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After reporting from The Columbus Dispatch raised ethics concerns about LaRose’s “shadow campaign” for Ohio’s Senate seat, the Tribune Chronicle Editorial Board yesterday slammed LaRose for “confusing” Ohioans and called on him to “do better.” 
 
Read more: 
 
Tribune Chronicle: LaRose should do better than be legal just by a technicality
Editorial Board
May 31, 2023

• Perhaps LaRose’s campaign should steer a little further away from “isn’t really illegal.”
• “I’ve been horrified by it and thinking that LaRose is using his office in this way, taking advantage of his position,” Bill Joiner said. “It was an attempt to mislead me.”
• To any thinking Ohioan, LaRose is campaigning out of his office. But according to the letter of the law, what he did is legal (for now).
• Surely the knowledge voters were worried and confused by his mailing will be all the reminder needed that once his campaign is official, LaRose must keep his efforts as far above board as possible.

The Columbus Dispatch: Secretary of State Frank LaRose uses election integrity group to aid US Senate ambitions
Haley BeMiller
May 31, 2023

• But some campaign finance experts say the arrangement allows the secretary of state to raise limitless funds in the dark while promoting a potential U.S. Senate bid.
• LaRose told a Republican donor in April that he was raising money for a super PAC, according to a voicemail obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. In the same breath, he laid out his intention to run in the GOP Senate primary and pitched the donor on why he’d be the best choice.
• “As you know, there are two other candidates. Both are nice guys, but clearly neither of them have the strength to beat a guy like Brown,” LaRose said in the voicemail. “All the metrics show that I’m the guy that can do that.”
• Still, critics believe LaRose, as the state’s chief election official, should be held to a higher standard. And Catherine Turcer, executive director for Common Cause Ohio, worries Ohio politicians haven’t learned from the racketeering conviction of former House Speaker Larry Householder.

Today, reporting from The Columbus Dispatch is raising additional ethics concerns around Frank LaRose’s “shadow campaign” for Ohio’s Senate seat. Previous reporting from The Daily Beast found that LaRose had “possibly trigger[ed] campaign finance regulations” by admitting he was raising money into a super PAC.
 
“Ohioans deserve complete transparency and answers to the serious ethical questions around Frank LaRose’s ‘shadow campaign’ for Ohio’s Senate seat and how it is being bankrolled,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Reeves Oyster.
 
Read more: 

The Columbus Dispatch: Secretary of State Frank LaRose uses election integrity group to aid US Senate ambitions
Haley BeMiller
May 31, 2023

• But some campaign finance experts say the arrangement allows the secretary of state to raise limitless funds in the dark while promoting a potential U.S. Senate bid.
• LaRose told a Republican donor in April that he was raising money for a super PAC, according to a voicemail obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. In the same breath, he laid out his intention to run in the GOP Senate primary and pitched the donor on why he’d be the best choice.
• “As you know, there are two other candidates. Both are nice guys, but clearly neither of them have the strength to beat a guy like Brown,” LaRose said in the voicemail. “All the metrics show that I’m the guy that can do that.”
• Still, critics believe LaRose, as the state’s chief election official, should be held to a higher standard. And Catherine Turcer, executive director for Common Cause Ohio, worries Ohio politicians haven’t learned from the racketeering conviction of former House Speaker Larry Householder.

Today, Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Reeves Oyster released the following statement on Warren Davidson and Ohio Republicans’ “family fight” for Ohio’s Senate seat.
 
“Ohio Republicans’ ‘family fight’ is already one of the messiest, most bruising primaries in the country. With candidates wasting no time attacking one another, it’s clear whoever emerges from this primary will be bruised, battered and out of touch with Ohioans.”
 
What you need to know on what’s already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” battles in the country: 

• Chronicle Telegram: GOP Senate Primary Will Be A Fight
   
• Bernie Moreno has taken consistent swipes at Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose – saying Dolan is “Democrat-light” and attacking LaRose for campaigning on the taxpayers’ dime. Moreno called Trump “the greatest president of my lifetime,” said that candidates who refuse to support Donald Trump should be “disqualified,” and has already secured Trump-loyalist J.D. Vance’s endorsement.
   
• Matt Dolan continues to be dogged by the field and Ohio’s conservative base for his record and lackluster support of the former President. 
   
• Frank LaRose has attacked Dolan and Moreno for trying to buy the election, boasted he would be the “strongest candidate” in the race, and returned fire on Moreno’s criticisms. LaRose was also caught downplaying Trump’s endorsement to Republican attendees at a closed-door event while criticizing Moreno.

See also: ICYMI: Expect a “Bloody Fight” in #OHSEN Republican Primary; Ron DeSantis Creates Chaos in Republicans’ #OHSEN “Family Fight;” J.D. Vance Escalates Ohio Republicans’ “Family Fight” With Endorsement; Donald Trump Looms While the Field Takes Heat; Frank LaRose Doubles Down on His Trump Problem, Jabs at Bernie Moreno *Again*; The Buckeye Battle Continues; Frank LaRose Goes On The Attack in Messy #OHSEN Primary; Jabs, Jabs, and More Jabs; Bernie Moreno, Warren Davidson Sling Mud as #OHSEN Republican Primary Heats Up; RINOs and Ethics Troubles and Country Club Republicans – Oh My!

It’s May, but Republicans’ “family fight” for Ohio’s Senate seat is getting more chaotic by the day and it’s only going to get nastier from here as more politicians and outside groups throw gasoline on the fire.
 

SPEAKING OF… J.D. VANCE ADMITS THIS PRIMARY WILL BE BRUTAL, ENDORSES BERNIE MORENO
 
J.D. Vance: “We’re going to have a very brutal primary in the State of Ohio, just like we did in 2022.” 
 
There’s no denying the direction this primary is headed and Vance’s endorsement “won’t scare others”from entering the fray. The field has already wasted no time attacking one another and the infighting will only get worse as candidates are forced to duke it out over new endorsements. 
 

 
RON DESANTIS MAKES IT OFFICIAL, CREATES CHAOS IN #OHSEN AS FAULT LINES FORM
 
Chronicle Telegram Editorial Board: Ohio GOP primary “could turn into a proxy battle in the GOP’s presidential nominating contest, which could complicate things.”
 
They’ve got that right. 
 
When it comes to the Presidential primary, the #OHSEN field is caught between a rock and a hard place and it’s only going to get more complicated from here. But in the meantime, read more on the chaos – including the below – here. 

WATCH MORE ON DESANTIS CAUSING CHAOS IN #OHSEN FROM SPECTRUM

YOU CAN NOW ADD “BLOODY FIGHT” TO THE LIST OF ADJECTIVES USED TO DESCRIBE THIS BATTLE
 
Live footage of Ohio Republicans’ family fight…

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
Chronicle Telegram Editorial Board: “Anyway, it’s doubtful that Vance’s endorsement will be enough to head off another bruising GOP primary.”

In case you missed it, outlets across the state are taking note of the “bloody fight” ahead for Ohio’s Senate seat. 
 
The “family fight” in Ohio has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country. As more politicians and outside groups get involved – escalating infighting and throwing more gasoline on the fire – it is only going to get nastier from here. 
 
“The politicians in this race are more interested in attacking one another than focusing on the issues that matter most to Ohioans. No matter who emerges from this bloody fight, it’s clear they will be bruised, battered, and out of touch with Ohioans’ values,” said Reeves Oyster, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.  
 
Read more below from the Chronicle Telegram and WVXU:
 
Chronicle Telegram: GOP Senate Primary Will Be A Fight
Editorial Board
May 24, 2023

• Anyway, it’s doubtful that Vance’s endorsement will be enough to head off another bruising GOP primary. 
• The GOP field is anything but settled. Thus far, Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, are the only candidates who’ve formally entered the race.
• [The primary] also could turn into a proxy battle in the GOP’s presidential nominating contest, which could complicate things.
• Brown, by comparison, is a formidable incumbent and the last Democrat to win a statewide election in Ohio in a long time, other than three state Supreme Court justices who ran party labels weren’t used in races for the high court.
• The race between Brown and whichever Republican emerges victorious from the primary is widely considered a toss-up.
• Like the GOP primary, it will be a bloody fight. 

WVXU: Analysis: Why did J.D. Vance Endorse Bernie Moreno So Early?
Howard Wilkinson
May 24, 2023

• Vance, elected last fall, says he wants his party to avoid the nasty, expensive and sometimes out-of-control GOP Senate primary he and five other candidates waged last spring.
• What Moreno wants is to clear the field. Right now, he and State Sen. Matt Dolan of suburban Cleveland are the only two announced candidates for the nomination.
• Dolan, too, was a candidate in last year’s GOP Senate primary…In the 2022 primary, he was the only candidate to not join in the groveling for Trump’s endorsement. And he won’t do it in the 2024 race either.
• Moreno, of course, will go to Trump on bended knee.
• Complicating Moreno’s life right now is the fact that, as of today, we don’t even know who is going to run, much less win.
• The Club for Growth could not only use its vast network to help Davidson raise millions for his campaign, it could also spend its own millions clobbering Moreno and anyone else who would stand in the way of Davidson getting the nomination.
• So too is the idea that Davidson, an ex-Army Ranger, is going to be deterred by a Vance endorsement. If the man decides he wants to run, he will.