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  January 31, 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:

NO ONE WANTS TO BE LIKE MIKE. In the latest sign of trouble for Mike DeWine, a new Axios report outlines how Republican Senate candidates are not only running away from Mike DeWine on the campaign trail, they’re actively attacking him to gain support with fellow Republicans. Josh Mandel has called Mike DeWine ‘a RINO,’ Jane Timken and Bernie Moreno have tempered their praise of DeWine and J.D. Vance has gone from endorsing DeWine in ‘18 to criticizing his handling of the pandemic. This is all sad, but the saddest part? DeWine would still campaign with any single one of them. Woof.

AN “UNPRECEDENTED PHENOMENON.”  DeWine is also making national headlines as one of the GOP governors around the country who are increasingly vulnerable due to a primary challenger. Renacci continues to go after DeWine for not being ‘Trumpian’ enough, and even the failed blogger from Florida himself has raised the question of whether DeWine should get through a primary. One thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on: how much we don’t want Mike DeWine to be the governor.

A ‘PRO-TRUMP’ GOVERNOR? That’s the campaign Jim Renacci is running and it has Mike DeWine running scared. Things are so bad support-wise for DeWine that his primary challenger has a real shot at the nomination. In fact, recent internal polling discussed by Ohio media outlets shows Renacci is leading DeWine by 8 points. By the way, when asked about the state of the race, all Mike DeWine would offer was another “no comment.”

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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Columbus, OH —  Today, J.D. Vance will be campaigning with Marjorie Taylor Greene. One version of J.D. would be disgusted by Greene and the radical positions she’s taken, another version of J.D. would embrace it to try and gain some sort of traction in the messy GOP primary. The thing about J.D. is he’s a phony, making it impossible to know which version of J.D. you’re gonna get on any given day. 

Here’s a couple of issues that J.D. Vance before he ran for U.S. Senate and Marjorie Taylor Greene disagreed about: 

Issue	Pre-U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Vance	U.S. Senate Candidate J.D. Vance	Marjorie Taylor Greene
Trump	Vance has called Trump an “idiot,” “reprehensible,” and “noxious.”	Vance desperately apologized for his anti-Trump past.	Greene has been called “Trump in heels.”
Wearing Masks	In a tweet unearthed by Josh Mandel, Vance tweeted, “Make everyone wear masks.”	Vance tweeted, “I don’t know why we should mask our children under any circumstance.”	Greene was fined nearly $90,000 for refusing to wear a mask on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives
Anti-Semitism	Vance liked a tweet implying Trump supporters were anti-semitic.	Vance has promoted Soros conspiracy theories, saying, the “result of his ‘philanthropy’ is death and crime across America.”	Greene compared COVID-19 mitigation measures to the Holocaust and claimed that the 2018 California wildfires were ignited by a space laser controlled by a corporate cabal, including the Rothschild banking firm.
Racism	Vance said, “A lot of people think Trump is just the first to appeal to the racism and xenophobia that were already there, but I think he’s making the problem worse.”	Vance called immigrants “dirty” at a candidate forum in 2021.	Videos unearthed during her campaign found Marjorie Taylor Greene suggesting that Muslims do not belong in government, she thinks Black people “are held slaves to the Democratic Party,” called George Soros a Nazi, and said she would feel “proud” to see a Confederate monument if she were Black because it symbolizes progress made since the Civil War.

“Silicon Valley Vance appearing with Marjorie Taylor Greene today will shine a spotlight on Vance’s anti-Trump past and how phony of a candidate he really is. Today’s rally will only serve to highlight just how desperate Vance is to further his own ambition at the expense of working Ohioans,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

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For Immediate Release:

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, while Dave Yost doesn’t have a vote on the Redistricting Commission, he couldn’t miss out on being part of the GOP gerrymander. Today, the Ohio Capital Journal reported on Yost blocking Democrats on the Redistricting Commission from seeking out their own legal representation to push back against the unconstitutional maps passed by Republicans. This move by Yost forces Democrats to be lumped in with the GOP commissioners who voted for maps that go against the wishes of Ohio voters.

By silencing Democrats’ dissent to the map, Yost is joining his fellow Republicans in their scheme to push through maps that go against redistricting reforms Ohioans overwhelmingly called for, another example of Yost putting his political interests over the needs of working Ohioans.

“It looks like the Republican Party is drafting everyone into their fight against fair maps. Dave Yost has always been a purely political actor, and this latest move is no different. If Yost believes the maps are constitutional, why is he doing everything he can to avoid defending them?” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more here:

• The ranking Democrat in the Ohio House said Attorney General Dave Yost has blocked her from legal representation as the Ohio Supreme Court reviews the latest redistricting proposal from state lawmakers.
• Democrats on the commission have previously been represented by their own counsel and submitted their own arguments — distinct from Republicans on the committee.
• House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Columbus, said in a statement Wednesday however that Yost has since blocked them from their legal representation. This comes as a deadline looms for the state officials to respond to objections to the GOP-approved map submitted for the court’s review.
• Through spokeswoman Maya Majikas, Russo said Yost is “denying” her “the ability to consult with her legal counsel,” two attorneys with the Ice Miller law firm in Columbus retained through the attorney general’s office.
• Yost seemed to confirm Russo’s central claim through spokeswoman Bethany McCorkle on Wednesday evening. “The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Commission to draw a new map, which is why one counsel will respond to the court on behalf of the entire commission,” McCorkle said. “None of the individual members will respond separately.”
• The commission itself is represented by two lawyers. The statewide officeholders and Republicans on the commission have their own lawyers as well. Even if, as Yost said, the commission’s members don’t respond individually, it’s likely that Republicans who control it will likely shape its arguments.

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For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Columbus, OH — Following ODP’s announcement Monday that the party is prepared to file suit if Mike DeWine continues stonewalling Ohioans on answers to questions about the HB 6 bribery scandal, DeWine this week kept up his pattern of hiding from the truth and avoiding accountability by refusing to answer questions on how Ohioans’ taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Cleveland.com and the Columbus Dispatch have reported on DeWine’s refusal to answer questions about how Ohioans’ hard-earned tax dollars are being spent, once again relying on ‘no comment’ as his 2022 campaign slogan.

It’s just the latest in a long line of questions that Ohioans are waiting for answers to, including what he knew and when amid the largest public corruption scandal in state history, whether he supports legislation to make Ohioans less safe from gun violence and why his son shouldn’t recuse himself from an Ohio Supreme Court case in which the governor himself is named. DeWine is deep underwater with Ohio voters and finds himself stuck between appeasing an extreme legislature that wants to push him further to the right (rock) and knowing those moves will make him even more unpopular with Ohio voters (hard place).

“For a guy running for office, Mike DeWine seems to spend a lot of his time hiding, dodging and ducking. On issues critical to Ohio families ranging from the largest public corruption scandal in state history to gerrymandered maps to taxpayer incentives, DeWine’s refusal to answer questions shows just how out of touch he really is,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.

Read more on what Mike DeWine refuses to answer here and below:

Cleveland.com

• And DeWine and other state officials refused to say Friday how much in additional tax credits and other incentives Ohio has promised Intel, although they have pointed to a state change that for “mega-projects” worth more than $1 billion, added another 15 years to the maximum length of tax credits officials can offer.
• While remaining nonspecific about the incentives, Husted described the project a good return on Ohio’s investment that will create an entire industry sector of semiconductor manufacturing and related suppliers around the state.

Columbus Dispatch

• Gov. Mike DeWine was quick to share how his wife’s version of eggs benedict helped bring the world’s largest semiconductor factory to Ohio, but the administration has remained tight lipped about how much money it promised Intel to secure the deal.
• But the governor declined to answer questions about the specific incentives Ohio offered to Intel to make the Buckeye State more attractive than 39 other states that competed for the project.
• Companies – like Intel – that invest at least $1 billion in the state now get 30 years worth of job creation tax credits instead of 15. Based on the number of employees Intel expects to hire, that could be a $660 million savings over 30 years. 
• It’s also likely that JobsOhio, a nonprofit, contributed some of its cash as part of the state’s incentive package. But when asked for specifics, a spokesperson said they aren’t disclosing the details yet.

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Columbus, OH — According to a new Axios report, Ohio Republican Senate candidates have taken to attacking Gov. Mike DeWine as a litmus test for Trump’s endorsement.

Josh Mandel started attacking DeWine first – and in order to compete with Mandel – Jane Timken, Bernie Moreno, and J.D. Vance have all changed their opinion on DeWine, which could become a liability for them in “Ohio’s ugliest ever” primary. This follows a report from Politico highlighting the “intra-party rebellion” DeWine faces and a new poll showing DeWine underwater with Republican primary voters.

“Ohio Republican Senate candidates are so laser-focused on escalating Trump’s petty feuds, they have left the priorities of working families far behind. This latest intraparty brawl puts the Ohio GOP on a collision course that will expose the vulnerabilities of the entire party and hobble the eventual nominees for both the governor and Senate races,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Axios: Ohio Senate candidates attack ‘RINO’ gov in bid for Trump endorsement

Sophia Cai

January 25, 2022

• Bashing Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for his work to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 has become a litmus test for Republican Senate candidates in Ohio vying for Donald Trump’s endorsement.
• Why it matters: The intra-party attacks underscore how opposition to masking and COVID mandates has snowballed into a powerful political force, not just at the federal level but also in state races.
• What we’re watching: Former Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel — the early front-runner in the crowded and expensive GOP Senate primary — was the first to make attacking DeWine a regular part of his stump speech.
  • “Unfortunately, Republican governor, ‘RINO’ Gov. DeWine, decided he was going to lead the charge in shutting down Ohio before any state in the nation,” Mandel said last March, using the acronym for “Republican in Name Only.”
  • DeWine, who took early actions to lock down his state, was among a small group of Republican officials who didn’t fall into lockstep with former President Trump when it came to the pandemic response.
  • DeWine is up for re-election this year. Trump has yet to endorse in the Senate race, but its candidates are auditioning, in part, at the governor’s expense.

• Other Republican Senate candidates — who’ve all supported DeWine in the past — have since changed their positions to compete with Mandel.
• They’re all vying for the seat of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who’s retiring.
  • Former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken and tech company executive Bernie Moreno both moved from praising DeWine at the start of the lockdown to taking markedly less-supportive stances.
  • As Moreno stated during one of several Republican forums where DeWine’s name repeatedly came up, “It’s one of the most popular things to do on this circuit, to say nasty things about DeWine.”
  • Author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance endorsed DeWine for governor in 2018 but said after he entered the Senate race that DeWine “has not done enough to really protect the interests of children throughout the pandemic.”
  • Even DeWine’s gubernatorial opponent, former Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), said in a statement, “If Mike DeWine won’t support families and keep these schools open, then he should step aside and let someone who actually cares take the lead.”
• Between the lines: Opposing DeWine could be another way for the candidates jockeying for Trump’s endorsement to signal their loyalty.
  • Last year, the former president hosted a “Hunger Games”-style dinner where he was fixated on the Republican Senate candidates’ opinion of DeWine.
  • Politico reported Mandel “said the governor was politically vulnerable” but Timken argued “he’d be hard to beat.”
• What they’re saying: Asked about the attacks, DeWine told local Fox affiliate WJW, “Yeah, well, none of them are running for governor — first of all. They’re running for Senate, and we’ll see who emerges from that.”
  • The Ohio Democratic Party jumped on the feuding.
  • “In order to chase Trump’s endorsement, all of the leading GOP Senate candidates are willing to escalate Trump’s petty feud with Mike DeWine that will only deepen the divisions within the Republican Party heading into 2022,” party spokesperson Michael Beyer told Axios.
• What’s next: Axios Columbus reporter Tyler Buchanan said pro-DeWine ads are starting to run on the airwaves.
  • That’s a noteworthy effort to promote the governor after the public beatings he’s taken from Republican lawmakers, candidates and voters during the past two years.
  • Meanwhile, Mandel will be appearing at a state GOP event this Friday alongside Renacci.

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