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“We would feel much better about this decision if the crisis in confidence to which Mr. LaRose is responding was not created without evidence”

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it earlier this week, Frank LaRose announced a taxpayer-funded solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in order to further his own political ambitions, including running for and losing a Senate race in two years. Now, the Toledo Blade Editorial Board is taking LaRose to task for his “election integrity investigators” saying LaRose is simply trying to tackle a problem that even he admits on the record is all but nonexistent in Ohio. LaRose previously cited exactly one person who may have voted illegally in Ohio, confirming this is little more than a political stunt that is rooted in the radical Republican agenda. 

“While it is politically advantageous for Mr. LaRose to configure his office as if the ‘crisis of confidence’ has some basis in fact, it is a terrible abuse of his office to provide even an ounce of credibility to an assertion that has already sparked a riot in Washington,” writes the Toledo Blade Editorial Board. 

Read more from the Blade Editorial Board here and below: 

• Citing a “crisis in confidence” that Americans have shown with the electoral process, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the creation this week of a public integrity unit in his office.
• The Republican elections chief took pains to make it clear there is no systemic problem with Ohio elections. 
• We would feel much better about this decision if the crisis in confidence to which Mr. LaRose is responding was not created without evidence by former President Donald Trump.
• More than 60 court cases ruled against the Trump campaign claim of voting irregularities.
• Mr. LaRose is absolutely right that consent of the governed depends on confidence in our elections.
• But while it is politically advantageous for Mr. LaRose to configure his office as if the “crisis of confidence” has some basis in fact, it is a terrible abuse of his office to provide even an ounce of credibility to an assertion that has already sparked a riot in Washington.
• We do not oppose a public integrity unit at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, as long as Mr. LaRose is transparent that the motive behind this is Republican politics and not voting irregularities in Ohio or the United States.

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Columbus, OH — Frank LaRose has decided to put his arms around J.R. Majewski tomorrow, a candidate who has lied time and again both about his military service and the 2020 election. It’s a shameful look from Ohio’s secretary of state, but LaRose has chosen to toss shame to the side to beef up his MAGA credentials so he can run for Senate in two years. 

LaRose, who just announced a new department focused on ‘election integrity,’ is campaigning for a candidate who was at the Capitol on January 6 and has suggested that Ohio secede from the United States. 

LaRose is also embracing J.R. after he lied about his service record. Majewski has misrepresented his service in Afghanistan, campaigning as an “Afghanistan War Veteran” when there’s no evidence Majewski was ever deployed to Afghanistan, and lying about the reason he was demoted, claiming it was a brawl, when really it was because of drunk driving. 

All LaRose has to say for himself? “I talk to J.R. frequently and I consider him a friend. He’s a fellow veteran. It’s up to him to sort of bring the facts to light about his military service.”

“Frank LaRose is incapable of shame. In the same week he announces a phony ‘election integrity’ initiative funded by taxpayers, he puts his arm around an election denier. Worse yet, he’s campaigning next to a candidate who lied about his military service. All of this because Frank LaRose wants to run for Senate in two years and needs to beef up his credentials with MAGA Republicans. Frank is a fraud,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

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Columbus, OH — Today, Mike DeWine released an attack ad on Mayor Nan Whaley that goes after Nan for all the work she did to secure critical investments in Ohio through the American Rescue Plan. The EXACT same funding he’s been campaigning on, even though those key investments were secured by by Nan Whaley and other Democrats and DeWine opposed the plan when it was first proposed. Don’t take our word for it, though, here’s a small sampling off all the times DeWine has campaigned on the American Rescue Plan: 

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“Mike DeWine is full of shit. DeWine clearly has no record to run on, so he’s touting critical funding secured by Nan Whaley and other Democrats on the campaign trail and then turning around and using that same funding as a political attack. He’s a career politician that hasn’t done anything for Ohio, and these ads only serve to underscore how weak and ineffective his time in office has been,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

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Columbus, OH — Today, Gannett reported that Frank LaRose is hiring ‘one or two investigators’ on the taxpayer dime to look into ‘illegal voting.’ LaRose’s latest announcement comes after he turned over exactly one person who may have voted illegally – or 0.00000012% of all registered Ohio voters – to the authorities earlier this year. The truth is LaRose knows better, but he wants to run for Senate in two years, is scared of the other election denier he’s running against and needs the support of MAGA Republicans. So he’s pulling this political stunt at taxpayer expense. 

“Frank LaRose is using Ohioans’ hard-earned tax dollars for a political stunt so he can run for Senate in two years. LaRose himself only turned over exactly one alleged case of illegal voting to the authorities earlier this year. Now he’s creating a taxpayer-funded solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in order to further his own political ambitions,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

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