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Columbus, OH —  Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel already donated $10 million to a super PAC to support Vance but apparently, that isn’t enough. Now he’s retiring from Meta’s board to devote more time to helping bail out J.D. Vance’s flailing campaign. 

The announcement from Thiel comes the same day as a new Politico report says that Vance “needs a course correction ASAP.” According to the pro-Vance super PAC’s pollster, Silicon Valley’s Vance problem is that Ohioans know his anti-Trump past, and his “association as a Never Trumper has only grown since November.” Vance has called Trump an “idiot,” “reprehensible,” and “noxious.” 

Silicon Valley Vance is a chess piece in Peter Thiel’s scheme to create a Big Tech political class. Vance worked for Mithril Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Thiel, and then Vance worked at Revolution LLC, a tech investment firm founded by AOL co-founder Steve Case.

In the year leading up to his Senate run, Vance made nearly $1 million, and a “great deal of his income as listed in the new disclosure report came from ventures linked to Facebook board member Thiel and other tech investors.” As Vance would say (with zero self-awareness about how this applies to him), “Establishment Republican apologies for our oligarchy should always come with the following disclaimer: ‘Big Tech pays my salary.’”

“Silicon Valley Vance’s campaign is so desperate they need a Big Tech billionaire to quit his day job to prop up his flailing campaign. With few allies and his poll numbers sinking, Silicon Valley Vance’s hail mary effort to save his campaign will only remind Ohioans of what got him here in the first place: his Big Tech ties and his anti-Trump past,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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  February 7, 2022 

Good Monday afternoon, and welcome back to Mike Check, your weekly source of all the infighting, conspiracy spewing and corruption that’s making headlines in and around the Republican governor’s race and Mike DeWine’s statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party.

As the gubernatorial race passes the filing deadline and enters a new month, Republicans are in disarray with Mike DeWine’s popularity dropping by the day, facing attacks both inside and outside of the Republican Party, and having to answer for the largest public corruption scandal in state history. It’s hard to keep up with all of the corruption and mess surrounding Mike DeWine and the GOP gubernatorial primary, so here are some stories you may have missed:

PATHETIC POLLING.  A new poll released late last week shows DeWine has lost so much support in his own party, just 25% of likely Republican primary voters would vote for him over a Trump-backed challenger. Even messier? His favorability now sits at a meager 36% according to the same Public Policy poll. And let’s not forget, the chances of Donald Trump endorsing Mike DeWine are virtually nonexistent. Mike DeWine’s only response: he “hasn’t asked” for Trump’s endorsement yet.

$60 MILLION ANNIVERSARY. Friday marked three years since DeWine appointed Shady Sam Randazzo to head the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. A decision that ultimately aided in the passage of House Bill 6. In case you forgot, DeWine chose Randazzo over the objections of Republican insiders and energy strategists. DeWine’s former chief of staff Laurel Dawson not only recruited Randazzo, she knew all about Shady Sam’s $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy for weeks before telling DeWine. But that’s not all to the Randazzo saga. To this day, DeWine continues praise of Randazzo’s PUCO leadership, telling reporters after accepting his resignation: “He has done very, very good work as chair.” But that’s not all. DeWine also told Ohio media outlets “I hired him. I think he’s a good person.” That sure sounds like you know something about statehouse corruption to us.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. Speaking of the largest public corruption scandal in state history,  a reminder that the Ohio Democratic Party submitted several public records requests two weeks ago asking Mike DeWine to give Ohioans answers about who knew what and when about HB 6. Fourteen days later, still no answers. You can follow our countdown online if you need a daily refresher. If Mike DeWine continues to stonewall, we’re prepared to sue. Stay tuned.

Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. If you have questions my email is [email protected]. Have a great week!

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For Immediate Release:

Monday, February 7, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement applauding the Ohio Supreme Court for once again rejecting unconstitutional state House and Senate district maps. Even though the Ohio Supreme Court made clear that any attempts at gerrymandered maps would be rejected, Republicans once again put politics above the needs of Ohio voters and tried to push through maps that don’t reflect the political realities of our state. It’s past time that Republicans on the commission do their jobs and produce a fair map that Ohioans and the Supreme Court have called for again and again.

“Third time’s the charm. The Ohio Supreme Court once again rejected GOP attempts to gerrymander our state and disenfranchise Ohio voters. The Ohio Supreme Court cannot be more clear: Republicans must produce fair maps that accurately reflect our state, not the Ohio GOP’s political wishlist. Republicans have delayed this process too long already, it’s past time for them to finally do their jobs and give Ohioans what they deserve: fair representation and a state government that reflects the wishes of Ohio voters, not the wishes of extreme Republicans and the special interests they’re bought by.”   

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Columbus, OH — Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement in honor of Black History Month:

“Today marks the start of Black History Month, a month where we celebrate and commemorate the impact of Black Americans who have changed our state and country for the better. Black history is American history, and our country would not be great without the contributions of Black Americans. 

“While we have made important strides toward inclusion, equity and justice, Black History Month reminds us that this work is not done. We must fight to dismantle systemic barriers for Black Americans that have existed since slavery to ensure every American has the opportunity to thrive. This month and every month, we commit ourselves to the work it will take to build a fairer country and a more perfect union.” 

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For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

“It’s hard to escape dirty laundry that keeps piling up when you can’t hide under a rock anymore.”

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Ohio Capital Journal today called out Mike DeWine and his deep connections to the largest public corruption scandal in state history. The commentary pointed out the various scandals DeWine has tried to distance himself from, a campaign strategy that won’t work this year as Ohio Democrats continue fighting to hold DeWine and his administration accountable.

“This outrage happened on DeWine’s watch and with his blessing. Ohioans didn’t know how crooked House Bill 6 was or how many politicians, including the governor, were willing to look away until federal prosecutors blew the lid off the alleged criminal enterprise to screw ratepayers in return for boosted political careers,” writes Ohio Capital Journal.

Last week, the Ohio Democratic Party announced the filing of several public records requests to get answers from Mike DeWine, Jon Husted and their administration about who knew what and when about the HB 6 scandal. The party will continue seeking answers on behalf of Ohio voters who continue spending more than $230,000 a day for the bribery scheme ringled by Ohio Republicans.

 Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal here and below:

• Follow the money. Its corrupting influence runs through all the great scandals piling up in Ohio under Republican rule. From the biggest online charter school rip-off of tax dollars to the largest public corruption indictment in state history, money has paved the way to epic wrongdoing under GOP management. 
• But when people in high places slip on hubris and expose brazen graft at public expense — and they always do — the swarm of politicians who were only too happy to pocket donor checks and look the other way scatter like insects under a rock that’s been lifted.
• Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is one of those spooked bugs racing away from his political entanglement in the blockbuster bribery and money-laundering case that goes to trial this year. 
• The state’s largest electric utility pumped $1 million into groups backing DeWine in 2018, according to a Dayton Daily News investigation following the money. The company also pumped big bucks into groups helping his daughter’s failed campaign for county prosecutor.
• DeWine hired multiple administration staffers and advisors with close ties to FirstEnergy, including a former top aide linked to one of the dark money groups implicated in passage of the bailout legislation (House Bill 6) written for and by the utility. 
• The governor also appointed and steadfastly supported Ohio’s former top utility regulator, now accused of profiting in association with the FirstEnergy scandal. DeWine knew of Sam Randazzo’s deep business relationship with the utility when he chose him at the urging of company executives.
• But even damning disclosures of Randazzo’s $4.3 million utility bribe and his blatant efforts on behalf of FirstEnergy — constructing House Bill 6, delaying a company rate case, lobbying for legislation to save the utility millions — didn’t dissuade DeWine from expressing “great confidence” in his regulator. 
• Even after the FBI raided Randazzo’s home as part of the FirstEnergy bribery probe and he resigned under a cloud of suspicion, DeWine praised him for doing “very, very good work as chair.”
• Eighteen months on, the DeWine-appointed nominating council that recommends PUCO candidates to the governor includes members tied to passage of the notorious bailout bill. 
• Even after the FBI arrested former House Speaker Larry Householder, who engineered approval of House Bill 6 and was subsequently charged with taking money to pass it, DeWine rejected an effort to repeal the corruption-ridden legislation. “We need balance in our energy,” was all he could say about a bill passed with more than $60 million in bribe money.
• He had put the full weight of the governor’s office behind the nuclear bailout bill and signed the corrupt measure into law the very day it passed. The “energy” legislation championed by DeWine also put ratepayers on the hook to bail out two money-losing, hyper-polluting coal plants (one in Indiana) partially owned by other utilities and two FirstEnergy subsidiaries. 
• Don’t hold your breath. But remember, this outrage happened on DeWine’s watch and with his blessing. Ohioans didn’t know how crooked House Bill 6 was or how many politicians, including the governor, were willing to look away until federal prosecutors blew the lid off the alleged criminal enterprise to screw ratepayers in return for boosted political careers.
• DeWine is understandably trying to put as much distance as possible between his reelection campaign and the biggest open investigation of Statehouse corruption in the country. 
• But it’s hard to escape dirty laundry that keeps piling up when you can’t hide under a rock anymore.

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