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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:

THAT PESKY CONSTITUTION. A Cleveland.com opinion piece published Sunday urges Ohio Supreme Court Justice DeWine to reconsider recusal and step aside from ruling on the unconstitutional maps directly involving his father. The piece pulls legal arguments from the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, past Ohio and U.S. Supreme Court cases and even the Federalist Papers to explain what Ohio voters already know: Pat DeWine shouldn’t rule on a court case involving his own dad. As more continues to spill out about Mike DeWine’s role in pushing through a partisan map he hadn’t even weighed in on, it’s clear the DeWine family is pulling all the political strings they can to protect themselves. . . 

YOU HAD ONE JOB. Just one week after Mike DeWine admitted under oath he had no role in the gerrymandered redistricting maps now under multiple lawsuits (BTW, it’s a constitutional requirement that he does), those in his orbit are admitting they flat out hated the maps up for a vote but took no action to make the maps constitutional. Text messages show Frank LaRose thought the rationale behind the maps was “asinine” and wanted to vote no, until he caved to pressure from his staff and voted yes anyway. Instead of fighting for fair representation, DeWine and his Republican cronies once again put their personal interests before doing what is right for Ohio and fighting for constitutional district maps. 

ONE SAD STATISTIC. Last week, Ohio announced a somber milestone thanks to COVID-19. Under Mike DeWine’s watch, the pandemic led Ohio to report more deaths than births in 2020, a first in the state’s history according to records dating back to 1909. As DeWine continues to pander to political extremists in the legislature, his political inaction is having very real consequences for Ohioans who just want to keep their families healthy and safe. This should also remind Ohioans to mask up, and get vaccinated!  

Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. Don’t forget election day is Tuesday, November 2. Help flip Ohio and GO VOTE! If you have questions my email is [email protected]. Have a great week! 

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Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments on the extreme Texas abortion ban that effectively renders Roe v. Wade meaningless: 

“As hearings begin at the Supreme Court on Texas’ extreme abortion ban, it is a reminder of Republicans’ relentless efforts to strip away healthcare from Ohioans and jeopardize their reproductive rights. In 2022, Ohioans will hold the Republican Party accountable for their cruel efforts to insert themselves into personal, private decisions between Ohioans and their doctors.”

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October 29, 2021

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. 

Here’s what you may have missed:

NEVER TRUMPER AIRTIME. After months of J.D. Vance being called a “Never Trumper” by Josh Mandel (which we’ve documented), Mandel allies went on air with a nearly $1 million buy hitting Vance for his anti-Trump past. Moreno surrogate Ric Grenell said of the new Vance ad, “Don’t get duped, Ohio. Read his lips.” Mandel surrogate Brigitte Gabriel shared the ad, tweeting, “Never-Trumper JD Vance in his own words.” It’s almost like the nasty attacks from Buckeye Brawl went straight to TV! 

TWEET DELETER. Matt Dolan decided to take a shot at Vance, who has famously deleted his anti-Trump tweets to cover up his record, saying that he doesn’t delete his tweets during the CCV forum Sunday. Dolan tweeted (forever, will not be deleted), “Unlike others, I don’t delete my tweets. I’m a transparent public official.” It’s ok, Matt, we would prefer you delete your tweets as well!

VANCE AN OPPORTUNIST? Mandel’s spokesperson Jillian Anderson defended the new Club for Growth ad that attacks Vance for his anti-Trump statements. Responding to a user who said he didn’t care about blind allegiance to Trump, she tweeted, “It’s not about aligning w Trump or not it’s about honesty vs opportunity.” We couldn’t agree more that Vance is a political opportunist who will do or say anything to win this primary!  

SNARK AIN’T ENOUGH. Gibbons and Moreno camps had a back and forth during the CCV forum Sunday. First, Gibbons senior advisor Michael Biundo tweeted, “Bernie Moreno apparently has done everything first or is the only one to have done it. Lol.” Emily Moreno felt the need to respond, apparently tweeting, “Glad that you found the YouTube link from New Hampshire! Is this how you help your candidate? Snarky Twitter posts with zero likes or retweets? Free advice: help him with fundraising.” Biundo responded with “This only gets you 1%…” Both Gibbons and Moreno could use help fundraising since they both had to loan themselves millions of dollars each last quarter in order to continue their pathetic campaigns. 

ASTROTURF JANE PAYS INTERNS TO STAND IN THE RAIN. Some Republican political consultant (?) thought it would be funny to tweet “Pays for interns to stand in the rain. Pays for tweets and endorsements from Bernie Kerik. Classic Astroturf [sic] Jane.” We think he’s referring to this tweet from Axios reporter Lachlan Markey, who tweeted, “On Aug 3, Ohio Senate candidate Jane Timken’s campaign paid $5k to ex-NYPD chief Bernie Kerik for “communications consulting.” That night, Kerik tweeted about her for the first time. Then he started talking her up on Ohio talk radio. Then he joined her for a “Back the Blue” rally.” The only way a millionaire like Timken can get support is buying it so this makes perfect sense!

RINOS ENABLING DEMOCRATS. Mandel debuted a new version of an old attack – that Vance and Timken are RINOs who are helping Democrats. He said in a Breitbart interview, “We need America First fighters who have the guts and the backbone to say that. No more of these squishy establishment RINOs who are enabling just enabling the left and the Democrat cheating in the elections.” Mandel continues to attack Vance and Timken and label them as establishment RINOs. In an interview with the Butler County Republican Party, Mandel said he is running to rid the Republican Party of RINOS like Jane Timken and J.D. Vance. He went on to call them both “squishy establishment RINOS” and said he wants them out of the GOP altogether. He’s said squishy establishment RINOs are attacking the Judeo-Christian bedrock and now they are helping Democrats apparently. Mandel sure won’t let up on this one!

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 Halloween weekend! 

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following statement on two mailings that were sent out to Dayton voters in violation of the Ohio Democratic Party’s (ODP) mail policies. The mailings in violation never should have been submitted by the Montgomery County Party, nor approved by the Ohio Democratic Party. 

“This week, two mail pieces were sent to Dayton voters in violation of several of ODP’s mail policies. The mail pieces should never have been submitted by the local county party, nor approved, but they unfortunately went out by mistake amid a staff transition at ODP in oversight of the mail program. We are working to ensure that oversight of this program is strengthened and that similar mistakes don’t happen in the future,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

ODP has sent notice to the Montgomery County Democratic Party that the piece was in violation of ODP policies and outlined the consequences for the local party should such a violation ever happen again. ODP also asked that the County Party reply to the notice with the steps they’re taking to make sure no such violation happens in the future. 

In recognition of the fact that the pieces should never also have been approved by ODP staff, the Party is also taking immediate and meaningful steps to restructure our internal mail process to make sure that oversight of this program is strengthened and similar mistakes don’t happen in the future.

ODP Chair Elizabeth Walters has spoken with both candidates listed on the mail pieces in violation and offered her apologies for ODP’s role in the mistake. 

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, Frank LaRose once again failed Ohio voters and caved to extreme members of the Republican Party. A new Columbus Dispatch report detailing depositions from lawsuits over the blatantly gerrymandered and unconstitutional maps shows LaRose did not want to vote for the maps in the first place, but will always put his political ambition over the best interests of Ohioans. Text messages from LaRose show he had concerns, but ultimately backed down when political concerns were raised by his staff. It’s the latest example of Frank LaRose playing politics with his job as chief elections officer for the state of Ohio and using his role to further his own political ambitions.   

“Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, put it more bluntly in a text message to his chief of staff Merle Madrid: ‘This rationale is asinine. I should vote no.’ Madrid replied: ‘It will be cited in the court against the GOP. Probably not worth it,’ wrote the Columbus Dispatch.

“Frank LaRose has once again failed Ohioans. Text messages exchanged with his staff show he knew full well that the maps he ended up voting for were wrong, but he chose his own political interests over the interests of the Ohioans he is supposed to serve. When politicians show you who they are time and time again, it’s time we start believing them. And Frank LaRose has shown us he’s a political phony, said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes. 

You can read more from the Dispatch here and below: 

• Depositions taken in legal challenges against those maps revealed how differently Republican lawmakers, Democrats and GOP statewide officeholders viewed their goal – to reach a 10-year, bipartisan map – and their path to getting there. 

• The seven-member commission approved state House and Senate maps on Sept. 16 in a 5-2 vote along party lines. The maps could give Republicans a 62-37 advantage in the House and a 23-10 advantage in the Senate.
• A much-debated section of voter-approved changes to the Ohio Constitution required mapmakers to attempt to match statewide voting preferences of Ohioans over the past decade. 

• Republican candidates in statewide races won about 54% of the vote during those years and Democratic candidates won about 46%. The section is also at the heart of three lawsuits filed against the maps. 

• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, put it more bluntly in a text message to his chief of staff Merle Madrid: “This rationale is asinine. I should vote no.”

• Madrid replied: “It will be cited in the court against the GOP. Probably not worth it.”

• Statewide officeholders held three of the seven seats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. These members were supposed to act as a check on lawmakers’ self-interests when drawing their own maps. 

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