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Columbus, OH — As part of his taxpayer-funded official duties as governor, Mike DeWine released a list of appointments to various state boards. However, it seems as if DeWine is once again playing politics with a state-funded process. Last week he appointed Eleanore Awadalla to the University of Toledo Board of Trustees. Records show Awadalla also donated at least $5,000 to the DeWine-Husted campaign in the last two elections, raising questions about whether the appointment was politically motivated.

This is not the first time DeWine appeared to help Toledo mega-donors. Last month, DeWine appointed Lynn Isaac to the same board. He donated at least $10,000 to the DeWine-Husted campaign.

“After dodging questions about rewarding those in his inner circles for years with backroom deals at all levels of government, mega-donors appear to be DeWine’s latest political tool to advance his own agenda. DeWine has tried to hide the truth for too long, and Ohioans deserve answers about how this appointment came about and whether this appointment was politically motivated,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Find the appointment announcement from DeWine HERE and below:

Find the records of Awadalla’s donations to DeWine HERE and below:

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Columbus, OH – A new report from Washington Examiner highlights how Ohio Republicans are upset with Vance’s uninspiring campaign.

J.D. Vance is facing brutal coverage for a terrible fundraising quarter that left his campaign in debt and Ohio Republicans can’t stop complaining to the press, saying that Vance has “got to crank up his fundraising” and “it’s certainly got to be a wake up call…Tim Ryan is running circles around him right now.” WEWS put it succinctly in new reporting this week: “Around the Ohio Statehouse, Democrats and Republicans alike have all been wondering: where is Vance?”

Washington Examiner: Ohio Republicans want more action, effort from JD Vance in key fall Senate race
David Drucker
July 20, 2022

• Complaints about JD Vance and his Senate campaign are rising among Ohio Republicans after the conservative populist posted an anemic second-quarter fundraising report.
• Vance entered July with $628,804 in cash on hand — a fraction of the $3.6 million war chest reported by Democratic Senate nominee Rep. Tim Ryan. Some Republican operatives in Ohio are placing blame for the disparity squarely with Vance and his campaign operation. These Republicans are accusing Vance of being a lazy fundraiser while griping that even when supporters try to help, campaign officials authorized to and capable of facilitating their assistance are impossible to reach.
• “He’s basically taken the Joe Biden approach of hiding in his basement since the demographics and momentum are with Republicans,” an Ohio GOP insider said Monday, using a Republican line of attack against President Joe Biden from 2020 to sting Vance. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t even appear that he’s been making fundraising calls from his basement.”
• “J.D. isn’t talking to people, and by people, I mean elected officials — statewide officials, congressmen, including those who have called him,” added an Ohio Republican strategist. “His first stop out of the gate after his primary win was in Pennsylvania. It was for a Trump rally, but still.”
• This week, Vance is in Israel — not Ohio, but a trip likely to play well with social conservatives, an important voting bloc.
• Ryan raised a whopping $9.1 million from April 1 through June 30, dwarfing the $2.3 million collected by Vance. The Democrat is using his resources advantage to hit the television airwaves early, and heavily, aiming to frame the race as one between a centrist (himself) and an extreme Republican (Vance). A new Ryan campaign spot is simply a string of Fox News clips of interviews and favorable reporting about the congressman.
• “Vance’s campaign is flailing,” claimed a memorandum on the Ohio Senate race issued by the state Democratic Party. 

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chair Elizabeth Walters called on Dave Yost to resign as Attorney General. Mere hours after the Supreme Court overturn Roe, Yost rushed to implement a six-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and then questioned the story of a ten-year-old rape victim who suffered even more by having to travel out of state to receive critical reproductive healthcare because of Yost’s ban. 

Yost refuses to apologize to the victim and continues to spread misinformation about the law he helped implement, demonstrating that he’s not qualified to serve as Ohio’s Attorney General any longer.

“Dave Yost is clearly incapable of shame. He’s incapable of doing the right thing. As attorney general, Yost should be looking for justice, not getting in the way of it. An apology is not enough, Dave Yost must resign. And if he does not, we’re ready to defeat him at the ballot box in November,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. 

Chair Walters was joined on the call by family medicine doctor and abortion provider Dr. Catherine Romanos, who has firsthand experience with reproductive health and the risks the dangerous new Ohio laws may pose to patients.

Read more below:

The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio AG Dave Yost should resign over comments about 10-year-old rape victim, Democrats say

“Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Liz Walters wants Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, to resign over his comments about the 10-year-old girl who traveled to Indiana to abort her pregnancy caused by rape.

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“Yost is running for reelection against Democrat Jeff Crossman, a state representative from Parma. Crossman has criticized Yost for his comments about the 10-year-old girl.

“Yost said the child didn’t have to leave Ohio for treatment, saying she would have qualified for a medical emergency. Doctors and lawmakers disagreed. Before criminal charges were brought against a suspect, Yost questioned whether the case was real.”

WKYC: Ohio Democratic Party calls on AG Dave Yost to resign amid controversies over abortion, 10-year-old rape victim

“In the wake of several controversies involving the state’s new abortion restrictions as well as the story of an alleged victim of child rape, the Ohio Democratic Party is calling for Attorney General Dave Yost to leave his position immediately.” 

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“Party Chair Elizabeth Walters held a press conference Tuesday morning to demand the Republican Yost’s resignation, saying the AG ‘is clearly incapable of shame’ following his remarks casting doubt on the story of a pregnant 10-year-old girl who apparently traveled to Indiana due to fears she could not obtain an abortion in Ohio due to the state’s ‘Heartbeat Law.’ Should Yost not step down, Walters pledges Democrats are ‘ready to defeat him at the ballot box in November.’” 

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“Yost first drew backlash last month following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which enabled his office to enact Ohio’s long-blocked ‘Heartbeat Law’ that bans most abortions in the state after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. A story soon emerged of a 10-year-old rape victim needing to travel to Indiana to terminate her pregnancy as she was too far along at the time, but in an interview with Fox News, Yost questioned the veracity of the report.” 

WFMJ-TV – State Democratic Party Demands AG Yost Resign

“The Ohio Democratic Party is demanding Attorney General Dave Yost resign after making comments about a 10-year-old girl traveling to Indiana for an abortion. The girl was raped by a man who was arrested for the crime but before he was charged Yost questioned whether the case was real.

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“[Yost] also then later backtracked and claimed the child didn’t have to leave Ohio for treatment saying she would have qualified for a medical emergency. Doctors and lawmakers disagreed. ” 

WCPN Radio: Ohio Democrats Calling On Republican AG Dave Yost to Resign

“The Ohio Democratic Party is calling on Republican Attorney General Dave Yost to resign over his comments about the case involving a 10 year-old pregnant child who was raped and went to Indiana to get an abortion. Party Chair Liz Walters said Yost questioned the girl’s story publicly and then created misinformation about how she could have received an abortion under the state’s new six-week ban. The current ban does not have an exception for rape or incest but Yost said she would likely qualify for one based on the life of the mother exception or the one that allows abortion if pregnancy would prevent long-term impairment of a bodily function.”

WAKR-Radio: Ohio Democratic Party calling on Attorney General Yost to Resign

“The Ohio Democratic Party is now calling on Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to resign. This after he cast doubt on the truthfulness of a story about a 10 year-old girl who was raped and then had to go to Indiana to get an abortion because of Ohio’s very strict, new abortion law.”

Statehouse News Bureau: Ohio Democratic Party calls for Dave Yost to resign over comments about child rape case

“The Ohio Democratic Party is the latest group to lambast Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, for the comments he made about a story involving a 10-year-old pregnant Ohio girl who had been raped.

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“Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters said Yost should apologize and resign. She noted Yost was the one who went to a federal court immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The court allowed the state’s six-week ban, which had been put on hold because of Roe, to be implemented immediately. Walters said Yost should apologize to the girl and her family and for making this tragedy even worse with his comments about her story being false.”

WCMH-TV: Democrats Call for Attorney General to Step Down

“Today Ohio Democrats called on Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to resign. They say he should do this after he helped implement Ohio’s six week abortion ban and then questioned a story of a 10-year-old rape victim.” 

WTOL-TV: Ohio Democrats Calling on Yost to Resign

“Ohio Democrats want Dave Yost to resign as Ohio’s Attorney General. The party’s chairperson says Yost, a Republican, rushed to implement a six week abortion ban and then questioned the story of a ten-year-old rape victim. 

“Yost has not apologized to the victim, which Democrats say demonstrates he’s not qualified to serve as Ohio’s Attorney General any longer”

TiffinOhio.net: Ohio Democratic Party calls on Dave Yost to resign

“Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters on Tuesday called on Dave Yost to resign from his position as Ohio attorney general. 

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Walters said Yost is ‘clearly incapable of shame’ and is ‘incapable of doing the right thing.’

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“‘Yost has refused to apologize to the victim and continues to spread misinformation about the law he helped implement, demonstrating that he’s not qualified to serve as Ohio’s attorney general any longer,’ a press release from the party states. 

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“‘I don’t think that our leaders should be setting examples like this. People should feel comfortable going to law enforcement, people should feel supported when they go to law enforcement. When stories like this circulate, we should do everything to make people believe that we believe them. That we trust them, care about them and are going to support them,’ said Dr. Romanos.”

WTVG-TV: Democrats calling for Yost resignation

“Well the chair of the Ohio Democratic Party is calling for the resignation of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Leaders say it is because of Yost’s initial reaction to the story about the 10-year-old rape victim who had to travel out of state to get an abortion. 

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“Democratic leader Elizabeth Walters argues that Yost has not yet apologized for spreading disinformation that cast doubt about the case prior to the arrest.” 

Spectrum News 1: Ohio Dems Call on Yost to Resign

“Ohio Democrats calling on Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to resign. The party arguing Yost is unfit to serve after questioning the story of a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled out of town for an abortion

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“‘He’s only punishing women and trampling on their freedoms and he is directly attacking the victims he’s charged with protecting. This is only the latest of a pattern of Dave Yost questioning victims of sexual assault rather than going after the perpetrators,’ [said party chair Elizabeth Walters].” 

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For Immediate Release:
July 19, 2022

Columbus, OH – Struggling to overcome poor polling and lackluster fundraising numbers, J.D. Vance is also facing mounting criticism from Ohioans noticing he’s nowhere to be found. WEWS put it succinctly in new reporting yesterday: “Around the Ohio Statehouse, Democrats and Republicans alike have all been wondering: where is Vance?”

Conservative talk radio hosts have criticized Vance for being missing on the airwaves. Youngstown host Ron Verb tore into J.D. Vance for his “horrible campaign” and said he needs to “get off his ass and start moving.” The show’s episode was titled, “Where is J.D. Vance?” When Vance finally appeared on Verb’s show weeks later, Verb left Vance with a warning about his campaign, saying (at 16:39), “…you need to appear more often on the program. We just want more from you, I guess, is what we’re trying to say.”

Bill Cunningham also chided Vance (at the 51:35 mark) for missing DeWine’s ice cream social last month. He said, “You missed Fran’s cherry pies, one of the highlights in Greene County, but alright we’ll talk again, but J.D. there’s a sense you’re not campaigning.” Last week, Bill Cunningham said he would have a guest on to discuss “what many consider to be the non-campaign of J.D. Vance.”

“J.D. Vance is hiding from Ohioans because he feels ‘out of place’ in the state and can’t answer for his sham nonprofit, defend his toxic position that survivors of rape and incest should be forced to give birth, or explain why he shrugged off the devastating impact of trade and outsourcing on Ohio workers. San Francisco Vance may be afraid to talk about his out-of-touch positions on the campaign trail but Ohioans won’t be fooled by Ohio’s biggest fraud,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chair Elizabeth Walters called on Dave Yost to resign as Attorney General. Yost rushed to implement a six-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and then questioned the story of a ten-year-old rape victim who suffered even more by having to travel out of state to receive critical reproductive healthcare because of Yost’s ban. 

Yost has refused to apologize to the victim and continues to spread misinformation about the law he helped implement, demonstrating that he’s not qualified to serve as Ohio’s Attorney General any longer.

“Dave Yost is clearly incapable of shame. He’s incapable of doing the right thing. As attorney general, Yost should be looking for justice, not getting in the way of it. An apology is not enough, Dave Yost must resign. And if he does not, we’re ready to defeat him at the ballot box in November,” said Walters.

Chair Walters was joined on the call by family medicine doctor and abortion provider Dr. Catherine Romanos, who has firsthand experience with reproductive health and the risks the dangerous new Ohio laws may pose to patients.

“I don’t think that our leaders should be setting examples like this. People should feel comfortable going to law enforcement, people should feel supported when they go to law enforcement. When stories like this circulate, we should do everything to make people believe that we believe them. That we trust them, care about them and are going to support them,” said Dr. Romanos.

Yost also asserted without a doubt that the ten-year-old victim could have gotten an abortion in Ohio. Now legal experts, doctors and even Ohio’s own Legislative Service Commission (which helps state lawmakers draft laws) have weighed in on that assertion and made clear the six-week abortion ban makes no exceptions for rape or incest.

Yost either doesn’t understand the law or is pretending not to, once again demonstrating why he is unfit to serve as Attorney General.

A full video of today’s press conference can be provided upon request.

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