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VOTE ALERT: As Gas Prices Near $4 a Gallon, Jon Husted Doubles Down on Another Endless Conflict in the Middle East

NBC 4 Columbus: “Price for a gallon of gasoline is approaching $4 per gallon”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — This week, Jon Husted voted for the third time to support the Administration’s war in Iran, once again endorsing an expensive foreign intervention in the Middle East that has claimed 13 American lives, including three Ohioans, and has no end in sight. 

As the Pentagon reportedly seeks more than $200 billion to continue the conflict, Ohioans are getting crushed by soaring gas prices, with the average price of gasoline in Ohio quickly approaching $4 a gallon. Ohio workers and small businesses are already being hit hard by the higher fuel costs, with “no end in sight.” 

But instead of working to lower costs at home, Jon Husted has insulted struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted has now voted three times to support another endless war in the Middle East while hardworking families are getting crushed by soaring gas prices. Instead of fighting to lower costs at home, Jon Husted only cares about backing more foreign conflicts and lecturing Ohio families to work harder.”

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ICYMI: “A page out of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Ohio Republicans propose bill to track all pregnancies”

COLUMBUS – Republicans’ efforts to further restrict abortion access and monitor women’s health is garnering national attention, being called “a page out of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’” While Ohio voters passed Issue 1 overwhelmingly, emphasizing their support for access to women’s health care, Ohio Republicans’ push to create a “statewide pregnancy registry” – including for highly personal medical complications like miscarriages – is only part of their comprehensive effort to restrict access to women’s health care. Recently, Ohio Republicans on the House Health Committee approved House Bill 347, which would effectively add a 24-hour waiting period for women to be able to access abortion care. It also would mean that physicians could be punished for providing lifesaving care.

In case you missed it, check out MS Now’s coverage of Ohio Republicans’ work to restrict access to reproductive care and track women’s pregnancies:

MS Now: A page out of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: Ohio Republicans propose bill to track all pregnancies

Author Margaret Atwood insisted her novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” was rooted in real history. Now, a new Ohio bill proposed by Republicans to track all pregnancies in the state is drawing disturbing parallels to her work of fiction. Georgetown law professor Michele Goodwin warns if the legislation passes, there is a “very real potential and probability of criminal punishments and civil fines and various other horrors.”

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Ohio Democratic Party Launches ‘Husted’s Real World Tour’ Across Ohio

Husted: “People living in poverty are just not very, they’re not very experienced at navigating the real world”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — After Jon Husted claimed that struggling Ohioans are “not very experienced at navigating the real world,” the Ohio Democratic Party is launching Husted’s Real World Tour across the state.

The tour will highlight the “real world” difficulties that hardworking Ohioans are facing because Jon Husted continues to put billionaires and corporations before lowering costs. At a time when Ohio families are struggling with skyrocketing health care, gas, grocery, and utility bills, Husted keeps voting to make everything more expensive. 

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“If there’s anyone who is out of touch with the real world, it’s Jon Husted. Ohioans are working harder than ever to make ends meet, but they’re being screwed by politicians like Husted who put billionaires and corporations before lowering costs. Through Husted’s Real World Tour, Ohioans across the state will make clear just how clueless and out of touch he really is.”

Jon Husted has a long trend of blaming hardworking Ohioans struggling to make ends meet: 

  • Husted has dismissed concerns from struggling Ohioans, claiming that he has helped lower grocery and gas prices and that affordability problems do not exist.
  • Husted revealed he has no solutions to actually lower prices, suggesting that Ohioans should just “earn more” money to make ends meet.
  • Husted insulted Ohioans working harder than ever, complaining that their “work ethic is broken.”
  • Husted defended his friends and donors, complaining about people saying “rich people [are] selfish” while attempting to justify his record of delivering tax breaks to the rich.

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On Affordable Care Act Anniversary, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Slams Republicans for Unleashing Health Care Crisis on Ohio Families

COLUMBUS – While more than half a million Ohioans relied on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to afford their health care last year, Donald Trump and Ohio Republicans have repeatedly refused to extend the lifesaving ACA enhanced premium tax credits, and now thousands of families across the country have dropped their health insurance after seeing their premiums skyrocket by an average of 114%. On the 16th anniversary of the ACA, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde issued the following statement slamming Donald Trump and Ohio Republicans for creating a health care crisis in the Buckeye State. 

“Despite the more than half a million Ohioans who rely on the Affordable Care Act to access their critical health care, Ohio Republicans have made clear that they just don’t care. While Donald Trump and Ohio Republicans made the choice to rip health care from Ohio families to pay for tax breaks for corporate special interests and billionaires, Ohio Democrats are committed to fighting for Ohioans’ health care and lowering the high costs that keep Ohioans in every corner of our state up at night. Make no mistake, because of Ohio Republicans’ actions that rip health care away from hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, more people will get sick, rural hospitals could close, and more Ohioans could even die – and Ohioans will hold Republicans accountable for it at the ballot box in November.”

While Republicans refuse to extend these credits, Democrats are fighting to extend them and ensure Ohioans are not priced out of their health care — which the majority of Americans support. According to new polling, two-thirds of Americans say Congress did the wrong thing by not extending enhanced ACA subsidies, including one-third of Trump’s coalition. Additionally, nearly 1 in 3 adults say they are “very worried” about affording their health care bills. Trump and Republicans also slashed $1 trillion from Medicaid, putting 11 rural Ohio hospitals at risk of closure and ripping health care away from hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.

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ICYMI: Vivek Ramaswamy Used Nearly $12k in Campaign Funds to Play Pickleball with the Paul Brothers at Luxury Resort

Columbus, Ohio-  While working families across Ohio are struggling to make ends meet, new reporting revealed billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy spent nearly $12,000 in campaign funds to stay at a luxury resort in Puerto Rico to speak at a conference on outsourcing jobs. When his speech was canceled, Ramaswamy stuck around anyway to play pickleball with the Paul brothers.

“Vivek Ramaswamy’s donor-funded luxury vacation to Puerto Rico while working families are struggling is unsurprising from a billionaire who calls Ohioans lazy, moved his business to Texas, and thinks the “perceived” rising cost of living is only in our imagination,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy is clearly more interested in fun in the sun with the Paul brothers than bringing costs down for working families.”

READ: Vivek Ramaswamy Used Campaign Funds to Finance Luxury Puerto Rico Trip

  • Campaign finance records show that in November 2025, Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign spent $11,898.25 on travel at the Dorado Beach Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Dorado, Puerto Rico. This was pulled from Ramaswamy’s filings:
  • The resort is described as one of Puerto Rico’s most exclusive luxury destinations, offering high-end accommodations, private dining experiences, and extensive amenities including a golf course and sports facilities. A one-bedroom suite at the resort can cost as much as $5,820 per night.
  • In December 2025, Ramaswamy was scheduled to serve as the keynote speaker at the ITServe Alliance’s Synergy annual conference in Puerto Rico. ITServe Alliance is an organization that has advocated for changes to H1B visa policies, including increasing the annual cap on visas and reducing certain restrictions. The group has lobbied Congress on immigration-related issues and has been involved in legal challenges concerning visa requirements.
  • According to reports, Ramaswamy withdrew from the conference shortly before it took place following criticism related to the organization’s positions on immigration and H1B visas. The backlash emerged online after his planned appearance became public.
  • During the same period, Ramaswamy shared a social media post showing himself playing pickleball at the Dorado Beach resort with Logan Paul and Jake Paul. The resort includes a sports hub with pickleball courts available to guests.
  • The sequence of campaign spending, the planned conference appearance, the subsequent withdrawal, and the recreational activities during the trip have drawn attention to the use of campaign funds and the context surrounding the visit to Puerto Rico.

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