Uncategorized

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, June 23, 2022

Toledo, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters requested any and all FBI records pertaining to J.R. Majewski’s activities in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Majewski has admitted to being at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and raising funds for others to be there as well. With other Republican politicians being arrested for their role in the insurrection and amid the ongoing congressional hearings on what occurred that day, Ohioans deserve answers about the extent of Majewski’s involvement.

“As the FBI investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack continues, we request all records related to Mr. Majewski’s involvement, as well as information on any closed or ongoing FBI investigation into him. Mr. Majewski has publicly acknowledged such an FBI investigation, and reports held by the FBI will provide vitally important information about him and his actions as he asks Ohioans for their votes,” writes Walters.

Read the full letter to the FBI below:  

Ohio Democratic Party

340 E Fulton Street

Columbus, OH 43215

June 22, 2022

Director Christopher Wray

FBI Headquarters

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20535

Dear Director Wray,

On January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol with the intent of overturning the 2020 presidential election. With a gallows set up in front of the Capitol, many in this mob chanted that they wanted to hang the Vice President of the United States.

Over the course of several hours, the mob attacked members of the U.S. Capitol Police – whose sworn duty is to protect the Capitol grounds, Members of the House and Senate, and thousands of Capitol staffers. More than 100 members of the Capitol Police were injured during the attack, and several later died.

With numerous Republican candidates for elected office having been arrested for their involvement in the attack, voters have a right to be informed as to whether other candidates who are actively seeking their vote face similar legal consequences. J.R. Majewski – running for Congress in Ohio – has openly admitted that he participated on January 6, and that he raised money for others to do so as well. Publicly available photos, videos, and social media posts corroborate Mr. Majewski’s admission.

In a recorded video, an associate of Mr. Majewski’s states that – during the Capitol attack – Mr. Majewski passed Capitol Police barricades and reached the base of the Capitol. In this video, Mr. Majewski lays blame on Capitol Police, stating they “were very irresponsible” and had “pissed him off” to the point that he “was ready to go.”

As the FBI investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack continues, we request all records related to Mr. Majewski’s involvement, as well as information on any closed or ongoing FBI investigation into him. Mr. Majewski has publicly acknowledged such an FBI investigation, and reports held by the FBI will provide vitally important information about him and his actions as he asks Ohioans for their votes.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Walters

Chair, Ohio Democratic Party

###

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Ironton Tribune Editorial Board called out Mike DeWine and his fellow Republicans for trying to claim credit for critical investments in Appalachia after they opposed the funding that made these investments possible. DeWine and his fellow Republicans opposed the American Rescue Plan, but now want to campaign on funding from the bill.

The American Rescue Plan passed thanks to support from Ohio Democrats, including Sherrod Brown, Tim Ryan, Marcy Kaptur, Joyce Beatty, Marcia Fudge and Nan Whaley. And no thanks to Ohio Republicans, who opposed this bill from the beginning. The Ohio Democratic Party is working to make sure voters in Appalachia and across the state know who’s really on their side and who’s just looking for campaign photo ops.

“DeWine seems to have no problem spending ARPA funds and touting it, such as when he used them for behavioral health care and law enforcement initiatives in the state. Of course, nowhere in these announcements is credit to Biden or Democrats in Congress, who actually made them available,” writes the Tribune Editorial Board.

Read more from the Ironton Tribune here and below:

• When Gov. Mike DeWine announced a $500 million investment in Ohio’s Appalachian counties this year, which was approved by the state’s General Assembly, the news was greeted with praise, as a long-neglected part of the state was getting a much-needed boost.
• However, as the governor and leaders in the Republican-controlled statehouse pat each other on the back and offer congratulations, there is an elephant in the room that is not being addressed — had their party had its way at the national level, this investment would never have happened.
• Funds for the state’s investment came heavily from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the COVID-19 relief and economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden near the start of his term in 2021.
• The problem with the celebration by Ohio’s Republicans as the money is distributed is that not a single Republican in Congress voted for the package, which passed solely because of Democratic support.
• Bill Johnson, whose district lies almost entirely in Appalachia and includes Lawrence County, joined his party in the House in opposing ARPA, and, in a press release, called it “fake COVID relief legislation” and a “grab bag of Democrat (sic) liberal wish list.”
• Adjacent to his district is that of Brad Wenstrup, into which Lawrence County will fall after redistricting takes effect. Wenstrup similarly opposed ARPA, calling it a “so-called ‘COVID-19 relief’ bill,” and a “partisan wish list.”
• In fact, of members of Congress appearing on the ballot in Lawrence County, the only one who can say he voted for the legislation that made the Appalachian investment possible is Sherrod Brown, the state’s Democratic U.S. senator.
• As the investment funds go into effect for infrastructure, tourism development, education and workforce training and community health projects, there will no doubt be ribbon cutting ceremonies with various political figures invited.
• Will Johnson and Wenstrup show up to proclaim “I am here today to celebrate this project that I voted against funding?” Don’t count on such straightforwardness when the cameras are rolling.
• Even DeWine, who proposed this Appalachian package, opposed ARPA, stating at a March appearance at the City Club of Cleveland that he would have voted against it had he still been in the Senate.
• DeWine seems to have no problem spending ARPA funds and touting it, such as when he used them for behavioral health care and law enforcement initiatives in the state. Of course, nowhere in these announcements is credit to Biden or Democrats in Congress, who actually made them available.
• Republicans and conservatives demonized ARPA at the time with their go-to label of “socialism” and labeling it as runaway government spending, a curious stance, as they voted for similar COVID-19 relief bills when their party held the White House with Donald Trump.
• It’s amazing how all it takes is the letter after a politician’s name being different for a political party to sing a different tune.
• In their knee-jerk opposition to ARPA, Republicans missed out on a chance to be a part of crafting good government in action and could have had an even bigger role in seeing the region’s priorities addressed.

###

For Immediate Release:
June 21, 2022

Columbus, OH — In an interview yesterday on Fox News, J.D. Vance was asked three times to clarify whether he truly believes survivors of rape and incest should be forced to give birth.

When trying to explain his position, Vance said (at around 5:30) that if Roe is overturned, “We have an opportunity, whatever the Supreme Court does on Roe, to really redefine the terms of the debate and to think of children as blessings to be cherished…” Does Vance think that rape and incest are “blessings to be cherished?”

This is just Vance’s latest in a series of dangerous and out-of-touch broadsides against abortion rights.

• Vance has said that overturning Roe v. Wade would be an “amazing victory,” despite the 53 percent of Ohio voters who want to see abortion rights protected according to a recent Suffolk University poll.
• In the past, Vance said that “two wrongs don’t make a right,” when defending his calls to deny abortion care to victims of rape and incest.
• Vance then downplayed sexual assault, saying that “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’s position is even out-of-step with Donald Trump, who supported exceptions for rape and incest.

“J.D. Vance has already made clear he wants to punish women for trying to get an abortion – even in cases of rape and incest. Now Vance must explain to survivors of these crimes in what universe he thinks rape and incest could conceivably be ‘blessings to be cherished,’” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

###

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch late last week reported on comments from Mike DeWine in which he promised an anti-choice group that he would “go as far as we can” to attack reproductive rights in Ohio. DeWine’s comments only confirm what we already know: DeWine is one of the most extreme anti-choice politicians in the whole country and he’s ready to go on the attack. From a trigger-ban bill that wouldn’t include exceptions for rape or incest to a six-week abortion bill that has already been shot down by the federal courts, DeWine has already to promised to sign some of the most radical legislation in the country into law.

His latest comments show he’s ready to take those attacks even further.

“Mike DeWine just made one thing abundantly clear: abortion and reproductive rights are on the line this November. DeWine, one the most radical anti-choice politicians in the country, is ready to ‘go as far as he can,’ to restrict a woman’s right to make medical decisions for herself. From now until November, Ohio Democrats are going to make sure voters know what’s at stake ahead of one of the most consequential elections in Ohio history,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here and below:

• In a call with Ohio Right to Life members on Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine said he wants to “go as far as we can” to prohibit abortion based on what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in the coming days.
• A leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion indicated the justices plan to overturn legal decisions that protected the procedure up to about 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy. The draft opinion comes in a case about the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks gestation.
• DeWine, a lifelong opponent of abortion, said depending on the ruling, he plans to ask the courts to lift a legal stay that has kept the heartbeat abortion ban law from taking effect. DeWine, a Republican, signed it into law in April 2019. 
• 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.”

###

For Immediate Release:

Friday, June 17, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington – the first openly-gay candidate for statewide office in Ohio – and Ohio Statehouse candidate Jim Obergefell – candidate for Ohio House and plaintiff in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized gay marriage – held a press conference to discuss the critical priorities that Mike DeWine and Ohio Republicans are ignoring in order to score political points by attacking LGBTQ+ Ohioans.

At a time when too many Ohio families are worried about their ability to make ends meet, Mike DeWine and Republicans in Columbus are focusing their time and energy on attacking LGBTQ+ Ohioans instead of doing their jobs and working to cut costs for Ohio workers.

“Instead of taking decisive action to put more money in the pockets of working Ohioans or drive costs down, DeWine and statehouse Republicans are attacking our friends and neighbors to score political points. They’re not going after corporations that price gouge, they’re not going after the shareholders that continue to pad their bottom line, they’re going after LGBTQ+ Ohioans who are just trying to live their lives and be their authentic selves. And that’s not only bad for LGTBQ+ Ohioans, that’s bad for everyone who calls our state home,” said Sappington.

Ohio finds itself poised to become one of the most extreme states in the nation when it comes to anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the “don’t say gay” bill, a separate bill that attacks transgender children and a state budget that’s already been signed into law by Mike DeWine that limits LGBTQ+ Ohioans’ access to healthcare.

“These bills will do nothing but make LGBTQ+ Ohioans less safe and hit working Ohioans directly where it hurts: their pocketbooks. So today, we’re here to call on Ohio Republicans to stop attacking our friends and neighbors and start doing their jobs: pass legislation that makes it easier for working Ohioans to get by, legislation that invests in workers,” said Obergefell.

Today’s press conference comes on the eve of Columbus Pride, one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country.

###