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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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Columbus, OH — Jane Timken is touting the endorsement of a Trump critic who blasted Trump as “untruthful, insulting,” and lacking “substance.” Which leads us to ask … why is Jane Timken accepting the endorsement of a Trump critic, especially in a primary race that’s been all about Trump so far?   

Here are a couple of ways Stefanik has been critical of Trump: 

• Stefanik said Trump’s “insulting” rhetoric about women hurts the GOP’s efforts to reach out to women. 
• Stefanik blasted presidential candidates who make “untruthful statements,” a dig at Trump. 
• In January 2016, Stefanik went after Trump, saying, “I think we should expect more substance out of our candidates.”

Jane Timken’s insufficient support of Trump in the past has been an issue in this primary. Jane Timken called Anthony Gonzalez’s decision to impeach Trump “rational” and she’s taken heat from Mandel over the issue ever since. When Anthony Gonzalez retired, Josh Mandel skewered Timken, saying she was “pro-impeachment” and “having a candlelight vigil for her bud Anthony Gonzalez.” He mocked Timken, by sarcastically impersonating her, tweeting, “Um, do I need to change my pro-impeachment stance now? Or should I poll it first?”

And Timken has tirelessly tried to remain relevant in this race by going after the other candidates in the field for not being Trumpian enough, and you can be sure the attacks will fly back at her for touting the endorsement of a former anti-Trumper, making this race even messier and nastier.

“Just like Elise Stefanik, Jane Timken wants her anti-Trump past to fade away. Now that she is touting the endorsement from a never-Trumper who blasted Trump as ‘untruthful,’ ‘insulting,’ and lacking ‘substance,’ Jane Timken must answer: why is she accepting the endorsement of a Trump critic, and does she agree with Stefanik’s criticisms of Trump?” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

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For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

“Ohio is flailing in a ‘code blue’ medical emergency. The patient is critical. But the rapid response team got waylaid. By politics.”  

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, an Ohio Capital Journal commentary eviscerates Mike DeWine today as he and fellow Republicans have “failed the public” in response to surging COVID-19 cases statewide. Instead of standing up to “do something,” DeWine is showing exactly what kind of leader he is by putting politics above the health and safety of Ohioans, as cases continue to skyrocket.

“Gov. Mike DeWine, never a profile in courage, refused to buck the right-wingers calling the shots with his administration. He could have challenged their unconstitutional seizure of his authority, but snagging a second term took precedence over taking a stand in the public interest. He chose to acquiesce to the MAGA cult for his own career and never looked back,” writes the Ohio Capital Journal.

“Mike DeWine is only concerned about his own political prospects and Ohioans are paying the price for the lack of leadership every day. As Ohio continues to set record case numbers, it’s far past time for DeWine to grow a spine and stand up to his own party instead of risking the lives of Ohioans for his own political gain,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more on DeWine’s lack of leadership from Ohio Capital Journal here and below:

• Paging Dr. Amy Acton. Help! We are rudderless and reeling. Our health care system is crashing. 
• Ohio is flailing in a “code blue” medical emergency. The patient is critical. But the rapid response team got waylaid. By politics.
• Today, a state once nationally lauded for its prudent, pre-emptive shutdowns that successfully blunted Ohio’s pandemic toll, is cited as a standout example of abject failure in public health.
• In melodramatic legislating, akin to adolescent door-slamming, state lawmakers declared themselves in charge of public health emergencies — skilled as they were in triaging catastrophic medical events. The MAGA crowd also clipped the wings of the executive branch, just in case the governor got any ideas about leading the state in a full-blown crisis.
• Gov. Mike DeWine, never a profile in courage, refused to buck the right-wingers calling the shots with his administration. He could have challenged their unconstitutional seizure of his authority, but snagging a second term took precedence over taking a stand in the public interest. He chose to acquiesce to the MAGA cult for his own career and never looked back. 
• Rather than being upstaged by his fellow Republicans, DeWine quickly dropped mask mandates, social distancing and other restrictions ahead of his own criteria for safely doing so.
• Instead of leading on the pandemic, DeWine made excuses. He didn’t mandate proven tools for curbing COVID outbreaks because there was no “appetite” for them. His hands were tied by law. It was the legislature’s fault. 
• [DeWine] would recommend public health protections during a raging pandemic but not require compliance (for the greater good) with any of them. Not if he wanted to win reelection.
• As the delta variant surged in August, we waited for DeWine to do something. As the school year started with cases up sharply and half of all districts maskless, we waited for DeWine to protect thousands of Ohio students and staff. As children’s hospitals throughout the state begged schools to mandate masks, we waited for DeWine to intervene after he agreed it was the right thing to do. 
• As the omicron variant packs Ohio hospitals to the breaking point with mostly unvaccinated patients, we wait for DeWine to do something besides propping up besieged medical facilities with reinforced manpower.
• During a recent press conference, DeWine spoke like a man running for reelection and not like a leader doing what needs to be done to prevent a train wreck from happening in the next few weeks. 
• Unfortunately, DeWine put keeping his job first and let what should have been a stat response to an imminent disaster become a recommendation — lest anyone be offended.  “Ohio Strong” rings hollow.

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