Uncategorized

For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters, Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington and Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark held a statehouse press conference to lay out how DeWine and his fellow Republicans have failed to do their jobs and pass fair maps, a violation of their oaths of office to protect and defend Ohio’s constitution.

“Now, as Ohio finds itself amid a constitutional crisis, Mike DeWine and his fellow Republicans are solely to blame. So all the bombast and bluster we’ll hear from Mike DeWine today ultimately means nothing. Because when it comes down to it, the state of our state is broken. And that’s because Mike DeWine caved to his fellow Republicans and failed to do his most important job: putting the interests of Ohioans first,” said Chair Walters.

The redistricting commission first met in August 2021. In the seven months since, DeWine and his fellow Republicans have blown past constitutional deadlines, passed five separate sets of GOP-gerrymandered maps and each time ignored the directives of Ohio voters and the Ohio Supreme Court. They are solely to blame for the election chaos that has been created by their failure to do their job.

“Republicans have made clear that the only interests they’re protecting are their own – the will of Ohio voters be damned – as they push through gerrymandered maps that reflect an Ohio Republican Party wishlist more than the political realities of our state. In Nelsonville, we don’t point fingers or run out the clock when things don’t go our way. We wake up every day, put politics aside and do our jobs to deliver for the people we were elected to serve,” said Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington.

“Despite what DeWine, LaRose and Republicans on the commission would have you believe, it’s not that complicated of a task to complete. If they’d done the right thing from day one and worked with Democrats to pass a fair map, we wouldn’t be in the middle of this election chaos,” said Ohio Secretary of State candidate Chelsea Clark.

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Columbus, OH — A new report from The American Independent caught J.D. Vance flip-flopping on his support for a key gun violence prevention measure. It’s the latest political reinvention for Vance, which the article notes is “the latest in a long series of flip-flops from positions” as he struggles to compete in this crowded and nasty primary.

“The only thing Ohioans can trust about J.D. Vance is that he will sell out Ohioans for whatever political calculation he thinks will best serve him in the moment,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

The American Independent: J.D. Vance backed ‘red flag’ gun laws in 2018. Now he calls them ‘a giant distraction.’

Josh Israel

March 21, 2022

• Republican Ohio Senate hopeful J.D. Vance has spent much of his campaign attacking “gun grabbers” and opposing firearm regulations. But just four years ago, he urged his party to pass the very laws he now rails against.
• The author and venture capitalist appeared at a March 2018 Darke County Republican Party dinner as the featured speaker. According to a local newspaper report on the event, Vance appeared to endorse new laws to disarm those who are an imminent danger to others.
• “We should make it easier to take those guns out of the hands of people who are about to use them to murder large numbers of people,” he argued at the time. “We’ve got to have the right balance between protecting citizens, protecting our schools, and protecting the kids that go to them, but also protecting our really important and fundamental constitutional liberty.”
• Even then-President Donald Trump endorsed the idea in 2019 in the wake of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. “We can and will stop this evil contagion,” he promised. “That is why I have called for red flag laws, also known as extreme risk protection orders.”
• But since announcing his Senate campaign, Vance has abandoned his support for any new gun safety legislation.
• Last July, Vance wrote an op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch warning that President Joe Biden and an “unholy alliance” was coming for Americans’ guns and other liberties. “Violence in our country is much more about density than guns,” he asserted. “That’s why the Biden Administration’s dull attempts to curb gun violence don’t work and they threaten the very foundation of the rights we are afforded as free, American citizens.”
• Vance’s campaign issues page contains similar language. “Joe Biden and anti-democracy multinational companies are trying to find new ways to take guns away from law-abiding citizens. They’re making it harder to buy firearms and ammunition, and imposing new, unconstitutional regulations on American citizens,” Vance’s campaign website reads. “I will fight the gun grabbers, whether they’re federal bureaucrats enacting regulations or multinational companies punishing people for exercising their rights.”
• Vance’s reversal on this is but the latest in a long series of flip-flops from positions the “Hillbilly Elegy” author took before he decided to run for political office.
• In 2016, he frequently lambasted then-candidate Trump as “xenophobic” and “an idiot”. Last year, he said he regretted criticizing Trump and was “wrong about the guy.”
• Shortly after Trump’s 2017 inauguration, Vance openly acknowledged the role white privilege plays in America, saying there were “obviously still advantages to being white” and “there are still disadvantages to being Black.” As a candidate, Vance now wants people to have the power to file lawsuits against companies that tell anyone to “deconstruct their privilege, or they need to sacrifice or repent of their whiteness.”
• He also once backed mask mandates to curb the coronavirus pandemic but went on to question why kids should have to wear masks. “I don’t know why we should mask our children under any circumstance, but especially not when Biden/Harris refuse to control COVID at our border,” Vance tweeted last August.

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  March 21, 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 heats up, 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:

DO YOUR JOB. Media outlets across Ohio are reporting on the election chaos that has been created by Mike DeWine and Republican members of the redistricting commission who have failed to do their job time and time again and pass fair maps. The redistricting commission first met in August 2021. In the seven months following, DeWine and his fellow Republicans have blown past constitutional deadlines, passed five separate sets of GOP-gerrymandered maps and ignored the directives of Ohio voters and the Ohio Supreme Court in the process. They are solely to blame for the election chaos that has been created by their failure to do their job.

“HOLLOW WORDS.” This weekend, the Columbus Dispatch editorial board took Mike DeWine to task for breaking his promises and putting Ohioans’ lives at risk. The editorial board outlined how DeWine’s cave to the gun lobby will have real consequences for Ohio law enforcement officers and families, putting their safety on the line, all so he can try to stay politically relevant. DeWine is willing to do or say anything to help himself, even if it means breaking his promises and putting Ohioans’ lives in danger in the process.

A HARD PASS. The Ohio Debate Commission now says no debates will be held in the Republican gubernatorial field after Mike DeWine all but said he was too scared to answer questions and face the field primarying him. Meanwhile, Ohioans wait for answers on key issues, including the largest public corruption scandal in state history and DeWine’s refusal to lead and pass fair maps on the redistricting commission.

WHERE’S THE BEEF? At the Ohio Beef Expo this weekend, Joe Blystone accused DeWine of getting in his face, grabbing his shirt and telling Blystone “I’m going to kick your ***” after Blystone allegedly confronted DeWine about ducking the debate. Whether it went down the way Blystone described or not, it’s interesting to see DeWine act tough when surrounded by his security detail, but when it comes to standing up to his own party, he can’t seem to find his spine.

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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Cleveland, OH — Today the leading GOP Senate candidates participated in a Nexstar debate. In response, Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Michael Beyer released the following statement:  

“All of the out-of-touch millionaires running for U.S. Senate only embarrassed themselves and added more fuel to the fire in their never-ending brawl.” 

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For Immediate Release:

Monday, March 21, 2022

Columbus, OH — Media outlets across Ohio are reporting on the election chaos that has been created by Republican members of the redistricting commission who have failed to do their job time and time again and pass fair maps. The redistricting commission first met in August 2021. In the seven months since, Republicans have blown past constitutional deadlines, passed five separate sets of GOP-gerrymandered maps and each time ignored the directives of Ohio voters and the Ohio Supreme Court. They are solely to blame for the election chaos that has been created by their failure to do their job.

“Republicans on the redistricting commission have had chance after chance to listen to the will of Ohio voters and pass fair maps. Instead, they’ve failed us and failed to follow the law. Now, Republicans continue to play the blame game and drag their feet rather than do their jobs and pass a fair map. Ohioans are sick and tired of the games, it’s time for Republicans on the commission to get to work, ” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more below:

Ohio Capital Journal

March 21, 2022

• LaRose also said without action from a federal court, only the statewide election races (like governor and treasurer, for example), congressional races and local contests will be on the ballots.
• Congressional races could be in trouble as well, if the state’s highest court decides those are also invalid. The court is currently considering the second revision of the map, sent to them earlier this month after the court struck down the first attempt by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
• It’s not clear how another primary will happen, since Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Bob Cupp have both said there isn’t an “appetite” for a change to the date of the primary, and Huffman’s offer of two different primary dates “went over like a lead balloon,” he told reporters on multiple occasions.
• According to Ohio law, the General Assembly takes the lead on any changes to the “time, place and manner” of elections in the state.

Columbus Dispatch

March 17, 2022

• Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Thursday that it’s impossible to hold a May 3rd primary with state House and Senate races after the Ohio Supreme Court struck down a third set of legislative maps.
• In a letter to lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine, LaRose said election officials would proceed with plans for a May 3rd primary with statewide, local and congressional races unless otherwise instructed.
• He also directed local boards of election not to send or alter any ballots because of pending litigation, even though military and overseas ballots are supposed to go out Friday under federal law.
• Barring any court-ordered action, officials must now decide between two complicated and potentially costly options: postponing the election or splitting up the primary.
• The state could proceed with a May 3rd primary only for statewide candidates, local candidates and issues because those aren’t subject to district boundaries. A second election for legislative and congressional candidates could be held at a later date, giving officials more time to finalize maps.
• But that’s an expensive prospect. LaRose estimated it could cost taxpayers an extra $20 million to $25 million, and lawmakers already approved $9.2 million to help election officials get ready for May 3.
• Democrats and voting rights groups have been pushing the GOP-controlled Legislature for weeks to postpone the primary and contend that’s the best path forward.

Cleveland.com

March 19, 2022 

• Even if the commission meets the March 28 deadline, it will be too late to ready ballots for early April, when early voting starts. That means the election either will have to be postponed or split into pieces — unless state officials get a different court to intervene.
• House Speaker Bob Cupp, one of the five Republicans on the commission, raised doubts on Saturday that the commission could find and hire outside consultants and draw a map in public on the court’s timetable, with the May 3 election looming.

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