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For Immediate Release:

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) issued the following statement as  Republicans adjourned the redistricting committee today without passing a map that reflects the political realities of our state. This latest failure will create chaos for Ohio voters and force Ohioans to pay the price – literally – for the political dysfunction perpetrated by the Ohio GOP.

“Republicans have broken this process. Apparently too busy going to the Super Bowl and fundraisers to do their jobs, the chaos Republican commissioners are causing will have very real consequences for Ohio voters. Let’s be clear, this failure falls solely in the lap of Ohio Republicans who continue to break the law in order to appease their special interest buddies. Ohioans deserve leaders who fight tooth and nail for their best interests, instead they’ve gotten the middle finger,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters.

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For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Columbus, OH — Today, ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to Ohio, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement:

“President Biden’s first year was the greatest year of job creation in US history, ever. We are excited to welcome President Biden to Ohio. With the help of Ohio’s Democratic delegation in Congress — President Biden is bringing billions of dollars to Ohio to invest in infrastructure projects across the state. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest infrastructure investment in our nation’s history, will improve Ohio’s roads, bridges and public transit, invest in clean drinking water, protect our Great Lakes, and expand reliable access to high-speed internet. And thanks to President Biden and Senator Brown, it will create good-paying jobs with strong ‘Buy America’ provisions and opportunities for working families here in Ohio while strengthening our economy.

“While Ohio Democrats work tirelessly to deliver jobs and this historic investment in our state, Ohio Republicans on the ballot this November opposed these bills and against Ohio’s working families. President Biden’s pro-job, pro-union, and pro-family agenda is going to help Ohioans. Democrats are laser-focused on delivering for working families while Ohio Republicans are only looking out for themselves and the special interests they’re bought by.” 

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Columbus, OH — Jane Timken likes to have it both ways on many issues – her support for establishment politicians like Mike DeWine and John Kasich, defense of those who supported the impeachment of Donald Trump – and today’s endorsement from Senator Rob Portman is no exception.  

Senator Portman declined to run in 2022 right around the time his approval rating dropped among members of his own party after he said the election wasn’t stolen. Some speculated that he would have faced a credible primary challenge fueled by an angry Republican base fed up with his lackluster support for Donald Trump. And while Timken’s front-running opponents can’t run far enough from the man they hope to succeed, Timken is enthusiastically accepting the endorsement from someone who even avoided saying Trump’s name the last time he was on the ballot. 

Struggling in the polls and unable to gain traction with the GOP base, Timken is resorting to building out a bench of endorsers who have been all too happy to go after the former president. Last month, she touted the endorsement of a Trump critic who blasted Trump as “untruthful, insulting,” and lacking “substance.” And while Timken and her allies have gone after other candidates in the field for not being Trumpy enough, all she has to do is look in the mirror to see the face of the anti-Trump lane in this messy, costly, and increasingly nasty primary.

“As she trails the pack in her crowded, nasty, and expensive primary, Jane Timken has given up on even pretending to be anything but a desperate political phony – claiming the Trump mantle one day, and accepting support from some of the most Trump-skeptical members of the GOP the next. Ohioans can spot a phony when they see one, and Timken’s pathetic attempts to do or say anything to save her flailing campaign are no exception,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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  February 14, 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:

9021-NO.  The Ohio Supreme Court has given the Republican-led redistricting commission until February 17 to draw a fair map (for the third time now), so Mike DeWine is showing the sort of leadership he’s known best for, decided to pack his bags and leave Ohioans to fend for themselves while he spent thousands of dollars to watch the Super Bowl in person. Once again, DeWine is telling Ohio voters just how little he cares by putting his own personal interests over Ohioans’ repeated calls for fair maps. On this Valentine’s Day, one thing is clear for sure: Mike DeWine is just not that into us.

OOPS HE DID IT AGAIN. Remember when Mike DeWine pledged not to appoint PUCO members with ties to the utility industry? Well, last week DeWine broke yet another promise to hardworking Ohioans and put the fox in charge of the henhouse yet again, appointing Daniel Conway to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Bottom line: Mike DeWine will always put his special interest pals and his own interests over helping hardworking families. In case you need a bit of catching up on this mess, Conway is a former utility attorney who is personally invested in the owners of nuclear plants bailed out by House Bill 6, a reminder of when DeWine appointed Sam Randazzo to lead the commission resulting in the largest public corruption scandal in state history.

CLEAR CONFLICTS. The Ohio Capital Journal this week took the DeWine family to task for clear conflicts of interest between the cases Pat DeWine is ruling on from his seat on the Ohio Supreme Court and how those cases intertwine with his dad’s politics. From the HB 6 scandal to redistricting to conflicts of interest within the Department of Medicaid, it’s impossible to separate Mike DeWine’s political future from the rulings we’re seeing from the Supreme Court. OCJ spoke to several legal experts for their story who point out that even the appearance of conflicts of interest is harmful to our state, but as always, the DeWine family will always put their political interests over the needs of working Ohioans and try to ‘no comment’ away the rest.

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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  February 11, 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. 

“What do you get when you mix Twitter trolling, about $30 million in self-funding, a billionaire financier and big-money outside groups? You get this year’s GOP Senate primary in Ohio, one of the most competitive and chaotic Republican primaries on the calendar this year.” –NBC News, 2/4/22

Here’s what you may have missed:

MY LITTLE P(H)ONY. After a brutal Politico report on Vance’s super PAC warning the Vance campaign that it “needs a course correction ASAP,” Josh Mandel stuck the knife deeper in a Newsmax interview, saying, “He’s [Vance] a never Trumper, he bragged about being a Never Trumper, they see him as a total fake and a phony here in Ohio.” Welp, those attacks aren’t going away any time soon. And according to Vance’s super PAC, these kinds of attacks are exactly what is sinking Vance’s campaign. Their own 98-page PowerPoint (good God!) said that Vance’s “association as a Never Trumper has only grown since November” and that “being anti-Trump is the #1 reason voters do not like Vance.” I’ve watched people call out someone for being a “total fake and a phony,” but usually that’s on Real Housewives, not a Republican Senate primary! 

NOT A TWEET DELETER. Banker millionaire Mike Gibbons went after Silicon Valley millionaire J.D. Vance for (you guessed it!) not adequately supporting Trump enough. At a Richland County Republican Party luncheon, Gibbons slammed Vance, saying, “I’m the candidate that didn’t have to delete my tweets. I supported Donald Trump from the beginning.” Gibbons is referring to Vance being so ashamed of his anti-Trump past that when he started his U.S. Senate campaign, he deleted all of his tweets where he called Trump “reprehensible” and admitted plans to vote for Evan McMullin. While the part about Vance is true, Mike Gibbons supported Carly Fiorina (where is she now?), John Kasich and Marco Rubio in 2016. So yeah, you weren’t with Trump “from the beginning,” nice try!   

BEING IN THE BATTLE. Jane Timken keeps trying to use this “warrior” analogy to go after the other GOP Senate candidates on their Trump record. On Raw with Mindy and Boots Sunday, Timken said, “Out of all the candidates in this race who claim to be Trump warriors, I always say you have to have been in the battle if you claim to be a warrior. I didn’t see them out on the campaign trail. Didn’t see them at the rallies. They weren’t on the Trump train bus tour like I was. I’m the only one who can say they delivered Ohio by more than 8.5 points for President Trump.” This echoes a similar attack from Timken last month when she was on Hugh Hewitt’s show, she said, “We’ve got a lot of other people in this race who pretend they’re the Trump warrior…” All of these candidates are attacking each other to get to Trump, but when Timken saw Trump during their “Hunger Games” sit down, Trump made sure to bring up Timken’s past support for a pro-impeachment congressman. Good luck papering over that, Jane! 

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 weekend!