Uncategorized

March 25, 2022

Happy Friday, and welcome to “Buckeye Brawl,” a weekly newsletter from the Ohio Democratic Party highlighting the nasty, chaotic, and expensive Republican primary for Senate. This out-of-control primary is making conservatives “deeply worried” about the prospects of Republicans losing this seat.

As the Republican Senate primary continues to sink lower and lower, these GOP candidates are injecting even more nasty personal attacks, more chaos and more money into this race. We’re here to help you keep track of all of it.

Look, when we started “Buckeye Brawl,” we did not anticipate that the GOP Senate candidates would nearly get into an actual physical brawl – but that’s just how messy the Ohio GOP Senate primary has become.

“The Republican race for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio got ugly in a hurry.” –The Vindicator’s David Skolnick, 3/25/22 

“‘Physically aggressive.’ ‘Unhinged.’ ‘Clowns.’ Those were some of the words used to describe an Ohio Senate debate that got up close and personal on Friday.” –Politico, 3/21/22

“Three longtime GOP operatives working on this Ohio race each independently described the debate footage as a ‘shitshow,’” –Daily Beast, 3/24/22

We know you’ve seen the major fights from the forum Friday and debate Monday, but here’s what you may have missed:

PRO-CHINA RINOs. Let’s start by addressing the RINO in the room: Mike Gibbons’ and Josh Mandel’s viral standoff after Mandel attacked Gibbons for his investments in Chinese petro. Mandel said, “Down one path goes these squishy RINO (Republican in name only) Republicans, many of whom have been pro-China over the years,” and attacked Gibbons for having made millions off his investments in China. It was all downhill from there, with Gibbons accusing Mandel of also investing in Chinese companies, telling Bob Frantz on Monday, “And I can tell you this, we’ve since I looked at it, and you know, Josh was an investor and made thousands of dollars, I might add, in a Chinese censorship app company. I mean, so what he’s accusing me of, he did personally…” Thousands of dollars are pocket change to a millionaire like Mike Gibbons, who has pledged to light $10 million of his own money on fire to be competitive in this primary. Now that he’s in the spotlight, more voters are learning about his pro-China past and they aren’t liking what they see!

CORRUPT POLITICAL INSIDER. Mike Gibbons and Matt Dolan have gone after one of Jane Timken’s signature arguments for her flailing candidacy. At the debate Monday,  Dolan went after Timken, saying, (at the 49-minute mark) “You keep saying you’re fighting in the trenches. Donald Trump won in 2016 by the exact same percentage you keep claiming victory for in 2020 but under your watch, Republicans lost three Supreme Court races and we are feeling the effects of that right now in Ohio. So I’m not sure what you actually did accomplish…” That’s got to sting. Gibbons piled on, slamming Timken’s failed leadership in a press release, saying, “As ORP chair, Jane had a consistent record of taking BIG losses in major Ohio races…The redistricting nightmare we’re currently facing is a result of Jane’s failed leadership. What a record of winning!” Gibbons’ camp went on to call Timken a “corrupt political insider” and advised her to “take a break from her country club tour and talk to working Ohioans.”

CLOWNS. Timken has tried out a new campaign theme, (since the “Timken Time” and “workhorse, not a showhorse” reboots worked out so well) now trying to claim the moral high ground after airing a TV ad making a dick joke, accusing her male opponents of “overcompensating” for their inadequacies. Jane Timken is *very offended* by the Gibbons-Mandel spat and chastised them for acting like children. J.D. Vance also chimed in, after discovering the part of his brain that allows him to be embarrassed for other people’s antics but never his own, calling Mandel and Gibbons “clowns” for their behavior and saying their escapades made the whole party look bad.

Thanks for reading along – that’s all for the Buckeye Brawl this week. If you have questions, my email is [email protected]. Have a great weekend!

###

For Immediate Release:

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, Washington Post columnist Gary Abernathy took a deep dive this week into all of the chaos created by Republicans in Ohio right now. No news to Ohioans: Our state is broken thanks to the failed leadership of Ohio Republicans and now the rest of the country has taken notice.

In his column, Abernathy outlines the various ways Republicans are embarrassing our state and leaving working Ohioans behind:

“Republican candidates in a Senate primary are competing with World Wrestling Entertainment for most outrageous behavior. An incumbent Republican governor faces a rebellion and primary opposition from within his ranks. A Republican-led redistricting process is repeatedly shot down by the Republican chief justice of the state supreme court — leading to impeachment threats from GOP lawmakers and the likely rescheduling of the primary. And the pending trial of the former Republican state House speaker on racketeering charges is being called the biggest corruption scandal in state history,” writes Abernathy.

While Republicans are busy screwing over Ohioans and leaving those same Ohioans to pay the price (literally, moving the primary date will cost Ohioans tens of millions of dollars), Ohio Democrats are offering a better way forward: investing in working Ohioans and putting their priorities first.

Read more on what The Washington Post calls a “political soap opera” here and below:

• Republican candidates in a Senate primary are competing with World Wrestling Entertainment for most outrageous behavior. An incumbent Republican governor faces a rebellion and primary opposition from within his ranks. A Republican-led redistricting process is repeatedly shot down by the Republican chief justice of the state supreme court — leading to impeachment threats from GOP lawmakers and the likely rescheduling of the primary. And the pending trial of the former Republican state House speaker on racketeering charges is being called the biggest corruption scandal in state history.
• No, that’s not a news roundup from across the country. That’s a quick summary of the current political landscape in Ohio.
• Gaining the most national scrutiny is the competition to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R). The presence in the field of “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance drew early attention to the race. Vance’s book offered a nuanced look at the cultural and economic forces in Appalachia and the Rust Belt, so there were expectations that its author, as a candidate, might exhibit similar wisdom. Instead, Vance — after regularly dissing Donald Trump — shockingly turned himself into a Trump sycophant, competing with Josh Mandel, a former state treasurer, to say the most ridiculously Trumpian things.
• Lately overtaking both Mandel and Vance is wealthy businessman Mike Gibbons, another “Can you Trump this?” candidate who — fittingly, in today’s professional wrestling atmosphere — went nose-to-nose with Mandel at a recent debate. Looking on with other candidates was former state GOP chair Jane Timken, who has Portman’s support and probably the right measure of Trumpiness without the wide-eyed zealot factor to win in November.
• Frequently lost in the noise of the Senate race is the reelection bid of Gov. Mike DeWine (R). DeWine earned the ire of many conservatives over his handling of the coronavirus when it first emerged in 2020. He seemed determined that no governor would outdo him in implementing lockdowns, mask mandates and other restrictions.
• The measures made DeWine a national media darling, but local pushback and protests led to the resignation of his health director and calls to challenge him in the primary. His most formidable opponent on paper, former congressman James B. Renacci, has touted himself as a pro-Trump conservative while painting DeWine as soft on illegal immigration, a supporter of higher gas taxes and someone who doesn’t stand with Trump.
• To shore up his flank, DeWine has romanced the right more aggressively. He criticized President Biden’s vaccine mandate, and recently signed a bill no longer requiring a license to carry a concealed handgun, along with a “born alive” bill favored by his pro-life constituency. DeWine was recently endorsed by the state Republican party, but not without significant opposition, and at least two county parties have broken ranks to endorse Renacci.
• Meanwhile, the process of drawing new state legislative and congressional districts has provided even more drama. Voters previously approved new, supposedly less partisan state and congressional redistricting standards, but Republicans still control the map-drawing committees. Three Republicans on the seven-member state supreme court have routinely approved the maps, but Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor — also a Republican — has consistently joined the court’s three Democrats to reject them. That has angered Republicans legislators, some of whom are reportedly considering impeachment proceedings against O’Connor.
• The delayed maps will almost assuredly force the primary — scheduled for May 3 — to be postponed, causing more headaches for election officials and upending campaigns that meticulously tailor spending and messaging around a specific end date.
• If not for all those distractions, what might be top of mind for Republicans are racketeering charges pending against former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder (R) related to an alleged $61 million bribery and money-laundering arrangement. Householder has denied the charges. The fallout could embarrass a lot of Republicans. But that trial won’t start until January. For Ohio Republicans facing more immediate challenges, that’s a lifetime away — with many more soap operas in between.

###

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement celebrating the twelfth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act becoming law: 

“Thanks to the leadership of Senator Brown, Representatives Fudge, Ryan and Kaptur, the Affordable Care Act became law twelve years ago today – legislation that expanded Medicaid coverage for nearly 1 million Ohioans, lowered healthcare costs for working families, and secured protections for 2 million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions. The Affordable Care Act has made a real difference for working Ohioans by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, keeping rural hospitals open and eliminating lifetime caps. 

“As Democrats are laser-focused on expanding healthcare coverage and lowering costs, Ohio Republicans – from the congressional delegation, to the millionaires running for U.S. Senate, and to Mike DeWine – have opposed these efforts at the behest of the big corporations that fund their campaigns and the expense of the Ohio families they swore to represent. As Republicans are hellbent on fighting for higher medical bills and undermining protections for pre-existing conditions, Ohioans know that they can trust Democrats to keep fighting for affordable healthcare and protections for those with pre-existing conditions.” 

BACKGROUND: 

Several of the out-of-touch millionaires running for U.S. Senate have attacked the Affordable Care Act: 

• Josh Mandel said he was “hopeful” he would be the 51st vote to repeal the ACA. 
• Jane Timken admitted she got involved in politics because she was motivated to repeal the ACA. 
• Mike Gibbons called the law “a disaster” and said, “After we repeal ObamaCare, we need to start from scratch.” 
• Matt Dolan said that the law was “conceived wrongly, implemented poorly and has become a tool of partisan grift.”

Republican statewide officials have also slammed the Affordable Care Act: 

• Mike DeWine has worked to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. 
• Dave Yost has undermined the Affordable Care Act.

###

For Immediate Release:

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party is once again calling on Mike DeWine and Jon Husted to tell Ohioans what they knew and when about the largest public corruption scandal in state history after FirstEnergy admitted that former executives Chuck Jones and Michael Dowling were the officials behind the bribes in the HB 6 bribery scandal.

In December 2018, DeWine and Husted had dinner with Dowling and Jones, raising questions about whether the bribery scandal was discussed.

“Today’s revelation is only the latest connection between Mike DeWine, Jon Husted and the largest public corruption scandal in state history. Ohio Democrats are once again renewing our call for DeWine and Husted to tell Ohioans what they knew and when about the bribery scheme. As Ohioans continue to pay more than $280,000 a day for this scandal, the very least they deserve is an answer from the governor,” said Chair Walters.

Last year, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio outlined various ways that the DeWine-Husted administration is connected to the scandal, including top-level staff with direct ties to the scheme that DeWine continues to stand behind. DeWine and Husted have tried to avoid answering questions on their ties to the scandal and what they knew and when, but Ohio voters deserve full transparency and accountability.

###

For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement in response to Mike DeWine’s State of The State address. 

“Amid all of the bombast and bluster Ohioans heard from Mike DeWine today, what we failed to hear is any plan for him to do his job and fix the redistricting mess he created. The election chaos we’re seeing in Ohio falls squarely at the feet of Mike DeWine and  Republicans on the redistricting commission who failed time and again to pass fair maps. Ohioans are sick and tired of words, it’s time for action. Today, Ohio Democrats are once again calling on DeWine and his fellow Republicans to do their jobs and pass fair maps,” said Chair Walters.

###