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The Field Doubled Down In Support Of A National Abortion Ban & Shutting Down The Government, Moreno Couldn’t Escape His Record Of Shredding Evidence To Get Out Of Paying His Employees The Overtime They Earned

Columbus, OH – Tonight, the Ohio Senate Slugfest came to a head as Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan escalated this already “messy” and “bruising” slugfest and made it clear they won’t fight for Ohioans – from supporting a national abortion ban that would overrule Ohioans and shutting down the government despite the devastating consequences, to Bernie Moreno being unable to escape his record of shredding key evidence to get out of paying his employees the overtime they earned.  

Here are the top 3 clips from tonight’s debate: 

1. The entire field doubled down in support of overruling Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban. 

Bernie Moreno: “In as so much as there is a federal role, I think we can work towards…getting to a point where we can have a 15 week floor where there’s common sense restrictions after 15 weeks.” 

Frank LaRose: “When it comes to federal standards, listen the states can set their own standards, but there should be a bare minimum that we look at at the federal level.” 

Matt Dolan: “I would support… 15 weeks.”

2. Bernie Moreno was slammed for shredding key evidence a judge had ordered him to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned. 

Matt Dolan: “This is about trust. And Bernie, we learned this week that I don’t know if we can trust you. You know, your employees trusted you to follow a court order and do not destroy documents that help their case against you. But what did you do? You shredded those documents because it helped Bernie Moreno – not the employees. This is a matter of trust.” 

Read the full report from Business Insider here.

3. Bernie Moreno and Frank LaRose doubled down in support of a government shutdown, which would be devastating for Ohioans. 

Bernie Moreno: “[A government shutdown] would not be something you’d take off the table because it lessens your ability to negotiate.”

Frank LaRose: “You bet I’m willing to shut down the government.” 

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Columbus, OH – With an already “bloody,” “bruising,” “messy,” and “expensive” knock-down-drag-out primary underway, the Ohio Senate Slugfest escalated further at tonight’s debate as Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan hurled attacks at one another and made it clear that none of them will fight for Ohioans. 

“In between every barb and insult lobbed at tonight’s debate, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan made it clear that they have no interest in fighting for Ohioans or the issues most important to their daily lives,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith. “Whether it was doubling down on their support for a national abortion ban that would overrule the will of Ohioans, pledging to shut down the government despite the devastating consequences, or the fact that Bernie Moreno couldn’t run from his record of destroying key evidence to avoid paying his employees the overtime they were owed, Ohioans saw tonight that Moreno, LaRose, and Dolan won’t fight for anyone but themselves.”
 

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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan would all overrule Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban despite Ohioans voting overwhelmingly in November to protect reproductive rights and overturn the state’s dangerous abortion ban.
 
The entire #OHSEN field would overrule Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban in the Senate: 

• Bernie Moreno supports a national abortion ban and does not support exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. At his campaign launch, Bernie Moreno said he is “unapologetically pro-life.”
   
• Frank LaRose supports a national abortion ban, opposes exceptions for rape or incest, and admitted he colluded with out-of-state special interests to try to ban abortion by rewriting the November ballot language to be intentionally misleading.
   
• Matt Dolan celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling it “exciting.” Dolan said defeating the November amendment was a priority and said he would support a national abortion ban.

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Columbus, OH – New reporting last week revealed that Bernie Moreno destroyed key evidence a judge had ordered him to keep to avoid paying his employees the overtime they deserved. After forcing his employees to sue him to get the pay they were entitled to, Moreno was found liable by a jury for wage theft and was forced by the Court to pay over $400,000 in damages – only then did he settle over a dozen lawsuits before launching his Senate bid. 
 
FACT: Moreno shredded key records containing information about his employees’ overtime hours – evidence he was legally required to retain and that he agreed to provide the court – because he knew the documents would prove he owed his workers. Moreno was sanctioned by a judge for destroying evidence. Key points from Business Insider:

• “From the beginning, Moreno was required to preserve all documents relevant to the case, and he specifically agreed to do so in January 2020…”
• “But during a May 2021 deposition for one of those wage theft cases, Moreno conceded that in late 2020, he had destroyed paper copies of monthly reports containing information about overtime hours worked by some employees…”
• “…Moreno admitted in a deposition to shredding documents containing information that was potentially relevant to the case, despite being instructed to preserve records — drawing a rebuke from a state judge.”
• “[T]he judge in that case, Justice Michael Ricciuti, chose to sanction him for destroying potential evidence…”

FACT:A jury found Moreno liable for wage theft and forced him to pay more than $400,000 in damages to his employees. Moreno ultimately settled 13 additional similar lawsuits in 2023, just months before launching his second Senate bid. Key points from Business Insider:

• “Ultimately, a jury found in August 2022 that Adem and another salesperson who joined the lawsuit had proven ‘by a preponderance of the evidence’ that they had worked overtime hours, and that his employers knew that.”
• “The judge later ordered Moreno to pay out a total of $416,160, including compensation for the overtime hours worked, damages, and legal fees, in November. In January 2023, Moreno settled 14 of the 16 related lawsuits, court records show. Just 3 months later in April 2023, Moreno launched his comeback bid for US Senate.”

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Columbus, OH – Bernie Moreno called for a government shutdown despite the devastating consequences it would have on Ohioans. Moreno opposed the bipartisan stopgap spending plan in September and called to shut down the federal government, which would have forced tens of thousands of Ohioans to work without pay. With additional funding deadlines looming, Ohioans should know Moreno is more focused on scoring political points than fighting for them. 
 
What you need to know about how a government shutdown would impact Ohioans:

• Ohio small businesses would lose an estimated $4,627,400 in financing per business day. 
   
• A shutdown would negatively impact the economy, Ohio workers, and Ohio families – an estimated 6,800 active duty troops in Ohio would not receive pay and tens of thousands of civilian employees would either be furloughed or forced to work without pay. 
   
• Many Ohio families, including more than 93,000 Ohio children, would also lose their access to healthy food. 
   
• Ohioans receiving Social Security could be at risk for disruptions. 

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