Uncategorized

Ohio Taxpayers Submit Public Records Request to LaRose’s Office for All Public Documents Pertaining to Latest Scandal Costing Ohioans

Columbus, OH – Today, Ohioans demanded answers from Frank LaRose after he spent $600,000 in taxpayer funds to move the official Secretary of State’s Office to the same building as his campaign HQ. 

At the event, Ohioans Armando Telles, Katie Seewer, and Alfred Navarro announced they’ve filed three separate public records requests to LaRose’s office, the Office of Budget and Management, and the Department of Administrative Services for all public documents pertaining to LaRose’s decision to use taxpayer funds to move his official office closer to his campaign. 

“Frank LaRose: if you want to be our Senator, then give us the answers we deserve,” said Al Navarro, a retired Vietnam veteran and Ohio taxpayer. “Explain your wasteful use of our taxpayer funds.”

“Just as I do as a Marine, it’s time for LaRose to serve his constituents faithfully and fully by providing all public records pertaining to this move so Ohioans can see for themselves how he’s wasting our taxpayer dollars,” said Armando Telles, independent contractor, Marine Corps veteran, and Ohio taxpayer. 

“Frank LaRose’s pattern of putting his political ambitions ahead of Ohioans and wasting taxpayer funds is seriously troubling,” said Katie Seewer, Ohio State University student and Ohio taxpayer. “I can tell you firsthand that our state’s young people are paying attention. They don’t want elected officials who think they’re above the rules and won’t be responsible for their actions.” 

Since initial reports showed LaRose was moving the Secretary of State’s office for the first time in nearly two decades to his campaign HQ – raising serious ethical red flags – LaRose has failed to provide additional details despite calls from reporters, Ohioans, and lawmakers. 

Earlier this month, a new report from the Ohio Capital Journal showed that Frank LaRose “recorded a campaign interview that appeared to take place in the building where he is moving his taxpayer-funded state offices” potentially violating Ohio Ethics code by soliciting a campaign contribution from a taxpayer-funded building. 

Photos of the event are available for media use below:

Pictured: Al Navarro, Ohio taxpayer and retired Vietnam veteran, demands answers from Frank LaRose on his costly office move while surrounded by Ohioans.

Download the photo here.

Pictured: Katie Seewer, Ohio State University student and taxpayer, calls on LaRose to stop wasting Ohioans’ money.

Download the photo here.

Pictured: Armando Telles, independent contractor, Marine Corps veteran, and Ohio taxpayer discusses the public records request he filed for information pertaining to LaRose’s costly move. 

Download the photo here.

Pictured: Ohio State University students held signs demanding answers from LaRose about his expensive office move. 

Download the photo here.

A copy of the public records request submitted today by Telles, Seewer, and Navarro are available for media use here, here, and here.

See also: NEW: Frank LaRose Caught Campaigning At Taxpayer Funded Office Amid Growing Scandal; Frank LaRose’s “Latest Political Controversy” Escalates, Ohioans Agree LaRose Misusing Taxpayer Funds; Frank LaRose Continues Dodging Questions From Ohioans, Media, and Lawmakers on Latest Scandal; Ohio Lawmakers Call On Frank LaRose To Answer for Latest Scandal Costing Ohioans; ICYMI: “Ethics Red Flags” Go Up as Frank LaRose’s “Ability to Do that Job Impartially Has Been Called into Question” [Ohio Capital Journal]; LaRose’s Math Not Adding Up as Taxpayers Cover Steep Cost to Move Secretary of State Office to His Campaign HQ; As Scandal Grows, LaRose’s “Answers” Just Raise More Questions About Steep Cost to Move Secretary of State Office to His Campaign HQ; A New Scandal For Frank LaRose: Taxpayers Foot Steep Bill to Move Secretary of State Office to Campaign HQ

###

After A “Weak” Q3 Fundraising Haul, GOP Political Operatives Question The “Viability” Of LaRose’s Senate Candidacy

Columbus, OH – Frank LaRose’s campaign is on “life support” as he faces a series of scandals and fundraising woes, leading Ohio Republicans to question the “viability” of his Senate campaign. In Q3, LaRose raised less than $792,000 in contributions  – falling far behind his mega millionaire opponents who both self-funded $3 million. 

LaRose’s Senate campaign has faced an onslaught of controversies since he launched his campaign. After his amendment flopped in August, pundits noted LaRose was “the biggest loser” – saying he had a “cloud of Issue 1 above his head” and while noting “some political humiliations last forever.” In the last month, LaRose has come under fire for moving the Secretary of State’s office to his campaign HQ – costing Ohioans $600,000 – while his official office is in disarray and “plague[d]” by turnover as LaRose is “laser focused” on his Senate campaign 

Here’s what they’re saying about LaRose’s Senate campaign on “life support”: 

• Cleveland.com: “Unless something changes dramatically, Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s U.S. Senate campaign is in serious financial trouble with the Republican primary election just months away…”

• GOP Political Operative: “People are free to run if they choose to, but the viability of this candidacy is on life support.”

• The Columbus Dispatch: “Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is struggling to keep up with his wealthy Republican opponents… It takes money to run in a competitive federal race, and LaRose doesn’t have much of it.”

• Statehouse News Bureau: “Campaign finance filings show LaRose last in list of Ohio’s 2024 candidates for US Senate.”

• NBC News: “LaRose’s name recognition from winning two statewide campaigns made him the early front-runner in polling, but his first quarter as a Senate candidate produced numbers that have Republicans wondering how long he will last. “

• GOP Political Operative:“Based on the latest [Federal Election Commission] filings, it’s going to be hard for Frank LaRose to compete with Moreno and Dolan’s millions.”

• Spectrum News: Frank LaRose Struggles to Raise Money, Threatening His Senate Campaign

Jake Zuckerman, Cleveland.com Politics Reporter: “He is just not fundraising to keep up with the other two so it is starting to raise some doubts about the viability of Frank LaRose’s campaign.”

Curtis Jackson, Spectrum News: “[Money] isn’t everything in politics, it’s the only thing.”

And as LaRose’s campaign struggles, the vultures are circling…

• LaRose Spokesman Ben Kindel: “In 2022, Bernie Moreno set millions on fire only to quit before the primary. Matt Dolan also set millions on fire to finish third.” 

• Dolan Campaign Strategist: “LaRose fundraising number was underwhelming as expected…”

• LaRose Spokesman Brett Buerck: “…Matt Dolan whose anemic fundraising can only be saved from family money despite running for the U.S. Senate for multiple years. Frank’s other primary opponent, who did not have the political courage and belief in his own campaign to make it to the primary in 2022, is also setting millions of his own money on fire to buy a Senate seat.”

• Dolan campaign after Moreno decided after all to write himself a fat check and try to buy Ohio’s Senate seat: “Bernie Moreno pledged to Ohioans on numerous occasions that he wouldn’t self-fund his campaign. What’s clear is that the former used car dealer’s credibility is eroding as quickly as his donor support.” 

###

Columbus, OH –  It’s only Monday and the infighting is already spiraling in the Ohio Senate slugfest in the aftermath of Saturday night’s “scorch[ing]” first primary debate where the candidates “clash[ed].” The attacks are also flying after the field posted their third quarter FEC reports – in which every candidate tried to buy Ohio’s Senate seat while posting abysmal fundraising numbers.

See the attacks that are escalating this already “messy” and “bruising” slugfest. 🔥 

• Cleveland.com: “The GOP candidates forum also featured a heated exchange over illegal immigration that illustrates Moreno’s singular pursuit of the GOP’s hard-right base…Dolan and LaRose each painted Moreno as all flash and no substance, and someone with no demonstrated track record.”

• Frank LaRose: “Bernie’s got these slick talking points that are cooked up by consultants and focus-group tested and whatever else to get applause lines.”

• LaRose campaign while desperately trying to outrun his abysmal fundraising numbers: “Frank’s first quarterly report easily outpaces Matt Dolan whose anemic fundraising can only be saved from family money despite running for the U.S. Senate for multiple years. Frank’s other primary opponent, who did not have the political courage and belief in his own campaign to make it to the primary in 2022, is also setting millions of his own money on fire to buy a Senate seat.”

• Dolan campaign strategist on LaRose’s “weak” fundraising:

Dolan campaign after Moreno decided after all to write himself a fat check and try to buy Ohio’s Senate seat: “Bernie Moreno pledged to Ohioans on numerous occasions that he wouldn’t self-fund his campaign. What’s clear is that the former used car dealer’s credibility is eroding as quickly as his donor support.”

What Ohioans are reading today about the Ohio Senate Slugfest today:

• Cleveland.com: Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate candidates clash in election season’s first candidate forum

• Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate candidates clash over foreign policy in first forum

• Daily Caller: GOP Senate Candidate Accuses Primary Opponents Of Supporting Amnesty In Fiery Exchange

• Columbus Dispatch: Secretary of State Frank LaRose lags behind GOP U.S. Senate opponents in fundraising

• Cleveland.com: ​​Frank LaRose’s latest fundraising poses viability questions for his U.S. Senate campaign

• The Messenger: Ohio Senate Candidate Matt Dolan Raises $4.1M in Third Quarter, Takes Aim At Rival

###

Columbus, OH — Today, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson endorsed Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House. With the Chair of their campaign committee endorsing their fellow Ohio Republican, every GOP candidate running for the U.S. House should answer: would you support Jim Jordan for Speaker? 

“With the news that NRCC Chair Hudson – the guy responsible for trying to elect Republicans to the U.S. House – has endorsed Jim Jordan, every Ohio Republican running for the U.S. House should now answer this very simple question: would you support Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House? Serving in Congress means making tough decisions, and Ohio voters deserve to know where these candidates stand,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Republican candidates running for U.S. House in Ohio include: 

OH-1

Orlando Sonza

OH-9

J.R. Majewski

Craig Riedel

Steve Lankenau

OH-13

Kevin Coughlin

Chris Banweg

###

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Ohio Democratic Party

---

Tomorrow, the Ohio Senate Slugfest will come to a head as Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan meet behind closed doors at a country club for their first primary debate. With an already “messy,” and “bruising” battle underway, the in-fighting will continue as each candidate makes clear he is not fighting for Ohioans.

What You’ll See At Tomorrow’s Slugfest Showdown

Expect to hear the Republicans running for Senate attack each other, jockey over Donald Trump, and pledge their support for dangerous abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest. 

You won’t hear any plans for lowering Ohioans’ prescription drug costs, creating good-paying jobs or protecting Ohioans’ retirement.

Gasoline on the Slugfest Fire

Tomorrow will pour gasoline on the primary, which has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” battles in the country. Here are some of the attacks what Ohioans have seen so far:

Bernie Moreno on Frank LaRose: “We put up with so much bad behavior in politics. The reality is, you just got elected for four years as Secretary of State, you’re running for Senate, that’s part of the problem. Shouldn’t you do the job you just got elected to do?”

Trump-ally Andrew Surabian: “At an Ohio U.S. Senate Forum, Bernie Moreno roasts Frank LaRose over his support for funding Ukraine.”

Frank LaRose’s campaign on Bernie Moreno, after LaRose downplayed the Trump endorsement and refused to endorse the former President in 2016, 2020, and even the first week of his Senate campaign: “President Trump is smart enough not to be conned by a used car salesman into buying a lemon.”

Matt Dolan’s campaign on Bernie Moreno trying to buy Ohio’s Senate seat after promising to not “write [himself] a big fat check:” “Bernie Moreno pledged to Ohioans on numerous occasions that he wouldn’t self-fund his campaign. What’s clear is that the former used car dealer’s credibility is eroding as quickly as his donor support.”

More on the Ohio Senate Slugfest:

• Daily Beast: Ohio Is Shaping Up to Be the Messiest Senate Primary of 2024

• NBC: “Ohio’s Senate race next year is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country. It will start with what already has the makings of a messy, Trump-influenced primary…”

• The Messenger: Another competitive and expensive GOP primary is brewing in the Buckeye State

What You Need To Know About The Field

Bernie Moreno is a mega millionaire worth over a hundred million dollars and bought himself luxury homes in places like New York, Florida and the Bahamas. 

Moreno has repeatedly received Trump’s praise and also has the endorsement of J.D. Vance – Trump’s handpicked Senator from Ohio. Last month, Moreno followed Trump and called for a government shutdown, which would have forced nearly 53,000 Ohioans to either be furloughed or work without pay. Moreno said he is “unequivocally pro-life,” supports a national abortion ban, and does not support exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother. 

Frank LaRose isn’t working for Ohio and will do whatever it takes to support his own political ambitions. Since becoming Ohio’s biggest loser when his amendment designed to silence Ohioans and benefit special interests failed in August, LaRose has faced scandal after scandal – most recently for wasting $600,000 in taxpayer funds to move his official office to his campaign headquarters and reports that he is “laser focused” on his Senate campaign while his official office is “plagued” by turnover. 

LaRose, who downplayed the Trump endorsement earlier this year, is facing attacks from his opponents, Trump’s allies, and Ohio grassroots activists for “twisting himself up” to outrun his critical comments –  including that the former President is “racist,” “disgusting,” and “not a role model for children.” Frank LaRose also supports a national abortion ban, opposes exceptions for rape or incest, and is trying to silence and mislead Ohioans by rewriting the November ballot language. 

Matt Dolan is trying to buy Ohio’s Senate seat. Dolan has already self-funded $7 million this cycle and is bankrolling his campaign with a “cheap loan” and sweetheart deal only available to the “super wealthy.” Dolan was recently caught slamming his opponents and Donald Trump, saying whoever has the Trump endorsement will eventually lose. Dolan supports banning abortion and has said that defeating the November amendment – which would overturn Ohio’s current dangerous ban with no exceptions for rape or incest – is a “priority.” 

The Bottom Line

With less than six months left in the primary, this slugfest is only getting nastier as it becomes crystal clear that none of the Republicans running for Ohio’s Senate seat are fighting for Ohioans. 

###