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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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Cleveland, OH — In case you missed it, Laura Bischoff broke news today that the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice have opened another federal investigation into a major corruption scandal with close ties to Mike DeWine and high-level GOP politicians. The investigation is reportedly looking into donations made by high-ranking officials with the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT). Ohio Republicans, including DeWine, took massive donations from officials associated with the failed charter school as they filtered taxpayer dollars to ECOT, which lied about enrollment numbers and failed to pay back the taxpayer money it owed the state. 

Now DOJ and the FBI are reportedly subpoenaing campaign contributions made by since 2000 by high-ranking ECOT officials, which is bad news for Mike DeWine, Jon Husted, Frank LaRose, Dave Yost, Keith Faber and Josh Mandel, all of whom took large donations from ECOT founder William Lager. 

“ECOT-related campaign contributions became politically toxic. Lager had been a top contributor for Republican candidates and GOP organizations, giving about $2.1 million since 2000,” writes Bischoff. 

“Under Mike DeWine and Republican leadership, Ohio already has the top public corruption scandal in the nation. Now, it seems the Ohio GOP is inching closer to the number two spot, as well. The connections between Mike DeWine and multiple federal scandals runs deep. He can’t continue to hide, dodge, dip and dive. He must be held accountable and answer to Ohio voters for his role in each of these corruption schemes,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more HERE and below from Bischoff and the Columbus Dispatch: 

• The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice subpoenaed nearly 20 years of campaign contribution records for the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow — an indication that the now-closed online charter school and its key players have come under federal criminal investigation.
• The USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau obtained the grand jury subpoena in response to a public records request submitted to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

• ECOT-related campaign contributions became politically toxic. Lager had been a top contributor for Republican candidates and GOP organizations, giving about $2.1 million since 2000.
• In August 2017, the Ohio Republican Party returned $76,000 in campaign donations to Lager and Vasil. That refund came after former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder returned $70,000 to the Summit County Republican Party — the same amount the county party got two weeks earlier from the state GOP. Lager and Vasil each wrote $38,000 checks to the Ohio Republican Party’s state candidate fund June 26, 2017.
• In 2016, the Ohio Department of Education determined that ECOT had been overstating the number of students it served and the state demanded repayment of $80 million. That triggered a financial death spiral for the school, which abruptly shut its virtual doors in January 2018.

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As Republicans Continue Looking Backward This Weekend, Democrats Laser Focused on Building a Better Future for Ohioans

Cleveland, OH — Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined fellow Democrats and community leaders in Cleveland to celebrate the progress being made in Ohio under President Biden and Ohio Democrats’ leadership. Happy Dog, a Cleveland institution, will be reopening its doors Friday evening after a year-long hiatus as Ohio continues on the road to recovery because of Democratic-led efforts like the American Rescue Plan. 

Today, thanks to Democratic leadership, more than 5,000,000 Ohioans have been vaccinated, Ohio businesses like Happy Dog are reopening and Ohioans are looking forward to being able to safely gather with friends and loved ones over the Fourth of July holiday. 

“The Ohioans I talk to aren’t interested in the division and distraction of the past – they want to know what we’re accomplishing to build a better future. We’ve made progress, but our work is far from over. To continue to make progress, we need all Ohioans to get involved– and we need everyone to have a voice,” said Brown. 

Brown and Ohio Democrats announced the #FindFiveFriends Day of Action on Saturday, June 26th in which Ohioans are encouraged to find five friends and help register them to vote in an effort to continue the progress that’s been made since President Biden took office. In addition, the Ohio Young Black Democrats will be hosting their statewide convention virtually on Saturday.

“It’s not enough to just return to ‘normal,’ we have to build back better, as President Biden says. And we know that work requires all of us standing together and taking action. That’s why we’re proud to stand with the leaders here today as we work together to create a fairer, more equal state for every Ohioan who wants to live, work and raise a family here,” said Northeast Ohio Young Black Democrats President Brian Siggers. 

“Working families in Ohio have had a tough year, forced to overcome a lot of obstacles. But now thanks to President Biden, Senator Brown and others, Ohio is back on the road to recovery. And while we’ve made good progress, we know there’s more work left to be done. The way we achieve our goals like passing the PRO Act or passing a meaningful infrastructure package is by organizing and standing together in the face of those who want to come here and try to divide us,” said AFL-CIO President Tim Burga. 

“It’s been a long year, but with the support of leaders like Sherrod Brown, we were able to get the resources we needed to open back up, keep our patrons safe and make sure our employees are well taken care of. Now that Ohio, Cleveland and Happy Dog are back on the road to recovery, we’re only looking forward, not back,” said Happy Dog owner Sean Watterson. 

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