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For Immediate Release:
June 21, 2022

Columbus, OH — In an interview yesterday on Fox News, J.D. Vance was asked three times to clarify whether he truly believes survivors of rape and incest should be forced to give birth.

When trying to explain his position, Vance said (at around 5:30) that if Roe is overturned, “We have an opportunity, whatever the Supreme Court does on Roe, to really redefine the terms of the debate and to think of children as blessings to be cherished…” Does Vance think that rape and incest are “blessings to be cherished?”

This is just Vance’s latest in a series of dangerous and out-of-touch broadsides against abortion rights.

• Vance has said that overturning Roe v. Wade would be an “amazing victory,” despite the 53 percent of Ohio voters who want to see abortion rights protected according to a recent Suffolk University poll.
• In the past, Vance said that “two wrongs don’t make a right,” when defending his calls to deny abortion care to victims of rape and incest.
• Vance then downplayed sexual assault, saying that “It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society.” Vance’s position is even out-of-step with Donald Trump, who supported exceptions for rape and incest.

“J.D. Vance has already made clear he wants to punish women for trying to get an abortion – even in cases of rape and incest. Now Vance must explain to survivors of these crimes in what universe he thinks rape and incest could conceivably be ‘blessings to be cherished,’” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch late last week reported on comments from Mike DeWine in which he promised an anti-choice group that he would “go as far as we can” to attack reproductive rights in Ohio. DeWine’s comments only confirm what we already know: DeWine is one of the most extreme anti-choice politicians in the whole country and he’s ready to go on the attack. From a trigger-ban bill that wouldn’t include exceptions for rape or incest to a six-week abortion bill that has already been shot down by the federal courts, DeWine has already to promised to sign some of the most radical legislation in the country into law.

His latest comments show he’s ready to take those attacks even further.

“Mike DeWine just made one thing abundantly clear: abortion and reproductive rights are on the line this November. DeWine, one the most radical anti-choice politicians in the country, is ready to ‘go as far as he can,’ to restrict a woman’s right to make medical decisions for herself. From now until November, Ohio Democrats are going to make sure voters know what’s at stake ahead of one of the most consequential elections in Ohio history,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more from the Columbus Dispatch here and below:

• In a call with Ohio Right to Life members on Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine said he wants to “go as far as we can” to prohibit abortion based on what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in the coming days.
• A leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion indicated the justices plan to overturn legal decisions that protected the procedure up to about 23 or 24 weeks into pregnancy. The draft opinion comes in a case about the constitutionality of a Mississippi law that prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks gestation.
• DeWine, a lifelong opponent of abortion, said depending on the ruling, he plans to ask the courts to lift a legal stay that has kept the heartbeat abortion ban law from taking effect. DeWine, a Republican, signed it into law in April 2019. 
• He also noted that when lawmakers return to Columbus in November, they’ll discuss “how we want to craft that legislation to go as far as we can to protect human life based upon whatever that decision is.”

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For Immediate Release:

Friday, June 17, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Auditor candidate Taylor Sappington – the first openly-gay candidate for statewide office in Ohio – and Ohio Statehouse candidate Jim Obergefell – candidate for Ohio House and plaintiff in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized gay marriage – held a press conference to discuss the critical priorities that Mike DeWine and Ohio Republicans are ignoring in order to score political points by attacking LGBTQ+ Ohioans.

At a time when too many Ohio families are worried about their ability to make ends meet, Mike DeWine and Republicans in Columbus are focusing their time and energy on attacking LGBTQ+ Ohioans instead of doing their jobs and working to cut costs for Ohio workers.

“Instead of taking decisive action to put more money in the pockets of working Ohioans or drive costs down, DeWine and statehouse Republicans are attacking our friends and neighbors to score political points. They’re not going after corporations that price gouge, they’re not going after the shareholders that continue to pad their bottom line, they’re going after LGBTQ+ Ohioans who are just trying to live their lives and be their authentic selves. And that’s not only bad for LGTBQ+ Ohioans, that’s bad for everyone who calls our state home,” said Sappington.

Ohio finds itself poised to become one of the most extreme states in the nation when it comes to anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the “don’t say gay” bill, a separate bill that attacks transgender children and a state budget that’s already been signed into law by Mike DeWine that limits LGBTQ+ Ohioans’ access to healthcare.

“These bills will do nothing but make LGBTQ+ Ohioans less safe and hit working Ohioans directly where it hurts: their pocketbooks. So today, we’re here to call on Ohio Republicans to stop attacking our friends and neighbors and start doing their jobs: pass legislation that makes it easier for working Ohioans to get by, legislation that invests in workers,” said Obergefell.

Today’s press conference comes on the eve of Columbus Pride, one of the largest Pride celebrations in the country.

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For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2022

Vance’s Admission Follows Conservative Youngstown Radio Host Saying Vance Has Run A “Horrible Campaign” And Needs To “Get Off His Ass”

Columbus, OH – In a radio interview earlier this week, J.D. Vance admitted the obvious – that he’s struggling to unite the Ohio GOP behind his U.S. Senate bid.

On the Bruce Hooley Show, Vance said (at around 1:30) he’s still working on “trying to get everybody to coalesce” and made excuses for his inability to consolidate his own party by saying, “it was a tough primary… Tens of millions of dollars negative ads is a lot of firepower, you know, pointing in every, every direction.” Those millions of dollars worth of ads let Republican primary voters know who Vance really is – a “fraud,” “flip flop flipper,” “Never Trump,” “called for higher taxes,”  “RINO,” and “cheering for the wrong team.” Those ads left a mark: a poll earlier this month found that Vance had the support of 79 percent of Republicans, compared to the 91 percent of Democrats who support Tim Ryan.

This is the latest example of the ongoing damage from Vance’s lackluster win, which Vance himself has admitted left “a lot of Republican voters with hurt feelings.” Vance has also been taking heat for his poorly run campaign. Earlier this month, Youngstown radio host Ron Verb said (at the 33-minute mark), “And once again I’ll tell J.D. Vance, ‘Get off your ass and start running some ads and get moving.’ I sit here… But this guy needs to get off his ass and get moving. It’s a horrible campaign so far that he’s doing.”

“After their candidates spent months ripping each other to shreds in a brutal primary, Ohio Republicans are failing to line up behind California Vance. It turns out it’s hard to unite behind an out-of-touch fraud when voters aren’t buying his endless and self-serving political calculations,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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For Immediate Release:
June 16, 2022

Columbus, OH — Before he ran for U.S. Senate, J.D. Vance touted his support for gun violence prevention measures including red flag laws, like the ones incentivized by the Senate’s bipartisan gun safety framework. But now Vance has reinvented himself (yet again!) and opposes this bipartisan deal championed by Senator Rob Portman that would be a historic breakthrough to keep Americans safe.

During a March 2018 Darke County Republican Party dinner, Vance said, “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.” As Cleveland.com notes, “Vance, who previously positioned himself publicly as somewhat more moderate, including on gun-related issues, largely has taken a harder-right turn since running for U.S. Senate this year.” Now Vance is at odds with Portman, the U.S. Senator he is vying to replace.

“It must be exhausting for J.D. Vance to keep track of his endless string of hypocritical and transparently political reversals on every issue imaginable,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more below:

Cleveland.com: Republican Senate hopeful J.D. Vance opposes bipartisan deal on gun control, unlike Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan
Andrew Tobias
June 15, 2022

• The Republican and Democratic candidates running to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate differ when it comes to the tentative gun-control deal announced this week by Republican and Democratic senators.
• During an interview with a right-wing radio host on Tuesday, J.D. Vance, a Republican writer and investor, said he wouldn’t vote for the bill, whose supporters include Sen. Rob Portman, the retiring Republican Vance is running to replace.
• Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, in a tweet shortly after the bill was announced, heralded it as “a historic first step.”
• The difference on the proposal not only highlights the contrast between Vance and Ryan, but is another example of the contrast between Vance and Portman. Vance, who previously positioned himself publicly as somewhat more moderate, including on gun-related issues, largely has taken a harder-right turn since running for U.S. Senate this year.
• In a Tuesday appearance on the Breitbart News Daily podcast, Vance singled out for criticism the provisions described in the bill that would help states set up “red flag” laws that give courts the ability to seize guns from people deemed to be an imminent threat to public safety.
• “I think that the big issue here is that we’re we’re talking about giving a massive amount of bureaucratic power to federal and state governments after two years of basically seeing people abuse that power in a different domain,” Vance said. “So I think this is a bad idea. I would not support the legislation.”
• Vance also questioned whether limiting access to guns would have any effect at all on gun violence, which he said was tied to “inner-city urban crime,” and which he said until recently dropped generally over decades during a time when guns became more widely available.
• “None of us like the school shootings. None of us likes the fact that if you live near a big city, you hear about gun violence nearly every week. So we have to not take the left’s bait and say, ‘Well, this is going to make us safer at the expense of our Second Amendment rights.’ I don’t think it’s going to do either,” Vance said.
• Ryan hasn’t commented as extensively on the gun-control deal, but in a tweet on Sunday shortly after the deal was announced said: “While we still have more details to learn, this bipartisan agreement is a historic step forward in protecting our kids and keeping our communities safe from gun violence. It’s also a testament to what’s possible when we set aside our partisan differences. Now let’s get it done.”
• Earlier in his congressional career, Ryan frequently was described as a pro-Second Amendment Democrat. But he’s become more supportive of restrictions on guns in recent years, expressing support for measures beyond what’s in the Senate deal, like requiring universal background checks on gun purchases, banning the sale of assault weapons and banning high-capacity magazines.
• In general terms, the bipartisan Senate bill would enhance background checks for buyers under age 21 and provide major funding to help states pass and implement crisis intervention orders known as red flag laws that allow law enforcement to temporarily remove weapons from people who pose a danger to themselves or others.
• It would increase penalties for gun trafficking and straw purchasing, and expand the current prohibition on domestic abusers getting guns to include romantic partners. It would also expand community mental health services for children and families and provide money for school violence prevention efforts, training and the implementation of safety measures at primary and secondary schools.
• The gun compromise has not yet been introduced in the Senate, much less voted on. But 10 Republican senators, including Portman, have announced their support for the idea in general terms, giving it the GOP support it would need to clear a filibuster in the Senate.

Ohio Capital Journal: JD Vance voices opposition to Senate gun reform framework
Nick Evans
June 16, 2022

• In Washington, a bipartisan group of Senators appears to be on the cusp of a gun reform deal. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has even given his blessing to the framework, but a bit closer to home, Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee J.D. Vance says he wouldn’t vote for it.
• “From what I’ve seen of this bill, I would not support it,” Vance said Wednesday on a Breitbart radio show. “I think the red flag laws, in particular, they certainly are a slippery slope. They also don’t solve the problem of gun violence.”
• The legislation itself has yet to be released, but Senate negotiators say they have an agreement in principle. That agreement includes resources to support states in administering their own red flag provisions, but it wouldn’t impose a federal program. The deal also includes enhanced background checks for gun buyer younger than 21 and enhanced penalties for straw purchasers.
• Vance conceded that the U.S. has a “high gun violence rate,” but pinned the problem on what he termed urban inner-city crime. He argued violence has been coming down for the last 30 years despite guns being more available.
• “So, in some ways it’s not even accurate to call it a gun violence problem,” Vance said. “It is a violence problem that has gotten worse over the last few years, not because of more guns, but because of negative law enforcement.”
• Building on data from the CDC and the FBI, the Pew Research Center notes that although gun murders and suicides have climbed sharply in recent years, the rates for both remain below their peak. The share of those incidents that involve a gun, however, did peak in 2020.
• Vance’s opponent this November, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-OH, took to Twitter to voice support for what he called a “historic step forward” on reducing gun violence. As he has throughout the Senate campaign Ryan also made a play for middle of the road voters.
• “It’s also a testament to what’s possible when we set aside our partisan differences.” He said of the deal. “Now let’s get it done.”

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