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ICYMI: Ohioans Call Out Jon Husted For Taking More Than $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — In case you missed it, Ohioans in Youngstown called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

The rally in Youngstown comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Last week, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator.

Ohioans have also protested Husted outside his Columbus and Toledo offices, and Husted was called out for being a “pedophile protector” at an event in Norwalk. Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

See For Yourself:

WMFJ: Youngstown protest targets U.S. Sen Husted over Epstein vote

  • The Ohio Democratic Party is accusing U.S. Sen. Jon Husted of helping block the release of files connected to now deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pointing to a Senate vote and campaign donations tied to billionaire businessman Les Wexner.
  • Democratic activists gathered in Youngstown at Wick Park Monday with signs reading “Vote Husted out,” “Husted is busted,” and “Pedophile protector,” claiming the senator voted against releasing the Epstein files weeks before accepting donations connected to Wexner, who has faced scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein.
  • The protest centers around a September 2025 Senate vote in which Husted rejected an amendment that would have directed the Department of Justice to release files tied to Epstein.
  • “That initial vote sent the wrong message to society, and it’s really more than a partisan issue. It’s an issue of ethics and morality,” Maria Pappas, Vice Chair of the Mahoning County Democratic Party said.
  • Activists also pointed to campaign donations from Wexner made around the same time as the September vote.

Youngstown Vindicator: Local Dems criticize Husted over Wexner contributions

  • A group of local Democrats criticized Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 from billionaire Les Wexner, who had a longtime relationship with notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
  • At a Monday news conference at Wick Park Pavilion, organized by the Ohio Democratic Party, retired educators Maria Pappas of Poland — who is also the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s vice chairwoman — and Donna Zielinski of Niles said they had serious concerns about Husted’s judgment because he took the money from Wexner.
  • Pappas and Zielinski criticized Husted for initially not voting to release the Epstein files. Husted voted Sept. 10 against an attempt by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York senator, to attach an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to release the Epstein files.
  • Husted is the only incumbent senator on the ballot this year who took Wexner’s money.
  • Zielinski said: “My objection is to how Husted handled the files,” and as an educator she was responsible for reporting any child abuse.
  • She said: “Why are politicians immune to that?”
  • Pappas said Husted exercised “bad judgment” by taking Wexner’s money and “we need those in leadership roles to lead by example.”
  • Pappas said: “You can judge a nation by how it treats its most-vulnerable citizens – children, underaged teens, the elderly, the handicapped. This is way bigger than the Epstein files because the Big Beautiful Bill attacks all of those vulnerable populations” and Husted voted for that.
  • While Les Wexner hasn’t been charged criminally for his relationship with Epstein, he is named as a co-conspirator in the FBI’s sex trafficking investigation into Epstein.

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ICYMI: New Report Says 31 Ohio Hospitals, Clinics and Providers Are At Risk Of Closing

Half a million Ohioans could lose Medicaid coverage in next decade

COLUMBUS, OH – According to reporting, “recent cuts in funding from Ohio’s Medicaid budget will force more than a half a million Ohioans off the program in the next decade and threaten the closure of 31 hospitals and clinics in Ohio.” 

Reminder: Ohio Republicans are responsible for ripping health care away from Ohio families so they can pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and corporate special interests. 

  • In the Senate, Jon Husted has voted 9 times to increase health care premiums on Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans will see their health care costs rise over $800 a year.
  • While Ohioans “decry” Ohio Republicans’ votes in Congress to rip health care – and food assistance – from Ohio families, politicians like Mike Turner couldn’t be bothered to comment.

Read more HERE from Statehouse News Bureau on how Republicans’ health care cuts are not only devastating for the millions of Ohioans who rely on Medicaid, but also “will increase stress on emergency rooms, and rural patients will have to travel to get medical care.”

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Associated Press: Ramaswamy Running Mate Voted to Dissolve Medicaid Oversight Committee  

Columbus, Ohio – Desperate to hide the fact that he’s on video calling Medicaid a “mistake,” Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his latest scam yesterday where he claimed he’d fight Medicaid fraud while standing with the very politicians who have been running Ohio for nearly two decades. But in a damning new report from the Associated Press, it was revealed that Ramaswamy’s running mate, State Senate President Rob McColley, was a key architect of a state budget that dissolved the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.

The Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee was charged with watching over Medicaid and served as a single point of contact between the legislature and the Medicaid system. It was quietly dissolved through a last minute provision in the state budget that McColley had significant influence over. Even Republican State Representative Jennifer Gross, who was at Ramaswamy’s Tuesday press conference, said it could’ve helped fight fraud.

“Ohioans know Vivek Ramaswamy thinks Medicaid is a mistake. His pathetic attempt at claiming he will fight Medicaid fraud while his own running mate dismantled the Medicaid Oversight Committee is proof of yet another Ramaswamy scam,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans can’t trust a word Vivek Ramaswamy says because he only cares about himself.”

READ: Vance takes his fight against fraud to red Ohio, muddying waters for GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy

  • Vice President JD Vance’s decision to extend his fight against Medicaid fraud beyond Democratic states to his red home state of Ohio has set off a scramble among the state’s Republicans — including his close ally Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s nominee for governor.
  • A common theme at Ramaswamy’s news conference was the past failings of the state’s Department of Medicaid, overseen by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for the past seven years. The criticism was leveled not only by Ramaswamy, but by sitting Republican officeholders who have held sway over Ohio’s existing checks and balances of the program for years.
  • Asked to what extent the ruling GOP establishment that has controlled government for more than 15 years should be held accountable for failing to catch more Medicaid fraud, Ramaswamy said he wouldn’t point fingers. “I’m not playing that game, OK?”
  • Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, held key decision-making power over the state budget that last year eliminated Ohio’s Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, which was charged with watching over Medicaid, a joint federal-state healthcare program that covers more than a quarter of Ohio residents. The panel was investigating contracts with Gainwell, the nation’s largest processor of Medicaid claims, at the time.
  • State Rep. Jennifer Gross, a Republican who served on the committee, said Tuesday that the panel could have helped accomplish Vance’s and Ramaswamy’s fraud-fighting goals.
  • “I believe that if we had kept JMOC it always could have been something that we kept in place that could have morphed into a DOGE Ohio, an Ohio Medicaid DOGE,” she said.

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Jon Husted to Ohioans Struggling With Gas Prices: “What Do You Want Me To Do?”

Husted to trucker getting crushed by diesel prices: “What do you think about Iran being a nuclear power?”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In two new interviews, Jon Husted dismissed concerns from Ohioans getting crushed by skyrocketing gas prices because of the war in Iran he supports: 

  • When a truck driver asked about soaring diesel costs, Husted brushed him off and responded by asking if he was comfortable with Iran being a nuclear power. 

WATCH HERE:

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

“Jon Husted could not be more out of touch with Ohioans who are getting crushed by soaring gas and diesel prices because of the endless war he supports. Instead of actually working to lower costs, Husted is backing more money for war overseas while insulting his constituents and lecturing Ohioans to work harder.”

The Husted-backed war in Iran is crushing Ohio families and farmers:

  • Jon Husted has voted eight times to continue the war in Iran while costs continue to skyrocket.
  • When asked about the pain that Ohio families are feeling at the pump, Jon Husted’s campaign “declined to comment.”

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Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted For Taking More Than $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator

REPORTING: Husted Took $116,892 From Les Wexner, Including A Max Donation Just A Few Weeks Before Blocking Epstein Files Release

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Youngstown called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

The rally in Youngstown comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Last week, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator. 

Ohioans have also protested Husted outside his Columbus and Toledo offices, and Husted was called out for being a “pedophile protector” at an event in Norwalk. Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

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