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Columbus, OH — Recently, Frank LaRose spoke on “The Optimal Life Podcast with Nate Haber” where he once again embraced election lies to try to appease the MAGA Republican crowd while also trying to tout the safety and security of Ohio’s elections. LaRose is once again trying to have it both ways, because he knows he’s wildly unpopular among his own party and apparently wants to lose a Senate race in two years. LaRose is debasing himself and the office he holds by embracing election lies, further destroying any image he once tried to maintain of being an honest broker.

Portions of LaRose’s interview can be found below, with emphasis added:

• Host: I want to get your take because that was the big thing back in 2020. President Trump versus Joe Biden, President Biden now, and a lot of people believe that that election was not- there wasn’t much integrity in that election. Do you hold that same position?
• LaRose: I tell you that we ran an honest contest here in Ohio, the people of Ohio voted and had their voice heard. Here’s what I’ll say. There were things that happened in other states that shouldn’t have happened. Most of it, by the way, happened in the context of what I would call “crisis opportunism.” And people said, “Well, there’s a pandemic and so we’ve got to make this change or that.” In reality, what- what occurred in a lot of these states were, you know, activist lawsuits that resulted in last minute changes or just administrative changes made by election officials, even in some cases, secretaries of state that they should not have made. We held the line on that kind of stuff here in Ohio. We didn’t allow activist groups to make election laws at the courthouse because we know that election law should only be made at the statehouse. And that really is the biggest difference between Ohio and other places.
• Host: Was there election fraud in 2020? Could there have been?
• LaRose: Yeah, so the honest answer is that there is never been a perfect election right? In every election, there are some examples of election fraud. In Ohio, we are very aggressive about catching that and prosecuting it.… But what did occur again in 2020 that should not have occurred is elections officials in some states, changed the rules at the last minute. I’ll give you an example. In some states, they just arbitrarily extended how many days they’re going to allow for absentee ballots to come in and still be counted even though their law didn’t allow for that. They said “Well, there’s a pandemic so we need to create this special thing,” or they cut a deal in a courtroom with some activist group and-and allowed a judge’s order to result in the election changes. So is that election fraud? Not in the traditional sense of the word but it is- it is something that should not have happened and shouldn’t happen again, going forward.
• Host: Give us your elevator pitch to whoever’s listening about why you’re the man for the office again. 
• LaRose:  Yeah, so very briefly, it comes down to running honest contests for the people of Ohio. It’s not about this inflated rhetoric about widespread fraud or widespread suppression. Ohioans deserve better than that. 

LaRose can’t have it both ways: He can’t question election integrity on one hand and try to denounce ‘inflated rhetoric’ on the other. LaRose knows better than this, but he’s too phony to say what he knows to be true: The 2020 election was legitimate and Joe Biden won the election fair and square.

“Frank LaRose’s clumsy dance of talking out of both sides of his mouth is a dereliction of duty as Ohio’s secretary of state – the top elections official in Ohio. LaRose is saying things he knows aren’t true in an irresponsible effort to get more MAGA Republicans to like him so he can run for Senate in two years. Not only will it not work, it once again demonstrates how LaRose will do or say anything to advance his own interests,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

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Mitch McConnell’s Allies To Spend Nearly $5 Million To Bail Out Vance’s Broke Campaign

Columbus, OH – The J.D. Vance’s campaign’s first general election ad debuts on TV today – paid for by Mitch McConnell and national Republicans – and there’s someone conspicuously missing from the ad: J.D. Vance himself. The only time Vance is allowed to speak is for the legally-required disclaimer at the end of the ad.

J.D. Vance is so unlikable, his campaign team knows they need to hide him away from Ohioans. An internal poll from the Tim Ryan campaign showed his popularity underwater by double digits, with 38 percent viewing him favorably to 49 percent unfavorably. Ohioans’ dislike of Vance is strong, with 39 percent of Ohioans viewing Vance very unfavorably. And the most recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll from May showed more Ohioans viewing Vance unfavorably while independents back Tim.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball’s Kyle Kondik noted that the ad featuring Vance’s wife Usha “appears to be an effort to improve Vance’s image with women, which supposedly is in need of boosting.” For months, Ohioans have been reading about Vance’s anti-woman agenda, including how he believes survivors of rape and incest should be forced to give birth to their rapist’s baby, compared abortion to slavery, and most recently doubled down on saying that women should stay in “violent” marriages for the sake of the children.

As Jared Leopold, the former Communications Director for the Democratic Governors Association, noted on Twitter, “Spouse to camera ‘emphasizing local roots’ = the spot you run when your campaign is taking on water.” And national Republicans agree – which is why Mitch McConnell’s allies are also placing an additional nearly $4 million buy starting next week.

“While J.D. Vance faces backlash for saying he ‘completely stands by’ his comments that women in ‘violent’ marriages should stay in dangerous situations, Mitch McConnell and his out-of-state corporate cronies are dumping millions of dollars to bail out their favorite fraud. Ohioans know the real J.D. Vance is an out-of-touch opportunist who will do or say anything to advance himself and no amount of money from Mitch McConnell will convince them otherwise,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — Tonight, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement congratulating Democratic state House, Senate and Central Committee candidates who won their primary elections.

“Congratulations to all of our state legislative and central committee candidates on their election victories tonight. With our full slate now complete, Ohio Democrats are ready to show voters we’re on their side. We’ll be showing up in every corner of the state to show Ohioans the contrast between Ohio Democrats who are laser-focused on looking out for working families and Republicans who are only looking out for themselves and their wealthy and well-connected friends,” said Chair Walters.

“It’s also important to note that this second primary should never have taken place. Had Ohio Republicans done their job and passed fair maps, Ohioans wouldn’t be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars and a second confusing, chaotic primary could have been avoided. We look forward to holding these Republicans accountable come November,” continued Walters.

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Columbus, OH – J.D. Vance may have moved from San Francisco to Ohio, but his heart is still in SF. He’s already admitted he feels “out of place” in Ohio and clearly wants to spend time literally anywhere else than the state he supposedly wants to represent in the U.S. Senate. So for his birthday, the Ohio Democratic Party figured we’d get Vance birthday gifts he’d actually enjoy.

In the Atlantic op-ed where he called Trump “cultural heroin,” Vance waxed poetic about his perfect day in San Francisco, writing, “A few Saturdays ago, my wife and I spent the morning volunteering at a community garden in our San Francisco neighborhood. After a few hours of casual labor, we and the other volunteers dispersed to our respective destinations: tasty brunches, day trips to wine country, art-gallery tours. It was a perfectly normal day, by San Francisco standards.”

Here are some of Vance’s favorite San Francisco things we dropped off as gifts this morning at his HQ:

• A Giants hat, his favorite baseball team.
• A soy candle that is sustainable and vegan, in a one-of-a-kind SF fragrance.
• A snow globe that features the San Francisco skyline, the only skyline J.D. Vance adores.
• A card that features the Golden Gate Bridge, a cable car and other San Francisco staples Vance surely misses.

Nearly three months into the general election, Ohio Republicans are still “waiting for Vance to show up,” and frustrated that “he’s not campaigning hard enough.” Ron Verb, a conservative talk radio host, offered Vance this advice that he “better get off his ass, figure out why he isn’t raising more money, why the Republican Party isn’t behind him raising money.”

The last time J.D. Vance tried to run for U.S. Senate in 2018, he faced scrutiny for not being in Ohio. At the time, a GOP consultant opined, “I don’t know what address he claims in Ohio, but he’s not living there.” In March on the Bruce Hooley Show, Mike Gibbons put it best: “J.D. Vance is a newcomer. He moved in from San Francisco, handpicked by Mitch McConnell.”

“We hope J.D. Vance enjoys these San Francisco gifts for his birthday – since he admits he feels ‘out of place’ in Ohio and Republicans are still waiting for Vance to show up in the state. Ohioans know J.D. Vance is a San Francisco elitist who will do or say anything to climb the political ladder,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — Make no mistake, reproductive rights are on the ballot just 98 days from today. Since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, Republicans across Ohio have proven time and time again that they’re too extreme for Ohio – from comparing abortion to slavery to questioning a ten-year-old rape victim, GOP politicians in this state are showing their true colors and saying the quiet part out loud when it comes to attacking women. Rather than try to tell you how radical they are, we thought we’d just let their words speak for themselves.

J.D. Vance’s disgusting comments on Roe v. Wade and abortion:

• “Hope the news of the leaked opinion is true. Would be an amazing victory for the pro life movement and, most importantly, the innocents we fight for.” [Twitter: May 2, 2022] 
• “When asked during a local interview whether abortion laws should include exceptions for rape and incest, Vance, a Republican, said he thinks ‘two wrong don’t make a right.’“‘It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society,’ Vance told Spectrum News in Columbus on Wednesday.” [Washington Post: September 24, 2021] 
• “There’s something comparable between abortion and slavery, and that while the people who obviously suffer the most are those subjected to it, I think it has this morally distorting effect on the entire society.” [Vice News: July 7, 2022]

Dave Yost’s questioning of a 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel to Indiana for critical healthcare because of the six-week abortion ban Yost helped implement:

• Jesse Walters, Fox News: “So Dave, have you had anybody come to you in your state to say we’re looking into this, a police report was filed? Dave Yost: “Not a whisper and we work closely with the- we have a decentralized law enforcement system in Ohio. But, we have regular contact with prosecutors and local police and sheriffs. Not a whisper anywhere. [Fox News: July 11, 2022]
• “Every day that goes by the more likely that this is a fabrication. I know the cops and prosecutors in this state. There’s not one of them that wouldn’t be turning over every rock, looking for this guy and they would have charged him. I’m not saying it could not have happened. What I’m saying to you is there is not a damn scintilla of evidence. And shame on the Indianapolis paper that ran this thing on a single source who has an obvious axe to grind.” [Gannett News: July 13, 2022]
• “I never apologize for the truth, and I stand by everything I said.” [Cleveland.com: July 22, 2022]

Justice Pat Fischer joining J.D. in comparing abortion to slavery:

• “Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what substantive due process is? It would take me hours to go into it,” [Fischer] said. “But you know what it’s the basis for? The Dred Scott decision. Not good. It’s the basis for Plessy v. Ferguson. Not good. And it was the basis for Roe v. Wade.” [Cleveland.com: July 29, 2022]

Mike DeWine’s promises to ‘go as far as we can’ to rip away reproductive rights:

• “‘If Roe is overturned, all it means is it comes back to each state and you still have a situation today as you know, where more and more abortions are taking place. Not surgical abortions, they’re taking place because of pills,’ DeWine said in the call on Friday. ‘Those options are still going to be out there for people one way or the other…You’re also going to have people traveling to other states.’”
• “He also noted that when lawmakers return to Columbus in November, they’ll discuss ‘how we want to craft that legislation to go as far as we can to protect human life based upon whatever that decision is.’” [Gannett News: June 17, 2022]

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