own political ambitions,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster.

Read more:

Huffington Post: Ohio Republicans Twist Ballot Language For Pro-Choice Provision In Likely Attempt To Confuse Voters

Alanna Vagianos

August 25, 2023

• Republicans in Ohio are still trying to pass their anti-choice agenda, even after voters in the state successfully thwarted a ballot initiative earlier this month that would have made it harder to pass a pro-choice constitutional amendment this fall.

• In November, voters will consider a ballot initiative that seeks to enshrine abortion rights and other reproductive freedoms into Ohio’s Constitution. But the five-member Ohio Ballot Board, led by anti-choice advocate and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, on Thursday approved anti-choice language to be used in the initiative, which may confuse voters.

• The approved summary language uses “unborn child” instead of “fetus.” It does not include any language about the right to make decisions about miscarriages, fertility treatments or contraception — even though that’s a significant part of the proposed amendment.

• The approved summary language is also longer than the original supplied by pro-choice organizations behind the initiative, meaning the board can’t argue it needed to trim the summary that would appear on ballots.

• Pro-choice advocates are calling the language intentionally vague and misleading.

• “Secretary of State Frank LaRose today exploited the Ohio Ballot Board process in a last-ditch effort to deceive and confuse Ohio voters ahead of the November vote on reproductive freedom,” Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, one of the main groups advocating for the amendment, said in a press release on Thursday.

• LaRose gave the deciding vote to approve the language in a 3-2 final vote. The Ohio secretary of state was a vocal advocate for the August ballot measure, Issue 1 ― an initiative to raise the threshold for altering the state constitution from a simple statewide majority vote to 60%. Although a simple majority has been the standard in Ohio for over 100 years, anti-abortion advocates in the state called for a special election to raise the vote threshold in a preemptive attempt to block the pro-choice constitutional amendment.

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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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