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Columbus, OH — Late last night, the GOP-controlled House and Senate passed a state budget that includes several toxic provisions inserted by extreme Republicans who are using the budget process to play politics with the welfare of working Ohioans. Republicans included language that would massively cut taxes for the wealthy and well-connected, cut funding for local schools in communities across Ohio and attack women’s access to healthcare.

Time and again, we’ve seen Mike DeWine cave to the extreme members of his own party, too weak to stand up to his fellow Republicans as they push through harmful legislation. DeWine is losing support within his own party by the day, and continues to choose politics over principle by backing down from a fight when GOP politicians go on the attack. It’s past time for DeWine to stand up to his own party and push back against these harmful provisions.

“Facing increasingly tough attacks from within his own party, Mike DeWine has been letting Republicans push him around all year. DeWine’s responsibility is to Ohioans, not his political party and special interests. If Mike DeWine lets these provisions remain in the final budget, it’s clear he’s more interested in serving himself than the people of Ohio,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Provisions inserted in the budget that would harm working Ohioans and that DeWine must veto include:

• A tax cut that will disproportionately benefit the wealthy and well-connected by eliminating the top income bracket and lowering the tax rate for wealthy Ohioans.

• Language that would take away money from local public schools in communities across Ohio by greatly increasing funding for school vouchers and a provision to further expand charter schools.
• Provisions that insert politics into Ohioans’ healthcare, including language that would allow medical providers to refuse to treat patients for religious reasons and a provision to place unnecessary restrictions on two women’s healthcare centers, cutting off access to healthcare for southwest Ohioans.

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Columbus, OH — Last week, through court filings, FirstEnergy admitted that it “pumped” $20 million into Partners for Progress, a dark money group that played a key role in what is considered the largest public corruption case in the country. From Gannett’s Laura Bischoff:

“The [FirstEnergy] filing connects the dots that had been previously laid out in an FBI criminal complaint and IRS forms filed by Partners for Progress and Generation Now, 501(c)4 nonprofit organizations, which are often called dark money groups because they don’t have to disclose their funders.

“In total, the filing claims FirstEnergy Service Company, which is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, gave $36.6 million to Generation Now and $20 million to Partners for Progress, which sent $13 million to Generation Now.”

This revelation highlights the growing connections between Governor Mike DeWine’s office and this scandal. When he became governor, DeWine appointed Dan McCarthy, the founder and president of Partners for Progress and a former FirstEnergy lobbyist, to be his top lobbyist as the Director of Legislative Affairs. Now, DeWine owes it to Ohioans to explain what he knew and when about his administration’s growing connections to this scandal.

1. Dan McCarthy has said he didn’t think there was “anything improper” happening when Partners for Progress funneled millions of dollars to Generation Now. If that’s the case, what did he think was the purpose of that transaction? Was Governor DeWine aware of these transactions when he hired McCarthy?

2. Was McCarthy in touch with Generation Now as his group, Partners for Progress, was funnelling millions of dark money dollars to them?
3. What did Governor DeWine know about these transactions when he hired McCarthy?
4. Now that FirstEnergy has all but admitted its role in this bribery scandal, when will DeWine return the more than $116,600 in donations from the company and its former CEO, as he had previously promised to do?
5. Then-candidate DeWine met with FirstEnergy executives one day before the company gave $500,000 to the RGA and also met with executives in December 2018 shortly before appointing former FirstEnergy lobbyist Sam Randazzo to be the state’s top energy regulator. What promises did DeWine make to those FirstEnergy executives at those meetings?

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Columbus, OH — Over the weekend, failed Florida blogger Donald Trump held a rally in Wellington that Ohio GOP Senate candidates pulled out all the stops for, trying to secure the support of the only voter they seem to care about. From renting out airplanes to hosting all-day cookouts, the Republican candidates were stepping all over themselves to prove that they were the ones worthy of his affections. But unfortunately for all of these GOP candidates, he’s just not that into them.

Trump barely made mention of the candidates during his hour-and-a-half-long speech, and when he did, the crowd reacted with disdain. Trump even took a poll of the crowd, listing off some of the candidates who heard their names booed before Trump quickly changed the subject. It’s a sign that Trump isn’t the only one indifferent to the GOP field, Ohio voters are just as tired of these candidates as the rest of us.

“The more that each of these GOP candidates makes their entire campaign about Trump, the more they show Ohioans that they’re not interested in serving Ohio. Ohioans are already sick of the attacks and infighting and see these candidates for who they really are: opportunistic politicians who will say or do anything to advance their own personal ambitions,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more coverage below:

Cleveland.com: Donald Trump holds Lorain County rally, but offers little encouragement to 2022 statewide candidates

Seth Richardson, 6/27/2021

• The Republicans running for U.S. Senate in Ohio have been falling over themselves to cozy up to former President Donald Trump for months. On Saturday, they finally got their wish to do so in public, though without the payoff they likely dreamed of.
• All four of the Republicans currently vying for retiring Sen. Rob Portman’s seat were out in full force. Cleveland investment banker Mike Gibbons hosted a tailgate. Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken’s campaign flew a banner overhead directing people to her website.
• Yet, in the end, Gibbons, Timken, former Treasurer Josh Mandel and Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno barely got a passing mention near the end of Trump’s speech. Cincinnati venture capitalist J.D. Vance – a former critic of Trump’s who has since shifted his views and is expected to announce his entry into the race this week – didn’t get a mention.
• Instead of a speech aimed at building support for 2022 candidates, thousands of the president’s fans at the jam-packed event heard a nearly 90-minute speech illustrative of the kind of “help” Trump likely plans to give during the 2022 election cycle: a heavy focus on himself with the hope candidates can ride his endorsement alone to victory.

Toledo Blade: Trump returns to Ohio for first rally since 2020

Liz Skalka, 6/27/2021

• For candidates running or contemplating future campaigns, it was a place to be seen. Ohio Sen. candidates Mike Gibbons, Josh Mandel, Bernie Moreno, and Jane Timken made time to schmooze before the main event.
• None of the candidates, who are each vying for Mr. Trump’s endorsement, made it on stage, but they each earned Mr. Trump’s acknowledgment. He asked the crowd to cheer for the candidates they liked best, but the applause was weak and stopped before getting through all the names.

Sandusky Register: Senate candidates kept off stage at Trump rally

Matt Westerhold, 6/28/2021

• None of the four Republican U.S. Senate candidates hoping to get on stage with ex-President Donald Trump on Saturday got their wish, and the crowd at his “revenge tour” rally gave tepid responses when Trump polled them asking who they liked best.
• But Trump fell far short of endorsing a candidate for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat in 2022 when he polled the audience on Saturday, a small crowd by past Trump rally standards. Trump spent less than two minutes of his 90-minute speech talking about the senate candidates, who have built entire campaigns ingratiating themselves to Trump.
• “Who likes Jane Timken? Who likes Josh Mandel? What about (Mike) Gibbons? Who likes Gibbons?” Trump asked, conducting an applause poll. The response was scant and it was difficult to discern if one candidate prevailed over the others.
• “I think we’ll get out of this poll stuff, huh? We’ll get out. We’ll get out,” Trump said. “… I do love the polls, though. Those polls turn out to be very accurate.”

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Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party released the following statement after Donald Trump’s rally in Wellington.

“While Republicans are focused on the divisions of the past, Ohio Democrats are focused on building back better in Ohio and continuing the progress we’ve made in our state under the leadership of President Biden and Ohio Democrats. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and Democratic leadership, Ohioans are vaccinated, businesses are opening back up and families will be able to safely gather in person over the Fourth of July holiday. That’s a significant shift from one year ago today,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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Cleveland, OH — Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Wellington on Saturday is shining a spotlight on Ohio Republicans’ “nasty” Senate primary.

In recent days, both HuffPost and The Hill have highlighted how Republican Senate candidates have spent months attacking each other over their support for Trump:

• “J.D. Vance…is already on the receiving end of an anonymous text-message campaign informing Republican voters in Ohio about Vance’s numerous disparaging comments about Trump during the 2016 race, including a time he called Trump an ‘idiot.’”
• “Mandel has not always been a Trump loyalist… During the 2016 campaign, he appeared to be hedging his bets, declining to mention Trump’s name at a July 2016 speech to Republican state leaders”
• “Conservative activists have rallied against Jane Timken, the former chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party, for her own alleged failure to toe the Trump line. Timken initially defended Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R), one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in January, before reversing herself and calling on Gonzalez to resign.”

Catch up quickly on the divisive primary that’s already been defined by bitter messy infighting:

• POLITICO: Trump’s secret sit-down with Ohio candidates turns into ‘Hunger Games.’ “What ensued was a 15-minute backroom backbiting session reminiscent of Trump’s reality TV show. Mandel said he was “crushing” Timken in polling. Timken touted her support on the ground thanks to her time as state party chair. Gibbons mentioned how he’d helped Trump’s campaign financially. Moreno noted that his daughter had worked on Trump’s 2020 campaign.”

• AP: Republicans vie for Trump’s blessing in Ohio Senate primary. “The U.S. Senate primary in Ohio is still a year away, but Republican contenders already are working furiously to cast themselves as Trump’s favorite in the open race. That work can be awkward and far from subtle.”
• Cleveland.com, Brent Larkin: A Trump-tinged GOP Senate primary in Ohio unlike any other – and not in a good way. “Before it’s over – the date of the spring 2022 primary is not yet set – it will be a nasty affair filled with wild accusations, crazed conspiracy theories and enough nauseating and disqualifying embraces of Donald Trump’s lies to make millions of rational Ohioans reach for a barf bag.”
• NBC News: Competition for ‘Trump lane’ heats up in Ohio Senate race. “Hours after Timken’s announcement Thursday, Mandel tweeted an old photo of her embracing Kasich, signaling how he will move aggressively to frame her as insufficiently loyal to the Trump cause.”

“Donald Trump’s upcoming visit is sure to continue the division we’ve seen and increase the level of vitriol in the already nasty Republican Senate primary. As the Republicans fight among themselves, it will be another reminder to voters why they can’t be trusted to represent Ohioans’ interests in the Senate,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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