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For Immediate Release:

Monday, January 10, 2022

DeWine Dodges Questions on Issues Important to Ohioans as He Continues to Watch his Poll Numbers Plummet

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, Mike DeWine’s campaign slogan for this election year is apparently “no comment.” Laura Bischoff from Gannett Ohio asked DeWine about a number of topics that are top of mind for Ohio voters, most of which DeWine refused to answer.

In what’s become an ongoing strategy from DeWine to hide from the truth and avoid accountability – from the HB 6 scandal to GOP-gerrymandered maps to gun safety and healthcare –  DeWine tries to “no comment” himself out of every tough topic that comes his way. But Ohioans deserve answers.

It’s a sign that DeWine is worried about his political future, knows he’s underwater with Ohio voters on both sides of the aisle and is worried about facing accountability that would cause him to lose even more support, especially among the only Ohioans he seems to care about these days: extreme statehouse Republicans.

“If Mike DeWine can’t answer basic questions about where he stands on issues that are important to Ohio voters, he doesn’t deserve the job. Being governor is about showing strong leadership and standing up to your own party when you need to. DeWine has neither the spine nor the political support to be able to do so,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

See more below about the topics DeWine refused to address:

Women’s Healthcare:

• “DeWine, who has signed multiple abortion restrictions into law, declined to say whether Ohio should have a so-called ‘trigger law’ that would immediately ban all abortions if Roe vs. Wade was overturned.”
• “He declined to answer a question about whether women should have access to abortion services under any circumstances.”

LGBTQ Discrimination: 

• “Bills to prohibit that discrimination have been introduced in every legislative session for more than a decade, including the current session
• “I have not spent much time looking at it. I don’t have an opinion,’ DeWine said.”

Keeping Ohioans Safe from Gun Violence:

• “Under current law, Ohioans who want to carry concealed weapons must take an eight hour class and pass a background check. Lawmakers are considering doing away with those requirements.
• “I’m not going to comment today on it,’ DeWine said, noting that two bills are pending in the Legislature.”

Death Penalty: 

• “As a state senator in 1981, DeWine voted in favor of Ohio’s current death penalty statute. Four decades later, DeWine declined to say whether he still supports it.”

Police Reform: 

• “There are reforms that are past due, reforms that I think everyone should be able to embrace,’ DeWine said, without going into detail.”

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  January 10, 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:

NO ENDORSEMENT? While Mike DeWine watches his support hemorrhage by the day within his own party, he’s desperate to remain relevant politically. While we all know that Donald Trump is no fan of Mike DeWine (more here), DeWine is trying to play it cool by pretending the only reason Trump hasn’t endorsed him is that he hasn’t asked for it. The truth: if DeWine asked Trump for his endorsement, he’d probably be laughed out of the room, which may be why, as DeWine admitted, he hasn’t been invited to the Mar-A-Lago resort. Pro tip for Mike: he’s just not that into you.

FAILURE TO ACT. As COVID cases continue to skyrocket and our state continues to set new case records, Mike DeWine is too busy trying to not to upset extremists in his own party to do what’s right for Ohioans. In case you missed it, Ohio now ranks second in the nation for COVID deaths, with caseloads at all-time highs. Yet, there’s still no new action from DeWine who recently admitted he was handling COVID “the Ohio way.” As extreme Republicans play politics with the pandemic, making Ohioans less safe, Mike DeWine seems resigned to stay on the sidelines and just hope no one notices.

NOT TODAY. Mike DeWine continues to try and “no comment” his way out of critical issues impacting hard-working families across the state. During an hour-long interview with the USA Today Network of reporters representing major Ohio newspapers, DeWine failed to take a stance on key issues like keeping Ohioans safe from gun violence, healthcare and LGBTQ+ discrimination (just to name a few). DeWine tried every phrase in the book including “not commenting today,” “I don’t have an opinion” and “Stay tuned.” This goes to show you how scared DeWine really is to stand up to the tough issues impacting the state, and how little respect he has for Ohioans and the media asking questions on their behalf.

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:

Friday, January 7, 2022

  Yost is Willing to Risk Ohioans’ Lives So He Can Play Politics at the Supreme Court

Columbus, OH — Today, during a news conference on his politically-motivated anti-vaccine lawsuit in front of the Supreme Court, Dave Yost tried to downplay the very real consequences that will occur if his lawsuit is successful but instead showed his true colors on how seriously he takes the health and well-being of Ohioans. During a virtual press gaggle, Yost was asked:

“At the end of the day, regardless of the legal arguments, if you’re successful, thousands more people could die, just according to the estimates. So I guess, why bring this lawsuit and why is that many lives worth it?” 

Yost’s response showed how little regard he has for Ohioans’ health and well-being:

“I’m vaccinated. But if somebody elects not to and they get sick or die, that is not my fault. That is a consequence of their choice to fail to protect themselves.”

Watch:

“Once again Dave Yost has confirmed that he will always put his own political aspirations over the health, safety and well-being of Ohioans. From mask burning videos on Twitter to his politically-motivated lawsuit that puts Ohioans’ lives at risk, Yost has shown he’s willing to do or say anything to try and stay in power. The lawsuit he’s pushing is harmful enough, but his words at today’s press conference are dangerous and disqualifying,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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For Immediate Release:

Thursday, January 6, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement marking the terrorist attack that took place at the U.S. Capitol one year ago today.

“One year ago today, our nation was attacked. We watched as our very democracy was violently threatened in an attempt to overturn a fair and free election, something that several Republican politicians in Ohio still refuse to acknowledge. We take time today to reflect, offer gratitude to the brave men and women on the Capitol police force who stood in harm’s way and recommit to our work to defend our democracy and make Ohio and our country a better, safer and more just place for all.” 

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MEMORANDUM

To: Interested Parties

From: The Ohio Democratic Party

Re: Josh Mandel’s Extremism On January 6 Is Shaping the Ohio GOP Senate Field 

The Ohio GOP Senate primary has “descended into meanness and pettiness and just plain craziness unlike anything ever seen in Ohio Republican politics.” And nowhere is the craziness more clear than the rhetoric and denialism about the attempted insurrection one year ago. Josh Mandel is leading the pack of out-of-touch millionaires in downplaying the insurrection and even going so far as to tout meetings with January 6 rallygoers. In a primary that has been all about Trump, Mandel desperately wants Trump’s endorsement and has used January 6th to stand out in this crowded field. He has caused other candidates, including J.D. Vance and Jane Timken, to chase him down the conspiracy rabbit hole. But no candidate has caught up to Mandel. 

Here’s how Mandel has staked out the right flank on the Big Lie and January 6th: 

• Josh Mandel has touted meetings with January 6th rallygoers on his Twitter account and called those charged with crimes on January 6 “political prisoners.” After one of his political rallies, Mandel tweeted, “Great to meet Lynette & Diane who exercised their Freedom to Assemble and support President Trump on January 6th.” 
• Mandel has called for abolishing the January 6th commission in favor of a November 3rd commission, which would be able to investigate (at the 5 hour and 1-minute mark) “what was going on” in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. No other candidate has made voter fraud claims about Ohio’s election or named Cleveland.
• Mandel called January 6th an operation funded by the Deep State and organized by George Soros. 
• Mandel says he thinks that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and repeats this line to applause at campaign stops and Republican forums around Ohio. 

Just this past month, Mandel has kept January 6th as a message of his campaign: 

• On December 3, he tweeted, “Abolish the January 6th commission and replace it with a November 3rd commission.”
• And on December 17, Hugh Hewitt pushed back on Mandel’s election fraud claims, and Mandel once again mentioned replacing the January 6th commission with a November 3rd commission. Mandel said that Biden is not the legitimate president and that forensic audits will prove Trump won the election. 

Mandel’s belief in January 6th conspiracy theories is all part of an effort to pad Trump’s ego, and it’s why Mandel was spotted at another candidate’s fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago (which was later confirmed by The Washington Post). Mandel will do or say anything to earn Trump’s endorsement and does not care about the consequences of lying about the results of an election or downplaying the insurrection, which saw a violent mob storming the Capitol and resulting in multiple deaths.

Jane Timken And J.D. Vance Are Failing To Catch Up To Mandel’s Extremism

In order to catch up to Mandel, J.D. Vance and Jane Timken have amped up their January 6th rhetoric from before their runs for U.S. Senate to now. 

Before J.D. Vance ran for U.S. Senate:

• Vance did not even tweet anything about January 6th during January 2021. 

Now that he is running for U.S. Senate:

• Vance told Time in July, “There were some bad apples on Jan. 6, very clearly, but most of the people there were actually super peaceful. Some of them were, like, let into the Capitol by the police officers!” 
• In September, Vance told WCMH, “I think it’s a little bit weird that we focus so much on what happened January 6. Yes it was bad, yes people who were violent should face consequences, but I also think we have to keep a little perspective about what happened and some of the other problems that exist in our country.” 

Before Jane Timken decided to run for Senate: 

• On January 6, Timken tweeted, “As Americans we have the constitutional right to redress our grievances but not with violence. What’s happening in the Capitol is wrong and not the way forward.” 
• In January, as the chair of the Ohio Republican Party, told The Plain Dealer she didn’t know “if I would have voted the way he [Gonzalez] did,” which was in favor of impeaching Trump for inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol, while also praising him as a “very effective legislator.” At the time, Ohio GOP spokesman Evan Machan “declined to say whether Timken still supports the president, or whether she thinks Trump contributed to the violence.”

After becoming a U.S. Senate candidate: 

• Timken changed her tune and said that January 6th has been “blown out of proportion” and that there were “good, patriotic Americans who went to the Capitol.” This is likely to shield herself from more criticism from Josh Mandel, who has gone after Timken for defending Anthony Gonzalez’s decision to vote to impeach Trump by calling it “rational.” Timken eventually changed her position and called for Gonzalez to resign but that hasn’t stopped the infighting. 
• Josh Mandel attacked Timken for flip-flopping on Gonzalez after her campaign “saw polling” on the issue. When Gonzalez announced he wasn’t running for reelection, Mandel went after Timken and called her “pro-impeachment.”

The Ohio GOP Senate primary has become a “race for former President Trump’s endorsement” which “is putting several candidates on a collision course that some Republicans fear could hobble the party in the 2022 midterm elections.” Mandel is leading the charge in appeasing Trump’s fantasies about January 6th in order to secure his endorsement and has led J.D. Vance and Jane Timken down a conspiracy rabbit hole in order for them to remain relevant. 

The race to the bottom in this crowded primary has been an event to behold and with four months left, has shown no signs of slowing down. The Ohio Democratic Party remains committed to holding Josh Mandel accountable for his extremism and making the case to Ohioans that J.D. Vance, Jane Timken, or whatever out-of-touch millionaire wins this divisive primary only cares about themselves and not the needs of working Ohioans. 

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