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Columbus, OH — Today marks the somber third anniversary of the horrific mass shooting in Dayton. As Ohioans mourn the senseless loss of life, an overwhelming majority are also demanding Mike DeWine and radical Republicans finally “do something” to curb gun violence in Ohio.

After the 2019 shooting, DeWine promised he would “do something” to address gun crimes. He lied. DeWine instead made our communities less safe by signing permitless carry into law and a bill that would put more guns in schools, both over the objections of Ohio law enforcement. In response to three years of no action to make Ohio safer, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement marking the anniversary.

“Our thoughts are with Dayton families today who lost their loved ones three years ago. We hear the frustrations of those Daytonians who screamed at Mike DeWine in 2019 to actually do something to end this violence and we join their calls for him to keep his promise. Sadly the only ‘something’ we’ve seen from DeWine is caving to his gun lobby donors and signing laws that put Ohioans at greater risk for gun violence. Mike DeWine’s radical agenda has gone on long enough, taking too much of a toll on Ohioans, and if he is too weak to stand up to the gun lobby and take meaningful action to keep Ohioans safe, he doesn’t deserve the job,” said Chair Walters.

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Columbus, OH — Recently, Frank LaRose spoke on “The Optimal Life Podcast with Nate Haber” where he once again embraced election lies to try to appease the MAGA Republican crowd while also trying to tout the safety and security of Ohio’s elections. LaRose is once again trying to have it both ways, because he knows he’s wildly unpopular among his own party and apparently wants to lose a Senate race in two years. LaRose is debasing himself and the office he holds by embracing election lies, further destroying any image he once tried to maintain of being an honest broker.

Portions of LaRose’s interview can be found below, with emphasis added:

• Host: I want to get your take because that was the big thing back in 2020. President Trump versus Joe Biden, President Biden now, and a lot of people believe that that election was not- there wasn’t much integrity in that election. Do you hold that same position?
• LaRose: I tell you that we ran an honest contest here in Ohio, the people of Ohio voted and had their voice heard. Here’s what I’ll say. There were things that happened in other states that shouldn’t have happened. Most of it, by the way, happened in the context of what I would call “crisis opportunism.” And people said, “Well, there’s a pandemic and so we’ve got to make this change or that.” In reality, what- what occurred in a lot of these states were, you know, activist lawsuits that resulted in last minute changes or just administrative changes made by election officials, even in some cases, secretaries of state that they should not have made. We held the line on that kind of stuff here in Ohio. We didn’t allow activist groups to make election laws at the courthouse because we know that election law should only be made at the statehouse. And that really is the biggest difference between Ohio and other places.
• Host: Was there election fraud in 2020? Could there have been?
• LaRose: Yeah, so the honest answer is that there is never been a perfect election right? In every election, there are some examples of election fraud. In Ohio, we are very aggressive about catching that and prosecuting it.… But what did occur again in 2020 that should not have occurred is elections officials in some states, changed the rules at the last minute. I’ll give you an example. In some states, they just arbitrarily extended how many days they’re going to allow for absentee ballots to come in and still be counted even though their law didn’t allow for that. They said “Well, there’s a pandemic so we need to create this special thing,” or they cut a deal in a courtroom with some activist group and-and allowed a judge’s order to result in the election changes. So is that election fraud? Not in the traditional sense of the word but it is- it is something that should not have happened and shouldn’t happen again, going forward.
• Host: Give us your elevator pitch to whoever’s listening about why you’re the man for the office again. 
• LaRose:  Yeah, so very briefly, it comes down to running honest contests for the people of Ohio. It’s not about this inflated rhetoric about widespread fraud or widespread suppression. Ohioans deserve better than that. 

LaRose can’t have it both ways: He can’t question election integrity on one hand and try to denounce ‘inflated rhetoric’ on the other. LaRose knows better than this, but he’s too phony to say what he knows to be true: The 2020 election was legitimate and Joe Biden won the election fair and square.

“Frank LaRose’s clumsy dance of talking out of both sides of his mouth is a dereliction of duty as Ohio’s secretary of state – the top elections official in Ohio. LaRose is saying things he knows aren’t true in an irresponsible effort to get more MAGA Republicans to like him so he can run for Senate in two years. Not only will it not work, it once again demonstrates how LaRose will do or say anything to advance his own interests,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

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Mitch McConnell’s Allies To Spend Nearly $5 Million To Bail Out Vance’s Broke Campaign

Columbus, OH – The J.D. Vance’s campaign’s first general election ad debuts on TV today – paid for by Mitch McConnell and national Republicans – and there’s someone conspicuously missing from the ad: J.D. Vance himself. The only time Vance is allowed to speak is for the legally-required disclaimer at the end of the ad.

J.D. Vance is so unlikable, his campaign team knows they need to hide him away from Ohioans. An internal poll from the Tim Ryan campaign showed his popularity underwater by double digits, with 38 percent viewing him favorably to 49 percent unfavorably. Ohioans’ dislike of Vance is strong, with 39 percent of Ohioans viewing Vance very unfavorably. And the most recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll from May showed more Ohioans viewing Vance unfavorably while independents back Tim.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball’s Kyle Kondik noted that the ad featuring Vance’s wife Usha “appears to be an effort to improve Vance’s image with women, which supposedly is in need of boosting.” For months, Ohioans have been reading about Vance’s anti-woman agenda, including how he believes survivors of rape and incest should be forced to give birth to their rapist’s baby, compared abortion to slavery, and most recently doubled down on saying that women should stay in “violent” marriages for the sake of the children.

As Jared Leopold, the former Communications Director for the Democratic Governors Association, noted on Twitter, “Spouse to camera ‘emphasizing local roots’ = the spot you run when your campaign is taking on water.” And national Republicans agree – which is why Mitch McConnell’s allies are also placing an additional nearly $4 million buy starting next week.

“While J.D. Vance faces backlash for saying he ‘completely stands by’ his comments that women in ‘violent’ marriages should stay in dangerous situations, Mitch McConnell and his out-of-state corporate cronies are dumping millions of dollars to bail out their favorite fraud. Ohioans know the real J.D. Vance is an out-of-touch opportunist who will do or say anything to advance himself and no amount of money from Mitch McConnell will convince them otherwise,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Columbus, OH — Tonight, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters issued the following statement congratulating Democratic state House, Senate and Central Committee candidates who won their primary elections.

“Congratulations to all of our state legislative and central committee candidates on their election victories tonight. With our full slate now complete, Ohio Democrats are ready to show voters we’re on their side. We’ll be showing up in every corner of the state to show Ohioans the contrast between Ohio Democrats who are laser-focused on looking out for working families and Republicans who are only looking out for themselves and their wealthy and well-connected friends,” said Chair Walters.

“It’s also important to note that this second primary should never have taken place. Had Ohio Republicans done their job and passed fair maps, Ohioans wouldn’t be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars and a second confusing, chaotic primary could have been avoided. We look forward to holding these Republicans accountable come November,” continued Walters.

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Columbus, OH – J.D. Vance may have moved from San Francisco to Ohio, but his heart is still in SF. He’s already admitted he feels “out of place” in Ohio and clearly wants to spend time literally anywhere else than the state he supposedly wants to represent in the U.S. Senate. So for his birthday, the Ohio Democratic Party figured we’d get Vance birthday gifts he’d actually enjoy.

In the Atlantic op-ed where he called Trump “cultural heroin,” Vance waxed poetic about his perfect day in San Francisco, writing, “A few Saturdays ago, my wife and I spent the morning volunteering at a community garden in our San Francisco neighborhood. After a few hours of casual labor, we and the other volunteers dispersed to our respective destinations: tasty brunches, day trips to wine country, art-gallery tours. It was a perfectly normal day, by San Francisco standards.”

Here are some of Vance’s favorite San Francisco things we dropped off as gifts this morning at his HQ:

• A Giants hat, his favorite baseball team.
• A soy candle that is sustainable and vegan, in a one-of-a-kind SF fragrance.
• A snow globe that features the San Francisco skyline, the only skyline J.D. Vance adores.
• A card that features the Golden Gate Bridge, a cable car and other San Francisco staples Vance surely misses.

Nearly three months into the general election, Ohio Republicans are still “waiting for Vance to show up,” and frustrated that “he’s not campaigning hard enough.” Ron Verb, a conservative talk radio host, offered Vance this advice that he “better get off his ass, figure out why he isn’t raising more money, why the Republican Party isn’t behind him raising money.”

The last time J.D. Vance tried to run for U.S. Senate in 2018, he faced scrutiny for not being in Ohio. At the time, a GOP consultant opined, “I don’t know what address he claims in Ohio, but he’s not living there.” In March on the Bruce Hooley Show, Mike Gibbons put it best: “J.D. Vance is a newcomer. He moved in from San Francisco, handpicked by Mitch McConnell.”

“We hope J.D. Vance enjoys these San Francisco gifts for his birthday – since he admits he feels ‘out of place’ in Ohio and Republicans are still waiting for Vance to show up in the state. Ohioans know J.D. Vance is a San Francisco elitist who will do or say anything to climb the political ladder,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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