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ICYMI: Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted’s Out of Touch Attacks on Hardworking Families

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

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — In case you missed it, Ohioans in Youngstown gathered for the third stop of Husted’s Real World Tour, calling out Jon Husted for his out of touch attacks on hardworking families.

Ohioans are already struggling with high grocery and utility prices, and the skyrocketing cost of gas is forcing families to cut back even more. Instead of working to lower costs, 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.

See For Yourself:

WMFJ: Ohioans Call Out Jon Husted’s Out of Touch Attacks on Hardworking Families

  • WMFJ Anchor: Local and state leaders are speaking out against Ohio U.S. Senator Jon Husted as he runs to retain his seat. The Ohio Democratic Party launched ‘Husted’s Real World Tour,’ claiming that he is deeply out of touch with the everyday struggles with working families as they deal with high gas prices and health care costs. 
  • Catherine Cercone Miller, Mayor of Struthers: Families are dealing with rising grocery bills, higher utility costs, increasing rent and house prices, and the overall cost of simply just getting by. These challenges are being felt by seniors on fixed incomes, by working families, and by young people trying to build a future.

Youngstown Vindicator: Dems criticize Husted for statements on ‘navigating real world’

  • Local Democrats criticized Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted for saying those “living in poverty” are “not very experienced at navigating the real world.”
  • State Rep. Lauren McNally of Youngstown, the Democratic candidate for Mahoning County commissioner, said: “Let me be clear: Ohioans don’t need a lecture on how to buy groceries. They need relief from the rising cost of groceries. They don’t need to be told affordability is just a ‘buzzword.’ They are living it every single day.”
  • During a March 10 podcast, Husted said he had a conversation with a woman who didn’t know “how money works at a grocery store” because she’s on government assistance.
  • Husted said: “People living in poverty are just not very, they’re not very experienced at navigating the real world.”
  • Husted said in a Jan. 16 interview with a radio station: “Our work ethic is broken. We don’t have the work ethic in this country that we once had.”
  • At Friday’s event, McNally said: “This is about people. It’s about our families, our friends, our communities. It’s about recognizing that the problem isn’t that Ohioans don’t understand the real world or have a ‘broken work ethic’ or just need to ‘earn more’ money to make ends meet – all things that Sen. Husted has said – the problem is that the real world has become too expensive for too many people to afford.”
  • Husted’s campaign declined Friday to comment.

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Vivek Ramaswamy’s Campaign Desperately Tries to Cover Up Endorsements From Lawmakers Accused of Being Sexual Predators 

Columbus, Ohio- Late last week, reporting revealed how Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign was actively touting an endorsement from one Republican lawmaker under investigation for being a sexual predator and another who spoke extensively about talking to “young girls” about sex. Today, new reporting shows that over the weekend his campaign scrubbed the endorsements of State Representatives Rodney Creech and Gary Click from the website in a desperate attempt to try to obscure his close ties to them.  

Today’s reporting comes after Ramaswamy has drawn backlash for refusing to call for the release of the Epstein files after promising to do so during his failed presidential campaign. 

He also has yet to explain why his super PAC accepted $100,000 from Epstein co-conspirator Glenn Dubin, then failed to return the money despite pledging to do so.

“After backing down from his call to release the Epstein files and breaking his promise to return a six-figure contribution from a known Epstein associate, Vivek Ramaswamy is scrambling to hide his ties to two more notorious accused sexual predators,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “If Ramaswamy can’t stand up to accused sexual predators in his own party, how can we trust him to stand up for Ohioans?”

READ: Ramaswamy quietly removes Gary Click and Rodney Creech from endorsements page

  • Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor has quietly removed two state lawmakers from its official endorsements page — including one who was investigated for alleged sexual misconduct with a minor — days after TiffinOhio.net reported that the campaign was actively promoting their support.
  • State Reps. Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) no longer appear on the endorsements page at vivekforohio.com. As of April 13, neither name is listed among the dozens of Ohio legislators featured on the page.
  • The April 11 snapshot was captured two days after TiffinOhio.net published a report detailing how the Ramaswamy campaign was promoting the endorsement of Creech, who was accused in 2023 of climbing into bed with a minor female relative while erect and wearing only his underwear, according to Bureau of Criminal Investigation documents obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau. 
  • Ramaswamy also promoted the endorsement of Click, who made headlines earlier this month after resurfaced video showed Click reminiscing about talking to “young girls” about “how painful” it is for them to engage in sex, during testimony for his anti-trans legislation, House Bill 68.
  • The Ramaswamy campaign made no public announcement about removing either name. The campaign did not respond to a request for comment prior to publication of the April 9 article and has not publicly addressed the endorsement removals.

See Also: WVXU: Vivek Ramaswamy goes silent on past demands to release Epstein files, Vivek Ramaswamy Runs from Reporters Amid Questions About His Stance on Release of Epstein Files,Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks Nearly Two Years of Silence to Lie About Epstein Files, REMINDER: Vivek Ramaswamy Super PAC Never Returned $100K from Epstein Associate 

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As Ohio Republicans Attack Abortion Access, “The Ohio Supreme Court will play a critical role in determining the future of abortion access in Ohio”

COLUMBUS, OH – Despite Ohioans voting to protect access to reproductive health care in 2023, Ohio Republicans are continuing to go against the will of voters by working to further restrict access to abortion. With Republicans escalating their attacks on reproductive care, “The Ohio Supreme Court will play a critical role in determining the future of abortion access in Ohio,” as reported by The Columbus Dispatch.

“Republicans are showing with every bill that they introduce to restrict abortion access, monitor women’s pregnancies, and create more barriers for care, how critical it is for Ohioans to re-elect Justice Jennifer Brunner and elect Judge Marilyn Zayas to The Ohio Supreme Court to stand against these attacks and uphold the law,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde. “Instead of working to lower the sky-high costs that are hurting parents and families throughout our state, Republicans are attempting to restrict access to reproductive care – even though Ohioans have made it clear that they don’t want politicians in their deeply personal health decisions. It’s wrong – and Ohioans will make them pay for it at the ballot box in November.”

Read more from The Columbus Dispatch on Republican attempts to restrict access to reproductive care – and the critical role that The Ohio Supreme Court will play in protecting abortion access in Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio voted for abortion access. GOP lawmakers still push for limits
By Jessie Balmert, 4/12/26

Ohioans voted to protect abortion access in 2023. Now, Republicans are pitching multiple ways to test the limits of that constitutional amendment.

More than two years after their victory, abortion rights advocates are fighting an onslaught of proposed legislation to restrict access to medication abortion, delay abortion procedures and track pregnancies.

“It’s clear that they have not accepted the will of the voters,” said Kellie Copeland, executive director of Abortion Forward, which advocated for the amendment, which passed with 57% of the vote. “They are doing everything they can to engage in a multi-prong attack on the Ohio Reproductive Freedom Amendment.”

[…]

Meanwhile, abortion rights advocates have scored multiple victories in court, where local, Democratic judges have ruled in favor of abortion access. They’ve struck down a ban on most abortions, a 24-hour waiting period before pregnant patients can receive an abortion and a requirement that fetal remains be buried or cremated.

It’s only a matter of time before these cases end up before the Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 6-1 majority. Those who oppose abortion are eager for that day and hope the justices will impose limits on the 2023 amendment approved by voters.

But Lauren Blauvelt, executive director at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, wants the justices to follow what she says is an unambiguous mandate from voters. “I don’t believe Ohioans want their justices to act like activist judges, but to follow the clear language that they voted on,” she said.

Ohio Republicans pitch multiple bills to limit abortions

The abortion rights amendment hasn’t stopped Republican lawmakers from introducing and passing bills on abortion. Copeland’s organization is tracking 11 bills in this legislative session alone, and she said they loosely fall into two categories.

“One is this very anti-abortion, misinformation, propaganda, kind of shame and stigma that they’re pushing,” Copeland said. “The other is different ways to challenge the reproductive freedom amendment itself.”

Republican lawmakers have passed bills to restrict telehealth cosultations and require pregnant patients to wait 24 hours after receiving state-approved warnings to have an abortion. A GOP lawmaker recently introduced a bill that would require fetal birth and death certificates − language that could create a statewide registry of pregnancies. Another bill would require students to watch a fetal development video similar to “Baby Olivia,” which was created by abortion opponents.

[…]

A date with the Ohio Supreme Court

The Ohio Supreme Court will play a critical role in determining the future of abortion access in Ohio. The seven-member court will ultimately decide what the 2023 amendment means and what it doesn’t.

That’s why Republicans and Democrats are so focused on the 2026 Ohio Supreme Court races. Republicans are trying to pick off Democrats’ only remaining statewide elected official, Justice Jennifer Brunner. Meanwhile, Democrats want to unseat Republican Justice Dan Hawkins.

[…]

Beyond the Ohio Supreme Court, Blauvelt said the next governor and attorney general will also play important roles in the future of abortion access. One sets the agenda for the state, and the other determines how and when to defend abortion restrictions.

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Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted’s Out of Touch Attacks on Hardworking Families

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

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Youngstown gathered for the third stop of Husted’s Real World Tour, calling out Jon Husted for his out of touch attacks on hardworking families.

Ohioans are already struggling with high grocery and utility prices, and the skyrocketing cost of gas is forcing families to cut back even more. Instead of working to lower costs, 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.

“Let me be clear: Ohioans don’t need a lecture on how to buy groceries. They need relief from the rising cost of groceries. They don’t need to be told affordability is just a ‘buzzword.’ They are living it every single day,” said State Representative Lauren McNally. “Politicians in DC like Jon Husted keep voting to make things more expensive. We have a responsibility to do something about it and fight back.”

“Jon Husted’s comments about the ‘real world’ ignore the reality that Ohioans are facing, where wages haven’t kept pace with inflation — making us work harder just to stay afloat. Jon Husted has spent all his time in DC voting to make things more expensive for families like mine,” said Dani Boatner, a Youngstown resident and working parent. “My 12-year old easily recognizes that almost $4/gallon for gasoline is quite ridiculous & this doesn’t even scratch the surface of our day to day expenses that are seen as basic human needs.”

“Affordability is not a talking point. It is one of the most pressing concerns in our community. Families are dealing with rising grocery bills, higher utility costs, increasing rent and housing prices and the overall cost of simply getting by,” said Mayor of Struthers Catherine Cercone Miller.

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Republican Candidates for Secretary of State Tout Disproven Claims of Widespread Voter Fraud, Refuse to Admit Results of 2020 Presidential Election

COLUMBUS, OH – In alarming interviews with Morgan Trau of WEWS, Republican candidates for Secretary of State trumpeted false claims of widespread voter fraud and refused to admit the results of the 2020 presidential election – a deeply troubling sign from individuals running to be Ohio’s chief elections officer. When pushed on his disinformation about Ohio’s mail-in voting – which is a critical way for many Ohioans, including seniors, military servicemembers, and students to cast their ballot – current Republican Treasurer, Robert Sprague, couldn’t name a single case of mail-in fraud in Ohio.

“Ohio’s elections are safe and secure with no evidence of widespread voter fraud – don’t just take our word for it, take Republicans’ word for it, like Gov. Mike DeWine and current Secretary of State Frank LaRose, whose office emphasized previously: ‘Ohio has a long history of running secure elections, and that includes decades of voting by mail,’” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “Republican candidates for Secretary of State are making it crystal clear that they can’t be trusted with ensuring that Ohio continues its long legacy of safe and secure elections – a point Ohioans are seeing clearly with every disproven conspiracy that the Republican candidates double down on.”

Check out some highlights – well, really low-lights – from WEWS’ interviews with Republican candidates for Secretary of State:

Trau: “Do you think that mail-in voting is fraudulent?”

Both the Democrats supported mail-in voting, while the Republicans said it should only be in specific cases, which led to this interaction with the treasurer.

Although voter fraud is exceedingly rare, it does happen — but does it happen enough to be memorable?

Sprague: “You’re always a little bit suspicious because you don’t know if the person on the other end of that mail-in ballot is the elector.”

Trau: “Please cite some cases of mail-in fraud in Ohio.”

Sprague: “Well, we know that this happens every year.”

Trau: “Where? When?”

Sprague: “I can’t give you — If you give me time, I can get back to you.”

The Democrats said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, which is confirmed by the current republican secretary of State.

Additionally, both Republican candidates running for Secretary of State – the top state elections official tasked with administering elections in Ohio – refused to admit the results of the 2020 presidential election.

​​Trau: “Who won the 2020 election?”

Both Democrats said former President Joe Biden. Neither Republicans would answer.

Read more from WEWS HERE.
 

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