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Oct 09 2026

ICYMI: Derek Merrin Accepts More than $90K in Donations Linked to FirstEnergy

COLUMBUS — As Derek Merrin repeatedly runs from Ohioans’ questions on his record of raising Ohioans’ utility bills, his campaign once again “declined to talk about data centers and his connection to FirstEnergy,” in response to shocking new reporting detailing just how deep Derek’s connections are to the FirstEnergy scandal that caused Ohioans’ electricity costs to skyrocket. As Merrin faces scrutiny for voting in favor of FirstEnergy’s billion-dollar bailout and voting against expelling Larry Householder following his federal indictment, the Fremont News-Messenger is highlighting how “Team Householder” candidate Derek Merrin received $91,474 in FirstEnergy-linked donations between 2016 and 2024.

“As Ohioans grapple with sky-high electricity bills across the state, Derek Merrin is running from his record of lining his own pockets with donations linked to FirstEnergy,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Abby Hasselbrink. “Whether it’s voting to expand tax breaks for data centers, voting for Householder’s billion-dollar bailout, refusing to expel Householder after he was indicted, or accepting nearly $100k in campaign donations linked to FirstEnergy, Derek Merrin refuses to answer for his record of siding with corrupt special interests at the expense of working Ohioans—and Northwest Ohio will reject him once again in November.”

Read more from the Fremont News-Messenger about Derek Merrin’s record accepting tens of thousands of dollars linked to FirstEnergy – and how he refuses to answer for it:

Fremont News-Messenger: In Ohio congressional race, silence on FirstEnergy donations

The largest bribery scandal in Ohio history haunts a local political race, and one candidate declined to comment on it.
Republican Derek Merrin, running for U.S. Congress against Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur, received campaign donations linking him to FirstEnergy, but declined to get into the specifics with the News-Messenger.
FirstEnergy is the former owner of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor. The company spent more than $60 million in exchange for a nuclear bailout known as House Bill 6. The money went to aid former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in a pay-to-play scheme with fellow legislators. Householder went to prison for the scheme, along with former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges.
The Merrin campaign declined to talk about data centers and his connection to FirstEnergy.
“I don’t feel comfortable giving a statement over the phone just now, but on background I will say the FirstEnergy stuff, a lot of that has been incoming from Kaptur and her camp,” a Merrin staffer said in a phone interview Sept. 22.
Other Ohio House members who received campaign donations from FirstEnergy-linked groups came up with post-campaign restitution methods, such as making donations to various charities.
No evidence could be found by press time that Merrin had made a similar effort, despite staff promises to follow-up with the News-Messenger.
FirstEnergy-linked donations came to $91,474 for all of his campaigns from 2016 to 2024.
Householder was arrested by the FBI in July 2020.
With some bribery-related court cases still in progress, Merrin voted not to expel Householder. He previously voted for him to become speaker of the House and voted to pass House Bill 6. He also accepted campaign funds from Friends of Larry Householder, including $7,707 in 2018 for Merrin’s state-level campaign.

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Oct 08 2026

BREAKING: Another Jon Husted Senate Campaign Chair Accused Of Sexual Abuse

REPORT: Jon Husted promoted Gary Click as campaign chair after child sex abuse investigation went public

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting reveals that another Jon Husted Senate campaign chair was investigated for sexual abuse of a minor.

This is the latest example of Husted surrounding himself with deeply disturbing figures in Ohio politics:

Husted’s campaign chair in Ohio’s largest county served jail time after committing sexual misconduct with a minor. Husted enlisted Havas as a chair despite his 2009 guilty plea to assaulting a minor being public record.

Husted is still proudly touting the endorsement of State Representative Rodney Creech, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor relative.

Husted also took more than $116,000 from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner before voting against releasing the Epstein files.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“It is deeply disturbing that another Jon Husted campaign chair was investigated for sexual abuse of a minor. Jon Husted keeps surrounding himself with pedophiles and creeps, and Ohioans deserve answers about his judgement.”

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Oct 07 2026

Ohio Seniors Can’t Afford Vivek Ramaswamy

Columbus, Ohio- Check out Vivek Ramaswamy’s latest scam for Ohio seniors that will raise the cost of healthcare, defund critical emergency services, and scam them out of their retirement.

Here’s Ramaswamy’s plan that Ohio seniors can’t afford.

Healthcare costs are higher than ever, but Ramaswamy believes Medicaid and Medicare are “mistakes.” Seniors can’t trust Ramaswamy to protect access to the healthcare they need or bring down costs.

Ramaswamy is a direct threat to the Social Security benefits seniors count on to retire with dignity. He said “privatization or partial privatization” of Social Security is a “reasonable conversation to have” and didn’t “like the existence” of policies like Social Security and Medicaid.

Seniors can’t believe a word Ramaswamy says. He got rich by cheating seniors with an Alzheimer’s scam. He hired his mother to “massage” failed clinical trial data that made him hundreds of millions, then cashed out before the drug crashed.

Ohio’s seniors would be less safe if Ramaswamy were elected governor. His property tax scam would defund police and fire services and gut access to care Ohioans need in an emergency.

In the middle of an affordability crisis, Ramaswamy’s tax scam would cause costs to skyrocket for everyone in Ohio. Seniors on a fixed income would see prices continue to rise while Ramaswamy threatens to gut the Medicaid and Social Security they need.

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