Uncategorized

Columbus, OH- Last night on the debate stage, Senator JD Vance finally acknowledged that in 2023, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly against his position. . But what he didn’t say was that he called it a “gut punch” in a long rant on social media the following day. 

And of course, he immediately pivoted away from talking about Ohio, because he knew that he can’t escape his dangerous and disturbing record on abortion, women, and families that he’s on the run from now that he’s on the national ticket.

Ohioans know who JD Vance is and what he’s not telling voters.

 Ahead of November, we’re working to make sure that voters see that his dangerous and disturbing views on women and families are crystal clear.. 

So here’s a reminder about what JD Vance DIDN’T say:

He talked about returning abortion to the states, but he didn’t share that he openly celebrated the end of Roe v Wade, calling it a “great day.”

And he definitely didn’t acknowledge his 2022 interview where he said he’d “like abortion to be illegal nationally.”

He didn’t talk about how he was “100% pro-life” and wanted to “end abortion” only to scrub it from his website days before joining Donald Trump on the ticket.

He didn’t discuss his lies about Ohio’s abortion rights amendment, including that it would allow “taxpayer funded abortion up to the moment of birth.” And he definitely didn’t share how he spent last autumn campaigning vigorously against the amendment.

He didn’t tell the voters that when asked if there should be exceptions to abortion restrictions for rape and incest, he said that “two wrongs don’t make a right.” 

And he didn’t explain his vote against protecting the right to IVF.

Columbus, OH – With 5 weeks left until Election Day, Bernie Moreno continues to show Ohioans he is only looking out for himself – from his record of “stiffing workers” and “destroy[ing] evidence” to get out of paying his employees the wages they earned, to his recent comments mocking Ohio women for caring about making their own health care decisions and supporting a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans who voted to protect abortion rights last year.

5 Weeks Till Election Day, Here’s What To Know About Bernie Moreno:

1. Moreno’s campaign has been “clouded” by a “slew of lawsuits for workers’ wages and workplace discrimination,” including over a dozen lawsuits where Moreno refused to pay his workers the overtime they earned, and he deliberately destroyed evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of it. Moreno was found liable for wage theft by a jury – forcing Moreno to pay over $400,000 in damages to his employees and settle over a dozen similar wage theft cases. After he got caught, Moreno repeatedly lied about the case and multiple fact-checks found his excuses “false.”

2. Moreno called Ohioans “a little crazy” for caring about a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, said he is “100 percent pro-life with no exceptions,” and would vote for a national abortion ban that would overturn the will of Ohioans. Moreno also called the overturning of Roe v. Wade a “monumental victory,” and opposes protecting a woman’s right to access contraception, including birth control pills. Moreno is endorsed by SBA Pro-Life America, an organization that pledged to only back candidates who support a national abortion ban.

3. Moreno has been caught in lie after lie on the campaign trail and has faced scrutiny for the “string of inconsistencies that have dogged his campaign.” Moreno was caught repeatedly lying about selling the Chinese-made Buick Envision which contributed to “Ohio jobs being shipped overseas,” lying about his phony “rags-to-riches” story as the “signature pitch” of his campaign, and lying about “[selling] off all of his businesses” while spending nearly $50 million to open a new car dealership.

4. Moreno opposed the bipartisan bill to secure the border, opposed Sherrod’s bill to crack down on dangerous fentanyl, and said he won’t work across the aisle to fight for Ohio. Moreno opposed the bipartisan border security bill – which was backed by border patrol agents – and said he “would have opposed” the bipartisan FEND Off Fentanyl Act. When asked how he would work across the aisle, Moreno said he “reject[ed]” the question. In response, Moreno was slammed for having “no real interest” in advocating for Ohioans and being “intent on adding to [the] problem” in Washington.

5. Moreno isn’t the outsider he claims to be. Despite claiming he “built his car dealer empire all on his own,” Moreno actually received “much-needed handout[s],” “special favors,” and “financial assistance” and “leveraged his family connections” and the “Moreno Family cash reserves” to enrich himself. Moreno has exploited his insider political connections to boost his businesses and is “heavily invested” in and profited off of a family enrichment scheme with his brothers by funneling U.S. taxpayer money into banks that financed projects his family oversaw.

###

Columbus, OH – In the past month, new reporting has revealed additional details about the “at least 50 times” Bernie Moreno has been sued as his campaign is “clouded” by a “slew of lawsuits for workers’ wages and workplace discrimination.”

Let’s Rewind:

On September 3rd, reporting from WKYC revealed Bernie Moreno has been sued “at least 50 times,” which is “much more than” what Moreno has falsely claimed on the campaign trail.

On September 4th, new reporting from Spectrum News revealed “previously unreported court records” that show Bernie Moreno destroyed even more evidence than originally known to get out of paying his employees the overtime they had earned, including “daily schedules.” When asked why he destroyed evidence and stole wages, Moreno echoed lies that multiple fact-checks have already debunked as “false.”

WATCH MORE FROM SPECTRUM NEWS HERE

On September 20th, new reporting from Mother Jones revealed Bernie Moreno “refused to pay” an Ohio contractor over $300,000 and “forc[ed] the construction firm to file a legal claim” to make Moreno pay them what they were owed.

Bottom line: Bernie Moreno’s record of “refus[ing] to pay” what he owed, “stiffing workers,” and even deliberately shredding evidence to get out of paying his employees makes it clear that he only looks out for himself.

###

Today, the Ohio Democratic Party and Ohio voters are filing a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of  Ohio to protect the legal right of all Ohioans’ to return their ballots at drop boxes.  

The lawsuit is in response to an illegal directive issued by Secretary of State Frank LaRose that would ban the use of drop boxes by individuals returning a ballot on behalf of an immediate family member or a disabled voter – violating Ohio statute, the Ohio Constitution, and the federal Voting Rights Act. 

Ohio law allows any absentee voter to return their ballot at their county dropbox and allows a voter’s immediate family member to return their ballot on their behalf. The federal Voting Rights Act also protects the right of Disabled voters to use an assistant to return their absentee ballot. 

“Frank LaRose’s illegal attempt to deprive Ohioans of their right to return their ballot at a drop box with assistance is in violation of both Ohio and federal law. The Ohio Democratic Party alongside Ohioans impacted by LaRose’s illegal directive are taking every action necessary to protect the constitutional right of every Ohioan to participate in our democracy,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters. 

Key points from the lawsuit: 

• “Pursuant to statute duly adopted by the General Assembly, Ohio has long allowed authorized family members to return an absent voter’s ballot to the county board of elections office on their behalf. See R.C. 3509.05(C)(1). Ohio law has never required such family members to complete any form of attestation before delivering the ballot.”

• “Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act provides: ‘Any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter’s choice, other than the voter’s employer or agent of that employer or officer or agent of the voter’s union.’” 

• [LaRose’s] “Directive violates the Ohio Constitution by depriving voters with disabilities and voters who rely on a designated family member to return their ballots for them via drop box of equal protection of the laws, because it has created a situation where Ohio’s boards of elections will permit certain voters to vote by delivering their ballot via drop box while prohibiting others from doing so.”
  
• [LaRose’s] “Directive violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act because it prevents voters with disabilities from receiving assistance from “a person of the voter’s choice.”
  
• “In response to a federal court simply ordering him to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act’s protections for voters with disabilities, Secretary LaRose has taken it upon himself to instead attempt to rewrite the statute governing return of absentee ballots.” 

Full filing can be found here: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/pdf_viewer/pdf_viewer.aspx?pdf=970694.pdf&subdirectory=2024-1361\DocketItems&source=DL_Clerk

###

Columbus, OH-  In case you missed it, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost led a group of Republican attorneys general in arguing that action taken by the Federal Trade Commission to block mergers that would harm Ohioans was unconstitutional. And reporting from the Ohio Capital Journal showed that Yost’s arguments track closely with a proposal in Donald Trump and JD Vance’s extreme Project 2025.

While Ohio’s working families struggle to make ends meet after decades of failed Republican policies, Yost would rather prioritize corporate special interests instead of fighting for economic justice for all Ohioans. When Ohioans are stuck paying more for their groceries, they should bill Yost for the difference.

And Yost’s letter takes a page directly out of Project 2025, which is a clear and present danger to workers in Ohio and across the country. Project 2025 would allow employers to not pay overtime, weaken child labor protections, undermine the right for workers to organize, and make it easier for employers to discriminate. 

“Yost’s endorsement of Donald Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda paints a picture of an AG who is beholden to corporate special interests while harboring a dangerous, anti-worker agenda,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “It’s clear where he stands- and it’s not with Ohio’s workers.”

###