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Columbus, Ohio — After billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy announced his campaign for governor of Ohio, he was almost immediately endorsed by Elon Musk, who has recently made headlines for ripping away jobs, threatening access to Medicaid, and illegally accessing millions of Americans personal information. 

Ramaswamy spent his campaign launch masquerading as an outsider while notably avoiding his association with Elon Musk. But clearly a vote for Vivek Ramaswamy is a vote for losing our jobs, our essential services, and our personal privacy at the will of any unelected billionaire who is able to ingratiate themselves enough with Ramaswamy. 

“Elon Musk said the quiet part out loud. If you’ve liked the chaos, confusion, and cruelty of the last few weeks, vote for Vivek Ramaswamy,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans don’t want our state to be taken over by billionaires who line their pockets and sell out to special interests while working families struggle- and in November 2026 Republicans will find that out at the polls.”

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Columbus, Ohio- Ahead of his official campaign launch later today in Cincinnati, Ohioans should know Vivek Ramaswamy is a billionaire insider who holds deeply disturbing views about the people he wants to serve. 

“Why would Ohioans hire someone who called them ‘lazy’ ‘mediocre’ and moved his business away from their state?” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters. “Ohioans need a governor who wants to improve their lives, but Ramaswamy is a billionaire who cares more about his bottom line than Ohioans. It’s day one of his campaign, and it’s clear that Ramaswamy is only out for himself and elite special interests. Ohioans will reject them both at the polls.”

Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire who called Ohioans “mediocre” and “lazy” but wants to make the rules for us.

• Ramaswamy’s dim views of the people he’s running to serve reveal a deeply out of touch politician. With those views, he’s not fit to hold any public office, let alone governor of Ohio.

• If his disparaging comments about Ohioans weren’t enough, his actions prove that anything he says is an empty promise. Ramaswamy moved his investment firm from Columbus to Dallas in 2021. 

Despite masquerading as an outsider, Ramaswamy boosts ties to right-wing elites and special interest groups.  

• Ramaswamy rose to prominence in Republican politics self-funding his campaign along with boosting close ties to right-wing elites and billionaires like Peter Thiel, Leonard Leo, Elon Musk and most recently Donald Trump. 

• Ohioans can’t trust Ramaswamy to work for them instead of his billionaire friends and backers.

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Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Dave Yost have appealed a Franklin County judge’s ruling that DeWine/Tressel administration is required to request federal COVID relief funds he ended prematurely.

In 2021, the payments averaged $300 per week over a ten day period, and were scheduled to go through September of 2021. DeWine joined several other Republican governors at the time in claiming that they “didn’t want it anymore.” Attorneys who previously sued the governor’s office for access to the funds said they were told the funds are still there and “”all DeWine has to do is ask for them.“

“Governor DeWine and AG Yost have an opportunity to put money back in the pockets of hardworking Ohioans, and they’re literally going to court to avoid doing it,”  said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “For DeWine and Yost, an extra couple hundred dollars a week might not mean a lot, but that money could help families in Ohio put food on the table and keep the lights on. It’s clear that Republicans are deeply out of touch with what Ohioans need.”

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Columbus, Ohio- In case you missed it, new reporting revealed Ohioans are still struggling to reach their senators, weeks after an initial wave of reporting about missed phone calls and full voicemails. If it wasn’t already clear from their voting history, it’s painfully obvious now that Senators Moreno and Husted aren’t interested in representing Ohioans.

It’s not hard for Ohioans to guess why their senators are missing in action every time there’s an opportunity to hear directly from their constituents. Both Senator Husted and Senator Moreno have spent their first months in office as a rubber stamp for Donald Trump’s most extreme nominees and policies. Instead of working for Ohio, they’re working for extremists and corporate special interests. 

“Ohio Senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted have barely begun their time in office, and we’re already on the second round of stories about how they’re ignoring their constituents,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “They could always start actually working for Ohioans, but in lieu of a miracle they’ll keep hearing from Ohioans in the mail, on the phones, and at the polls.”

READ: ABC6: Ohio voters struggle to reach Moreno, Husted, sparking communication concerns, 02/19/2025

• Ohio residents are expressing frustration over difficulties in reaching their newly-elected U.S. senators, Bernie Moreno and John Husted, amid significant political changes at the federal level.

• Concerns have mounted as constituents report being unable to contact the senators through their listed phone numbers, with calls often going to voicemail.

• ABC 6 called Moreno’s offices in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Washington, D.C. All were sent to voice mail, with the voice mailbox in Cleveland being full. A call to Husted’s sole office in Washington went to voicemail.

MORE coverage on Senators Husted & Moreno ignoring Ohioans: , Callers swamp Senate offices in Trump’s first weeks, leading to busy signals and full voicemail, Ohio Sens. Bernie Moreno, Jon Husted flooded with calls amid Trump cabinet hearings, High call volume crashes U.S. Senate phones, preventing area residents from voicing concerns

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Columbus, Ohio-  One week ago, we outlined four questions that Senator Husted must answer to Ohioans. Unsurprisingly, Husted has stayed silent on his involvement in Ohio’s biggest scandal in state history. 

While Husted refuses to answer questions from Ohioans, Democrats are making sure that voters are aware of his role in a scandal that raised energy bills and led to Ohio’s status as the “most corrupt state for public corruption.

Husted claimed he had no role in the legislative process surrounding HB6, but texts from FirstEnergy executives revealed that he was deeply involved in passing the legislation. Now indicted lobbyist Chuck Jones called Husted “very accessible and easy to work with” and said “without question, he is a good friend of FirstEnergy.” 

Fellow indicted FirstEnergy lobbyist Mike Dowling said in an email that the details of HB6 were left to Husted and other politicians, and discussed Husted’s role in negotiations over the bill. He even complained about Husted’s ability to get their desired provisions in the senate version of the bill.

“While Husted runs from the corruption scandal he created in Washington, Ohioans are still paying for the scandal he created,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer “Ohioans deserve to know who their senator really works for as he once again asks for their vote.”

READ MORE about Husted’s undeniable role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal at stateofficialtwo.com