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Columbus, OH – Yesterday, Indiana’s near-total abortion law went into effect, inserting GOP politicians into the personal, private healthcare decisions of millions of Indiana women. Corrupt, out-of-touch politicians here in Ohio are working toward the same goal and have admitted that State Issue 1 is designed to prevent Ohioans from protecting abortion rights  to achieve their ultimate goal of passing a  total abortion ban. 

“If State Issue 1 passes, out-of-touch politicians here in Ohio will follow Indiana’s lead by passing a total abortion ban. The best way to stop their war on women dead in its tracks? Voting no on Issue One next Tuesday. We must keep the power in the hands of the people, not politicians, by defeating Issue One and telling these corrupt Republicans: we won’t go back,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

It’s clear that the upcoming August election is just the latest step in the Republican playbook to implement a total abortion ban here in Ohio: 

• After months of denying the truth, Frank LaRose admitted the truth, saying the quiet part out loud that next week’s election is ‘100 percent’ about abortion. 

• After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Republican Attorney Dave Yost rushed to implement a six-week abortion ban, one of the most extreme in the nation. He then went on national television to cast doubt on a ten-year-old rape victim who was forced to travel out of state for reproductive healthcare. Yost refused to apologize when her story turned out to be true. 

• GOP Governor Mike DeWine told a group of anti-abortion activists that he wanted ‘to go as far as we can’ to limit abortion protections here in Ohio.

• And Republican state legislator Jean Schmidt – who called rape an ‘opportunity’ – told a conservative radio host that she would consider banning birth control. 

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6 days until Ohioans decide on LaRose’s amendment

Ohioans will decide on Frank LaRose’s amendment in six days and LaRose’s close ties to State Issue 1 continue to backfire – putting him “in serious trouble” while “obscuring” his Senate campaign. 
 
After trying to pull his primary opponents closer to State Issue 1, LaRose’s “hail mary pass to save his political career” is being called a “sign of desperation.” 
 
LaRose is also now facing another ethics complaint, filed by the Libertarian Party of Ohio, for violating federal law by making himself the face of an amendment that would benefit special interests and silence the Ohioans he’s supposed to be working for. 
 
“The writing is on the wall: LaRose’s missteps have hurt himself and State Issue 1 while suffocating his Senate campaign launch,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “If State Issue 1 fails, LaRose will be crowned Ohio’s biggest loser.”
 
Read More:
 
Cleveland.com: Did Issue 1 creator Frank LaRose just throw a Hail Mary pass to save his political career? Today in Ohio
August 1, 2023

• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose asked his Republican opponents in the U.S. Senate race, state Sen. Matt Dolan and car salesman Bernie Moreno, to contribute $1 million apiece to help fund the State Issue 1 campaign.
• Is it a sign of desperation? 
• One week from today, Ohioans who have not voted early will go to the polls on Issue 1, the move by Frank LaRose to persuade voters to disembowel themselves. We see lots of signs that this thing is going down, and we had one more Monday, when LaRose threw a Hail Mary pass to keep his backing of this terrible thing from destroying his political future. What did he do?
• [00:02:28] Chris Quinn: “He (LaRose) put his whole stock and trade in [Issue One], which is odd for a Secretary of State who’s supposed to protect the voters. He’s doing the opposite. He’s led the charge, he’s done it sleazy the whole way. And if this goes down, his opponents in the senate race are going to say he’s a loser. Bernie’s already saying, ‘Hey, you, you went the wrong way. You should be talking about protecting the Constitution, not abortion.’”
• [00:04:20] Chris Quinn: “The guy is in serious trouble and I hope when it goes down, if it goes down, he’s done – because he really shouldn’t have a seat at the table anymore.”

Cleveland.com: Barbie and Issue 1: Darcy cartoons
Jeff Darcy
August 1, 2023

• “Previews of the Barbenheimer sequel, ‘Barbenheimer- Issue 1′ contain a climax scene showing a giant mushroom cloud of hot pink hues obscuring ‘Frank LaRose for Senate’ and ‘Super Majority needed for State Constitution Amendments’ signs. Along with Barbie giving a ‘thumbs up’ to a ‘No’ vote on Issue 1, and Ken voting ‘Yes.’
   
• In another sign Issue 1 sponsors fear its failure, Ohio Secretary of State and U.S. Senate candidate Frank LaRose requested his two wealthier, but lesser known, Senate opponents, Matt Dolan and Bernie Moreno, contribute $1 million each to the Issue 1 campaign for TV ads and voter outreach.
   
• Issue 1 is undemocratic and attempts to suppress voting rights and the principle of a simple majority rule, which makes it all the more appalling that LaRose is one of its strongest proponents when he’s a former Green Beret and current Ohio Secretary of State, whose chief duty is to protect and promote the vote, not suppress & abort it.

Ideastream: Libertarian Party of Ohio: Secretary of State’s pro-Issue 1 stance breaks federal law
Jo Ingles
August 1, 2023

• Saying he’s breaking federal law, the Libertarian Party of Ohio has filed a complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel against Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. At issue is the Hatch Act, which regulates political activities of public officials.
   
• LaRose has been outspoken in the party’s efforts to convince Ohio voters to approve Issue 1. That question on the Aug. 8 special election ballot would make it harder to pass future constitutional amendments by requiring a 60% passage threshold instead of a simple majority. It’s before voters months ahead of an abortion access and reproductive rights amendment on the November ballot.
   
• “And therein lies the problem – with Frank LaRose going out there campaigning in favor of Issue 1 while supposedly having to be an impartial election administrator.”
   
• Issue 1 is the only question on the Aug. 8 special election ballot. Last year, LaRose led a charge for HB 458, a law to get rid of most August special elections. But lawmakers pushed for the vote before a reproductive rights amendment in the fall. Republican lawmakers, including LaRose, have said the change is about abortion, but have also recently added that it goes beyond that. 
   
• “‘Two-faced Frank’ needs to be called out and that’s what we are doing,” Irvine said. 

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Libertarian Party says Frank LaRose violated federal law with Issue 1 campaign
Haley BeMiller
August 1, 2023

• The Libertarian Party of Ohio has accused Secretary of State Frank LaRose of violating federal law for campaigning in favor of Issue 1 on the Aug. 8 ballot.
   
• “For someone who is using Issue 1 to campaign for federal office, LaRose should probably be more familiar with federal laws while administering federal funds,” said Travis Irvine… “Libertarians have known all too well since 2013 that ‘Two Faced Frank’ will do whatever it takes to get ahead.”

WOUB: LaRose calls on his GOP U.S. Senate opponents to pony up $1 million for pro-Issue 1 campaign
Jo Ingles
August 1, 2023

• Next month’s controversial effort to make it harder to amend Ohio‘s constitution is coming into next year’s Republican U.S. Senate primary.
   
• “Frank LaRose has, from the start, taken leadership of this issue, going back to last year. And he has put in the sweat equity. He’s done over 60 events across the state,” Kindel said, noting LaRose’s appearances in televised debates and at Republican dinners and forums. “Frank LaRose is really putting in that grass roots support.”
   
• “What Ohio needs is a Secretary of State that is paying attention to the job to which he was elected. Instead, ours is trying to divide Republicans at the last minute. He’s also spent more time shooting fake jogging ads and fundraising in Washington, D.C., to fuel his own political career,” DiStefano said, referring to LaRose’s campaign launch video. “So, we’re curious: How many of LaRose’s D.C. fundraisers were in support of Issue 1?” 

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Libertarians allege Secretary of State LaRose mixing Issue 1 campaign with official duty
Nick Evans
August 2, 2023

• The Libertarian Party of Ohio has filed a complaint with federal officials alleging Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s Issue 1 advocacy violates the Hatch Act.
   
• The law prohibits employees and certain officeholders from using their authority to influence the outcome of an election.
   
• The complaint argues that because LaRose’s office administers federal election funds, his campaign activity is subject to Hatch Act provisions.
   
• He goes on to argue that LaRose’s tweets demonstrate the intermingling of official and campaign activity. But they also hint at a much more extensive effort to sway voters. LaRose’s “many appearances and meetings to trumpet Issue 1 pile on to demonstrate his ‘well-established pattern’ to get his message in support of Issue 1 across to voters,” Brown wrote.

7 days until Ohioans decide on LaRose’s amendment

Ohioans will decide on Frank LaRose’s amendment one week from today and LaRose’s missteps are front and center – including when LaRose admitted that the amendment is “100%” about abortion. 
 
LaRose has closely tied himself to State Issue 1 – which would benefit special interests and silence the Ohioans he’s supposed to be working for – suffocating his Senate campaign in the process. With a week left until election day, LaRose is now running for cover and trying to pull his primary opponents closer to State Issue 1. 
 
“The writing is on the wall: LaRose’s missteps have hurt himself and State Issue 1 while suffocating his Senate campaign launch,” said ODP spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “If State Issue 1 fails, LaRose will be crowned Ohio’s biggest loser.”
 
Here’s what you need to know about Frank LaRose’s first misstep – admitting that State Issue 1 is “100%” about abortion:
 
After months of State Issue 1 proponents denying that the amendment was designed to make it harder for Ohioans to protect their reproductive rights, LaRose was caught red-handed saying the quiet part out loud that State Issue 1 is “100%” about abortion.
 

Since his mistake, LaRose has been criticized by his primary opponent Bernie Moreno and his words have been used against him.
 

LaRose has tried and failed to lie his way out of his comments – most recently on the debate stage while defending State Issue 1 – but his mistake has “roil[ed]” the Yes on 1’s arguments and his Senate campaign ever since. 

WATCH

Ohioans to Vote on LaRose’s Amendment – Which Would Benefit Special Interests and Silence Ohioans – Next Week

In anticipation of voters rejecting his amendment to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans next week, Frank LaRose is running for cover and trying to pull his primary opponents closer to State Issue 1.
 
LaRose, who has made himself the face of State Issue 1, has been criticized for major missteps that have both hurt himself and the Yes on 1 campaign – including by saying the quiet part out loud that State Issue 1 is “100%” about abortion. 
 
“LaRose is scrambling after making himself the face of State Issue 1, but the writing is on the wall: LaRose’s missteps have hurt himself and State Issue 1 while suffocating his Senate campaign launch,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “If State Issue 1 fails, LaRose will be crowned Ohio’s biggest loser.”
 

Read / watch more about Frank LaRose’s close ties to State Issue 1: 
 
The State of Ohio: Frank LaRose tied to State Issue 1; “I think that will really strongly be used against him in campaigns.”
July 28, 2023

• Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau: “So, speaking of partisanship, do you think Republicans who have been at the front of this issue will pay a political price for it if it fails? I’m thinking of Secretary of State Frank LaRose who’s now running for the U.S. Senate. Do you think it will help or hurt him, what do you think, Natalie?”
• Natalie Fahmy, WCMH: “You know, I think it will depend ultimately what ends up happening in November because whether or not Issue 1 fails, I think there are going to be some Republicans who are ok with it and some who aren’t ok with it. But I think November, I think that’s definitely a more partisan issue and I think if that fails it’s going to be: ‘Well, because the Secretary of State couldn’t get Issue 1 to pass and that’s why this abortion amendment passed and is now enshrined in our constitution’ and I think that will really strongly be used against him in campaigns.”
• Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland.com: “…If Issue 1 ends up failing, you’re going to see a lot of finger pointing among Republicans…”

Cleveland.com: Secretary of State Frank LaRose has gone out on a limb to support Issue 1. What will that mean for his U.S. Senate race?: Analysis
Andrew Tobias
July 20, 2023

• And while it’s too simple to say that [LaRose’s] political fortunes will rise or fall with State Issue 1, his close ties to the measure will offer plenty of chances for him to catch attacks from across the political spectrum.
• Many key Ohio Republicans back State Issue 1, which would make it harder to pass future constitutional amendments, including a potential abortion-rights amendment in November. There’s a compelling argument to be made though that LaRose is the issue’s most prominent face.
• During an interview with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer this week, LaRose, who has described himself as pro-life, said he’s not worried about whether he’s tied himself too closely to State Issue 1 and the broader abortion issue. He’s continued to make pro-Issue 1 advocacy a top priority, working the county GOP circuit and even putting a “Yes on 1″ sign into the video announcing his U.S. Senate candidacy.
• It’s easy to see how LaRose putting his stamp on Issue 1 could materialize in the Republican primary. If it fails, he opens himself up to being painted as the face of the losing effort. That’s beginning to look likely, after a Suffolk University / USA Today Network poll came out Wednesday night showing the measure losing 59% to 26% among voters who say they plan to vote in 2023 and 2024 elections.

Cleveland.com: “Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s Senate primary race will be preceded by his tough race to get Issue 1 passed in a special August election.”
 

MSNBC: Ohio Republicans’ plan to trick voters may backfire spectacularly
Paul Waldman
July 25, 2023

• If the measure succeeds, it would be a dramatic blow to the Republican agenda on one of the most important issues dividing the parties.
• In other words, if Issue 1 succeeds, it would be dramatically harder to get an initiative on the ballot and dramatically harder for it to win. And though Republicans have claimed they only want to advance “good government,” among friends they’re more forthright. As Secretary of State Frank LaRose (who is also running for the Senate) said at a Republican gathering recently, the measure “is 100% about keeping a radical, pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution.”

 WBNS: “Secretary of State Frank LaRose, for example, included a clip of his jog past a ‘Vote Yes’ sign in his yard in yesterday’s Senate campaign announcement.”
 

Statehouse News Bureau: LaRose enters race for the U.S. Senate while being at the forefront of a controversial ballot issue
Jo Ingles, Karen Kasler
July 17, 2023

• LaRose’s entry into the race has come later than some had anticipated and it is happening now, while he is at the forefront of the campaign in support of Issue 1 – the proposed constitutional change that Ohio voters will decide next month that would make it harder for future citizen-led constitutional amendments to pass or even get onto the ballot. That vote comes just months ahead of a possible November ballot issue to enshrine abortion rights into Ohio’s constitution.
• LaRose has told crowds the issue is “100%” about blocking the abortion amendment, but has also said it would protect the constitution from a variety of “special interests” in the future. Unions, Democrats, groups supporting various issues and some Republicans have opposed Issue 1, saying it would do the opposite because special interests would be the only ones who would be able to mount a constitutional change if Issue 1 passes. 

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose joins U.S. Senate race
Nick Evans
July 18, 2023

• Over the next four months, LaRose will have to balance Senate fundraising and campaigning with running two elections. One of those contests — an Aug. 8 election on Issue 1 that seeks to make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution — is only on the calendar at Republicans’ insistence. LaRose is one of the proposal’s chief advocates and after initially speaking against August elections when lawmakers eliminated them last year, LaRose supported bringing back this August election to consider Issue 1.
• Far from sitting on the sidelines for Issue 1, LaRose has been a driving force in the push to amend Ohio’s constitution so that future amendments are harder to pass.

The Vindicator: The ups and downs of LaRose’s Senate bid
David Skolnick
July 21, 2023

• Finally, LaRose is one of the primary backers of state Issue 1, which would make it much harder for constitutional amendments to pass if voters approve it Aug. 8. LaRose is so connected to the issue that his Senate cause could be impacted if it is defeated.
• LaRose is so connected to the issue that his Senate cause could be impacted if it is defeated.

After making himself “the face of” an amendment designed to benefit special interests and silence Ohioans, Frank LaRose is running for cover and trying to pull his primary opponents closer to State Issue 1. 
 
LaRose has been criticized for major missteps that have both hurt himself and the Yes on 1 campaign – including by saying the quiet part out loud that State Issue 1 is “100%” about abortion. 
 
“LaRose is scrambling after making himself the face of State Issue 1, but the writing is on the wall: LaRose’s missteps have hurt himself and State Issue 1 while suffocating his Senate campaign launch,” said ODP Spokesperson Reeves Oyster. “If State Issue 1 fails, LaRose will be crowned Ohio’s biggest loser.”
 
Read more:
 
The Messenger: Ohio Secretary of State Issues Ultimatum to Senate GOP Challengers Over Anti-Abortion Vote
Matt Holt
July 31, 2023

• Frank LaRose has made himself the face of the controversial ballot issue that Ohio voters will vote on next week
• Dolan, LaRose, and Moreno all support voting yes on Issue 1, but LaRose has made himself the face of the effort, campaigning across Ohio and appearing at a televised debate on the issue.
• “The only thing I would knock Frank on is that he said it’s ‘100% about abortion’ which has screwed up the messaging,” Moreno said. “It’s 100% about protecting the constitution.” 
• But LaRose’s backhanded attacks against Dolan and Moreno reflect his posture in the upcoming GOP primary, which is expected to be another bruising, expensive, and competitive affair. Dolan and Moreno are both wealthy and have the ability to self-fund their campaigns. Moreno raised $2.2 million in the second quarter of 2023 without any candidate loans, while Dolan has loaned his campaign $4 million this year.  
• If Issue 1 is defeated soundly, it would be a blow to LaRose’s political capital, considering how much he has campaigned in support of the issue. 

Cleveland.com: In Ohio GOP U.S. Senate Race, Frank LaRose asks his rivals for $1 million each backing State Issue 1
Jake Zuckerman
July 31, 2023

• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose – a key figure behind the looming State Issue 1 election to make it harder for citizens to propose and pass constitutional amendments – wants his political rivals to chip in for the cause.
• A LaRose spokesman confirmed LaRose has not personally contributed to the yes on Issue 1 campaign. However, he pointed to LaRose’s “sweat equity” behind the issue, appearing at televised debates and other public appearances to press the case.