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NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Latest Scammy Proposal Would Net Millions for Himself

Columbus, Ohio- New reporting from TiffinOhio.net revealed that Vivek Ramaswamy’s scammy plan to eliminate the capital gains tax in Ohio would save him millions of dollars. While working families struggle, Ramaswamy’s scam policies would only make him richer.

READ: Ramaswamy wants to end Ohio’s capital gains tax, benefiting wealthy residents—and himself

  • Vivek Ramaswamy has made eliminating Ohio’s tax on capital gains a centerpiece of his campaign for governor. Tax returns the Republican released during his 2023 presidential run show he personally reported roughly $211 million in such gains across two years – the precise category of income his proposal would exempt from state tax.
  • The returns, which Ramaswamy made public when he ran for the GOP presidential nomination, report $37 million in capital gains in 2015 and $174.5 million in 2020. Together, the two years total about $211.6 million. 
  • The Legislative Service Commission, the legislature’s nonpartisan research arm, estimated in its fiscal analysis of House Bill 617 that repeal would cost the state between $615 million and $645.6 million in tax year 2027, growing to between $647.8 million and $679.8 million the following year. Capital gains revenue feeds Ohio’s General Revenue Fund, which supports public schools, Medicaid and other core services.
  • A separate LSC memo obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau found the benefit would be concentrated at the top: 81.6% of it would go to Ohioans earning more than $200,000 a year, while those making under $100,000 – the large majority of the state – would receive 7.3%.
  • Against that distribution, Ramaswamy’s own filings place him among the Ohioans who would gain the most. Applying the current 2.75% rate to the capital gains reported on his two released returns yields roughly $5.8 million – about $1 million on the 2015 gains and $4.8 million on the 2020 gains. The figure is illustrative: Ohio’s rates were higher in 2015 and 2020, so the actual state tax he paid on those gains at the time was larger. It is offered as a measure of the scale of capital gains income the repeal would shield from state tax going forward.
  • That income stream has continued. Ramaswamy’s financial disclosure filed April 6 with the Ohio Ethics Commission reported more than $1.1 million in dividends and capital gains in 2025, including $768,968 from a single sale of BlackBerry stock – again, the category of income his proposal would exempt.

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Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs, $5.3 billion due to Trump cuts by 2029, new analysis finds

COLUMBUS, OH – Donald Trump and Washington Republicans’ economic policies are devastating Ohio families, with a new analysis emphasizing that under their spending bill, Ohio will lose more than 50,000 jobs – the eighth most jobs lost of any state in the country – and more than $5B from the state economy by 2029. This new analysis is also making clear that while Trump and Washington Republicans are implementing massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance, and costing Ohio billions in federal funding, “Trump’s signature law gave huge tax cuts to the richest Americans,” and “amounted to yet another upward redistribution of wealth.”

“Ohioans don’t need another analysis to tell them what they already know – thanks to Trump and Washington Republicans’ harmful economic policies, costs are skyrocketing, healthcare is getting more expensive and jobs in Ohio are going away while the rich get more tax breaks,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “Ohio Republicans up and down the ballot are going to have to own the fact that their policies are costing Ohio tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars, and ripping away healthcare from families, and Ohioans are going to hold them accountable for it in November.”

Read more from Ohio Capital Journal about how President Trump and Washington Republicans are ripping healthcare from Ohio families, raising costs for Ohioans, taking away jobs, and forcing Ohio to lose billions from the state economy:

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs, $5.3 billion due to Trump cuts by 2029, new analysis finds

  • Ohio will lose 51,000 jobs and $5.3 billion from the state economy in 2029, according to a new analysis. 
  • That’s the effect that cuts to Medicaid and food assistance under a massive 2025 spending law will have when they’re fully phased in. It’s also the consequence of Republicans allowing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire at the end of the last year, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis which was published last week.
  • When Congress allowed them to expire, most of the 600,000 Ohioans who bought insurance on the exchanges saw premiums for their plans double. That prompted many to drop down to cheaper, lower-quality plans and many more to leave the marketplace altogether. KFF reports that Ohio enrollment was down 20% this year.
  • The legislation cut more than $900 billion over 10 years from Medicaid. It also cut $187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps or EBT.
  • Along with deep cuts to the safety net, Trump’s signature law gave huge tax cuts to the richest Americans. The Commonwealth Fund analysis said it amounted to yet another upward redistribution of wealth.
  • “Under (the Trump spending law), cuts to health and nutrition programs largely harm Americans with lower incomes, while tax cuts primarily benefit those with higher incomes,” it said.
  • “The (Congressional Budget Office) estimates that Americans in with lowest 10% of incomes will lose about $1,200 per year (3.1% of their incomes), while those with the top 10% of incomes will gain $13,600 per year (2.7% of their incomes). Other analyses reached similar conclusions.”
  • The cuts won’t just harm low-income Americans, the analysis said, they’ll damage entire state economies. It’s a consequence of taking away huge streams of funding for healthcare and food.
  • “In 2029, federal Medicaid funding will drop by $90.9 billion, causing state GDPs to fall by $118.5 billion,” it said.
  • “Medicaid cuts also mean 996,000 fewer jobs nationwide in 2029, half of which will be health-related, including in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, or nursing homes. States with the largest job losses include California, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, Ohio, and Michigan, which lose between 150,200 and 36,600 jobs.”
  • It projected that Ohio will lose the eighth-most jobs — 51,200.
  • It also said the state will lose $4.4 billion in federal funding, thereby reducing state GDP by $5.4 billion and state and local revenue collection by $368 million.

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SPEECHLESS JON: Jon Husted Dodges Questions About Iran Deal

Husted has voted nine times to back Iran war that has sent costs skyrocketing

WATCH:

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a new video, Jon Husted refused to answer questions about the deal to end the Iran war that has received “strong pushback” from senators for potentially giving “Iran’s theocratic regime access to billions of dollars in economic relief.”

While Husted is now silent, he has voted nine times to back the expensive and unnecessary foreign conflict that has sent costs soaring. Husted claimed last week that the military operation “went very well” while admitting the war he supported “has put a strain on Americans.”

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

“This week, after voting for the ninth time to support the war in Iran and bragging that the military operation was going ‘very well,’ Jon Husted has suddenly gone silent. Ohioans are getting crushed by skyrocketing energy and grocery costs because of the Husted-backed war, and they deserve answers.”

Husted’s comments continue his long trend of insulting hardworking Ohioans who are getting crushed by soaring costs caused by policies he supports:

  • When asked what he was doing to address rising gas prices for his constituents, Husted responded: “What do you want me to do?” 
  • 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. 
  • When asked about the pain that Ohio families are feeling at the pump, Jon Husted’s campaign “declined to comment.”
  • Husted promised that lower prices would be “returned” as soon as the U.S. was “done” with the war in Iran, even though experts have asserted that gas “won’t return to pre-war levels any time soon.”
  • Jon Husted has voted nine times to continue the war in Iran while costs continue to skyrocket.

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

Husted continues dodging basic questions that Ohioans deserve answered

LIMA, OHIO — In case you missed it, Ohioans in Lima 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 Lima comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Recently, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator. 

Ohioans have also protested Husted in Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown, Westlake, and Steubenville, 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:

WLIO: Ohio Democrats rally in Lima to criticize Husted over Epstein connections

  • WLIO Anchor: “During the rally, speakers highlighted Husted’s acceptance of more than $116,000 in campaign contributions from Ohio businessman Les Wexner, who has been linked to Epstein. Speakers also said Husted voted against a defense bill that included an amendment to release files related to Epstein.”
  • Alice Donahue, Lima City School Board Member: “Speaking as a victim, we just want accountability. We just want people that are responsible for what happened and especially to these young girls and women. What they went through and their horror and some have taken their lives and some’s lives will never be recovered and I know how many years it took me to come to terms with my own abuse. It’s not a political issue. It’s not Republican-Democrat. It’s a moral issue right now. We owe it to victims of sexual assault everywhere.”
  • Jeannine Jordan, Lima City Council: “We need politicians that are willing to take hard stands. We need politicians that are willing to say I don’t want money from people who are getting it in ill-gotten ways. We need people to pay attention. Not just the politicians but you and I. We need to pay attention to what these people are doing, whose name they are doing it in, who’s funding what they’re doing, and care enough that we make hard votes.”

Lima News: Lima Dems protest Husted accepting Epstein associate’s donations

  • A pair of local elected officials spoke out Tuesday against Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, for his associations with Jeffrey Epstein.
  • The speakers called out Husted, who is up for re-election in November, for accepting more than $116,000 from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner — a label the FBI assigned to Wexner in 2019, according to FBI documents released by the Justice Department. 
  • Donahue and Jordan also took issue with Husted voting to block the release of the Epstein files a few weeks after receiving a “maximum donation” from Wexner, according to a press release from the Ohio Democrats.
  • Donahue spoke from her perspective as a survivor of sexual abuse in condemning the “sheer terror and depravity that the survivors of Epstein Island were subjected to.” She claimed Wexner appeared “over 4,000 times” in the Epstein files released thus far, arguing it made Husted’s acceptance of Wexner’s money all the more corrupt.
  • “Only after Husted being called out at Sheri’s Coffee House in Huron County by a reporter in February, and refusing to answer them about the money, did Husted’s campaign release a statement the next day that the money would be donated to organizations fighting sex trafficking,” Donahue said. “… Does anyone really believe that if Les Wexner hadn’t been caught with his hand in the Epstein cookie jar, that the money would have been returned?”
  • Jordan spoke from her 35 years of experience in Lima city schools on how the youth abused at Epstein Island were taken advantage of through their vulnerability. 
  • The councilor argued that voting to block the release of the Epstein files on Sept. 10, in addition to his “not pressing the United States Department of Justice” on the matter, shows that he “is not working to make sure that every person who participated in and profited upon Epstein abuse is held accountable.”
  • Nonetheless, Jordan argued Husted’s change of heart does not show “courage of conviction,” due to his vote in September aligning with the majority of Republicans.

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HUSTED LIES, GETS CAUGHT: Jon Husted Runs Away When Asked About Senior Advisor in Senate Office Actively Working for Lobbying Firm

WATCH: Husted refuses to answer questions about corrupt senior staffer

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, Jon Husted tried to lie about his senior advisor who “maintained a paid consulting relationship” with a Columbus-based lobbying firm while serving in Husted’s office — and got caught immediately.

When asked if Husted thought Dunn’s role at a major lobbying firm who serves utility and pharmaceutical companies was a conflict of interest, Husted ignored the question and ran away. 

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

“Jon Husted just tried to lie instead of answering questions about why his top advisor was getting paid by a lobbying firm who helped pass the corrupt FirstEnergy bailout for utilities that’s contributing to families paying thousands of dollars more on their energy bills. Jon Husted isn’t even bothering to hide his corruption anymore, and Ohioans deserve answers.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s corruption: 

  • While working for Husted, Dunn has received at least $22,652 in income in addition to his federal salary.
  • An Ohio attorney filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics regarding Sean Dunn, asking the Committee to investigate further and claiming that Husted had failed to prevent conflicts of interest in his office. 
  • Previous reporting revealed that the same senior advisor in Husted’s office worked as an opioid and utilities lobbyist whose clients “made millions” off the FirstEnergy corruption scandal.
  • The FirstEnergy scandal, the largest public bribery scheme in Ohio history, resulted in a billion dollar bailout for utilities that’s contributing to families paying thousands of dollars more on their energy bills.
  • This new interview comes as Husted is under fire for profiting nearly $60,000 from stock sales as part of an insider deal with Heartland Bank. 

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