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Columbus, OH – J.D. Vance is facing broad condemnation from Ohio women and advocates for arguing that women should stay in “violent” marriages. Given the opportunity to apologize, clarify, or walk it back, Vance instead “doubled down on these comments when he said ‘the point I made was a very simple point and I completely stand by it.’”

Read more below:

Statehouse News Bureau: Ohio advocates for domestic violence victims are taking issue with J.D. Vance
Jo Ingles
August 5, 2022

• Some advocates for survivors of domestic violence are upset with Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance for comments he reportedly made that suggest people in violent marriages shouldn’t get divorced.
• Lydia Strauss, a Columbus woman who has worked with domestic violence survivors for more than two decades, said Vance’s rhetoric is downright dangerous.
• “Vance thinks we should stay in violent marriages, he wants to make abortion illegal nationally, he called rape inconvenient and even compared abortion to slavery,” Strauss said.
• The advocates are reacting to a story first reported by Vice News last week.
• The news outlet reported that, while speaking to a California high school in September, Vance said “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.’”
• Strauss said the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports one out of every four women and one out of every nine men will experience severe physical violence from their partner. And she said the same organization estimates one out of every 15 children is exposed to domestic violence.
• “Telling women that they should stay in violent marriages is disgusting and dangerous. And if women were to listen to J.D. Vance’s callous advice, it would lead to children seeing more violence in their home,” Strauss said.
• Strauss, along with some Democratic state lawmakers, said Vance has an “anti-woman” agenda.

WFMJ: Local women’s rights activist speaks out against JD Vance’s ‘violent marriages’ comment
Zach Mosca
August 5, 2022

• A local reproductive rights advocate joined a group of female lawmakers and women’s rights advocates to speak out against comments made by Ohio-based U.S. Senate candidate, JD Vance.
• Bek Norman of Warren joined other Ohio women to criticize Vance on his comments made during an interview in September of 2021 in which he allegedly states that women should remain in unhappy marriages to protect their children, even if they are violent.
• The comments were brought to light by online news organization, Vice where Vance can be heard saying the following:
• “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘well, ok, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.”
• Vance has since doubled down on these comments when he said “the point I made was a very simple point and I completely stand by it.”
• Female lawmakers and advocates in Ohio say it’s “inexcusable” that Vance has yet to apologize for these comments or provide more clarification for what he meant by them.
• “If [Vance] wants to act like our U.S. Senator, then I encourage our fellow legislators to to encourage him to be more clear about his statements, and if he’s doubling down on it, then I encourage everybody to condemn those statements because they’re very inappropriate,” said Democratic State Senator, Tina Maharath.
• “I have known women in violent marriages [and] in abusive marriages who felt trapped and helpless, and I’ll tell you what: JD Vance has no clue what’s right for those women who we all know,” Norman said.

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Columbus, OH – Following the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement:

“Thanks to the hard work of Senator Brown, this landmark legislation brings us one step closer to creating good-paying jobs of the future right here in Ohio and lowering costs for working families by asking giant corporations to pay their fair share rather than use their record profits on stock buybacks.  

“This historic bill will give Ohioans some much-needed breathing room by bringing down prescription drug and energy costs. It’s no surprise that San Francisco millionaire J.D. Vance opposes this cost-saving legislation since it doesn’t help the out-of-state billionaires who are propping up his floundering campaign. This November, Ohio working families won’t forget that Republicans like J.D. Vance care more about pleasing their wealthy corporate special interest donors than about tackling the inflation crisis, paying down our deficit, or investing into communities across our state.” 

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Columbus, OH —This morning, Ohio women condemned J.D. Vance for his dangerous comments that women should stay in “violent” marriages for the sake of their children.

According to a video uncovered by Vice, Vance said, “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.”

Since then, Vance has refused to apologize and instead dug in on his dangerous comments, saying “the point I made is a very simple point, and I completely stand by it.”

This isn’t the only evidence of Vance’s alarming anti-woman agenda. He’s called rape “inconvenient” and he even compared abortion to slavery – extreme positions well out of the mainstream that could have deadly consequences for Ohio women.

The full video of the press conference can be viewed here. Below is a summary of the remarks from the press conference:

• State Senator Tina Maharath, Columbus: “As a mom and a state legislator, I am concerned when I hear extreme rhetoric like J.D. Vance’s recent statement that appears to indicate that battered women should stay in a violent and unhappy marriage…Telling women to stay in violent marriages potentially puts them – not only them – but their children in harm’s way as well. So it’s very irresponsible and it’s very dangerous for him to say those type of things.”
• State Representative Tavia Galonski, Akron: “He thinks women should stay in ‘violent’ marriages for the sake of their children. And when he was given the chance to explain what he meant, J.D. Vance reiterated that he ‘completely stands by’ his repulsive comments that women should stay in violent marriages. That should tell Ohio women everything they need to know about J.D. Vance: he doesn’t care about our health or well-being. It also shows us what kind of U.S. Senator J.D. Vance would be: one who doesn’t listen to women because he just doesn’t care.”
• Lydia Strauss, Domestic Violence Advocate For Over 20 Years, Columbus: “J.D. Vance does not understand what women go through every day in ‘violent’ marriages. I’ve known women who wonder if they will be able to put food on the table if they leave a abusive husband… It is inexcusable that Vance refused to apologize for saying that women should stay in violent marriages, and instead stood by his vile comments. Vance has shown every Ohio woman who he is: dangerous and unfit to serve in the United States Senate.”
• Bek Norman, Reproductive Rights Advocate, Warren: “It was awful to hear J.D. Vance say that women should stay in violent marriages for the sake of the children. He’s had every opportunity to apologize to survivors of domestic violence, and instead he’s doubled down on those comments. Like most of us here, I’ve known women in violent marriages, abusive marriages and who’ve felt trapped and helpless and I’ll tell you what, J.D. Vance has no clue what’s right for those women that we all know.”

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 Columbus, OH — In what’s become a repeat pattern for the Mike DeWine campaign, he’s once again taking credit for money that would not exist if DeWine had his way. Law enforcement funding touted by DeWine this afternoon is once again made possible by the Democrat-led American Rescue Plan, the same legislation Ohio Democrats fought to pass while Mike DeWine said he would have voted against it if he was still in Congress.

“If Mike DeWine had his way, local law enforcement would not have this important grant funding. Thanks to the efforts of Ohio Democrats who made this critical funding a reality, Mike DeWine is doing little more than once again shamelessly campaigning and claiming credit for the hard work of Democrats who secured these critical resources for Ohio law enforcement,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

This is just the latest example of DeWine’s desperation and hypocrisy. In May, DeWine similarly used Ohio law enforcement officers as political pawns when he announced funding for the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab and Cleveland’s critical Real Time Crime Center that were also made possible by the American Rescue Plan.   

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Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Ohio Capital Journal is out with an important question for two Trump-endorsed radical Republicans running for Congress: Where are the financial disclosures? It turns out both January 6th participant and QAnon supporter J.R. Majewski and carpetbagger Madison Gesiotto Gilbert who bought three Ohio homes just to run have failed to file legally required financial documents after each raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Financial disclosures reveal, in general terms at least, how candidates make money, where they’re employed, how they invest, and what kind of debt they’re carrying. As candidates stake out their positions, these financial details can shed light on why they might adopt a particular posture as well as support — or undermine — their claims. Neither Majewski nor Gilbert’s campaign responded to requests for comment about their tardy disclosures,” writes Nick Evans for Ohio Capital Journal.

“Extremists J.R. Majewski and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert like to tout out-of-touch conspiracy theories, but here are the facts: they’re both trying to skirt ethics laws by failing to file even the most basic of information about their personal financial background and dealings. It leaves Ohio voters to wonder, do they have something to hide or are their campaigns not ready for primetime?” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more on the missing information here and below:

• A raft of candidates running for Ohio congressional seats this year have so far failed to file financial disclosures with the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• [T}wo names stick out — both for the amount they’ve raised and the competitiveness of their races — Donald Trump-endorsed Republicans J.R. Majewski and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert.
• Under the Ethics in Government Act, congressional candidates have to file financial disclosures detailing their income, assets and liabilities once they’ve raised or spent $5,000 in a given cycle. The deadline to file those reports was in May.
• The two Republicans who have failed to file — J.R. Majewski and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert — measure theirs in hundreds of thousands. Majewski has cleared half a million dollars and Gilbert is closing in on $1 million.
• Financial disclosures reveal, in general terms at least, how candidates make money, where they’re employed, how they invest, and what kind of debt they’re carrying. As candidates stake out their positions, these financial details can shed light on why they might adopt a particular posture as well as support — or undermine — their claims.
• Neither Majewski nor Gilbert’s campaign responded to requests for comment about their tardy disclosures.
• Missing the deadline for filing a financial disclosure comes with a $200 fine. According to the Ethics in Government Act, outright failure to file could land you in federal court. Under its provisions, the Attorney General can pursue such cases and the court can levy a civil penalty of any amount it chooses up to $50,000.

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