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JON HUSTED TRIAL TRACKER: New Calls Continue To Place Jon Husted At Center of FirstEnergy Bribery Scandal

Husted mentioned 58 times Friday, 96 times since trial began

New calls between Husted and FirstEnergy bribery defendant surface during corruption trial

Columbus, Ohio — Yet again, Jon Husted has taken the spotlight in the ongoing FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial. New court testimony revealed nine calls between Husted and former FirstEnergy executive and “top lobbyist” Mike Dowling during the peak of the bribery scandal. Husted was mentioned 58 times during the trial Friday, shattering Husted’s record from earlier last week. 

The calls between Husted and Dowling happened around the time FirstEnergy paid a $4.3 million bribe to former Public Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo, emphasizing how Husted played a central role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history. 

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“It’s clear that Jon Husted was instrumental in the passage of HB 6 — from secret meetings, text messages, and now phone calls between Husted and FirstEnergy’s top lobbyist. Husted was mentioned 58 times at trial Friday, placing him at the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal. Ohioans continue to ask: what else is Jon Husted hiding?”

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

  • New evidence revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 
  • New reporting reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”
  • Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”
  • Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”
  • Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.
  • Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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Ohio Democratic Party Rural Caucus Releases Rural Ohio Listening Tour Report

Columbus, Ohio- Today, the Ohio Democratic Party in conjunction with the Ohio Democratic Rural Caucus released the findings from its Building Country Roads, Rural Ohio Listening Tour.

The tour consisted of nine Saturday morning listening sessions across nine rural Ohio counties and took place over the course of October 2025 through December 2025.

Some of the concerns the report highlights from rural voters are:

  • Political neglect and misconceptions about rural Ohio
  • Public schools
  • Media decline and misinformation
  • Economic uncertainty

“A critical part of Ohio Democrats’ path to victory up and down the ballot is in rural Ohio. Our listening tour and the report on its findings is just the beginning of our party’s commitment to strengthening our relationships with voters in rural Ohio. I look forward to continuing to work closely with our Rural Caucus Chair Chris Gibbs and partnering with our great rural county leaders across the state,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde. 

“For two months I travelled rural Ohio to listen to voters’ concerns for their communities, their state and the country. This report is a culmination of those conversations and my hope is it’s a useful guide for Democratic candidates and operatives as we look to win in 2026. I’m committed to continuing to lead our rural caucus work with Chair Clyde, who I know shares my commitment to getting this right and believes deeply that we can never give up on rural Ohio and need to show up and engage the electorate like never before.” said Ohio Democratic Party Rural Caucus Chair Chris Gibbs. 

In the coming weeks the Ohio Democratic Party will present the findings of the report to candidates, county chairs, the ODP Executive Committee and the Democratic National Committee. 

The full report can be read HERE.

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This Week In #OHGov: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Past Haunts Him As His Campaign Continues to Unravel 

Columbus, Ohio-  It was another bad week for Vivek Ramaswamy. His past continues to haunt him, whether it’s Epstein dollars or refusing to return donations from known Nazi impersonators. Meanwhile, Ohioans are continuing to see through his plans to gut affordable healthcare and raise prices for working families.

Staying Silent: One week has passed since reporting revealed Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign took $500 from a Nazi reenactor who said that Nazis “accomplished incredible things.” In that time, Ramaswamy has not refunded the contribution or responded to requests for comment.

Vivek Faces MORE Criticism for Medicaid “Mistake”: Today, Ohioans gathered in Toledo to call out Vivek Ramaswamy for calling Medicaid and Medicare a “mistake.” While Ohioans struggle with the sky-high cost of living, Ramaswamy thinks lowering the cost of healthcare for millions of families on Medicaid and Medicare was a “mistake.”

$100K More Problems: Ramaswamy’s past Epstein-related donors continue to haunt his campaign. Earlier this week, reporting revealed his running mate Rob McColley accepted $5000 from Les Wexner, an Epstein co-conspirator. This latest revelation follows reporting that Ramaswamy’s Super PAC closed before returning $100,000 from Glenn Dubin, another billionaire Epstein associate, after promising to do so.

DeWine Tells It Like it Is: Republican Governor Mike DeWine said the quiet part out loud when he admitted Vivek Ramaswamy is more focused on his 2028 presidential campaign than delivering for Ohio’s working families. Ohioans can’t trust Vivek Ramaswamy to lower the sky-high cost of living or stand up for anyone but himself.

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JON HUSTED TRIAL TRACKER: Even More Ties Revealed Between Husted and FirstEnergy

Husted and the Husted-DeWine administration mentioned 24 times yesterday

Text messages between Husted and indicted FirstEnergy executives at center of trial

Columbus, Ohio — Just days after new reporting revealed that Jon Husted held secret, unreported meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, Husted once again took center stage in the ongoing criminal corruption trial. Husted and the Husted-DeWine administration were mentioned 24 times yesterday — breaking the record set just the other week and further strengthening his deep ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. 

Text messages between Husted and indicted FirstEnergy executives are now at the center of the trial, underscoring how key his role was in the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Just days after reports revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings around HB 6, text messages between Husted and indicted executives surfaced in court — and his name was mentioned 24 times at trial. Ohioans deserve answers about why Husted remains at the center of the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. What else is Jon Husted hiding?”

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

  • New reporting reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”
  • Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”
  • Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”
  • Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had dinner with Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus.
  • Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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WATCH: GOV. DEWINE SAYS VIVEK RAMASWAMY MORE FOCUSED ON 2028 THAN DELIVERING FOR OHIOANS 

Columbus, Ohio-  At the Politico’s 2026 Governors Summit, when asked if Vivek Ramaswamy wants to be a good governor of Ohio or a national political celebrity, Governor Mike DeWine said “I don’t know. I assume he wants to be both.” 

WATCH THE CLIP HERE

Ramaswamy has focused his attention on the national spotlight throughout his campaign, including op-eds in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, numerous appearances on Fox News talking about foreign policy and elections in Virginia and New Jersey, and telling Ohioans they’re just imagining rising costs. His dedication to flying away from Ohio’s working families was so strong he spent more than 10% of his total campaign budget on private jet travel.

“Even his own party leadership knows Vivek Ramaswamy is only running for Governor of Ohio to jumpstart his 2028 presidential campaign,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Vivek Ramaswamy doesn’t care about Ohio’s working families or tackling our affordability crisis and would make the problem worse. Instead, he’s too busy flying over our state in his private jet to listen to the issues facing Ohio.” 

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