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Columbus, Ohio- Gas prices in Ohio have jumped by more than 64 cents per gallon in just over a week, the second highest spike in the country. Meanwhile, Vivek Ramaswamy has said that gas prices are actually lower and “perceived” rising costs are just in Ohioans’ imaginations. 

Working families are already struggling to keep up with sky-high costs at the grocery store, the doctor’s office, and now the gas station. Costs are too high, and Vivek Ramaswamy will do nothing to bring down the cost of living that is making life difficult for Ohio families.

“While Vivek Ramaswamy is busy flying around in his private jet telling working families that rising costs are only in their imaginations, Ohioans down on the ground stopping for gas at the Goasis are facing sticker shock once again,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “If Ramaswamy can’t even admit that costs are going up, why would we ever trust him to make life more affordable for the rest of us?”

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DeWine Called Vivek’s Tax Scheme “Absolutely Devastating”

Columbus, Ohio – Vivek Ramaswamy pledged to end property and income taxes on day one of his campaign and more recently invited an activist group working to pass this signature proposal into his home. Ramaswamy’s day one promise to implement a tax on working families would be devastating for Ohioans already struggling to make ends meet. 

Ramaswamy’s tax on working families would raise costs across the board for working families. Ohioans would pay even more at the grocery store after Ramaswamy’s 18% sales tax and keep less of the money they earn after his 15% income tax. For a $30,000 car, the sales tax would jump by $1,725 and the tax for a $1,300 refrigerator would jump from $75 to $234.

Even Republican Governor Mike DeWine said Ramaswamy’s plans would be “absolutely devastating” for working families. Ohio would be in a “huge crisis” if Ramaswamy’s plan became law and could wind up with an “astronomical” income tax rate that  is “by far the highest” in the country, said DeWine.

“At a time when Ohio families are already struggling with rising costs, Ramaswamy is entertaining house calls from fringe activists working to skyrocket costs for working families, and has signaled he would implement the same devastating policies as governor,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ramaswamy’s proposals are on brand for a billionaire who called Ohioans lazy, told families struggling with costs to just earn more, and said the ‘perceived’ rising cost of living was just in Ohioans’ imaginations while flying over them in a private jet.”

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Husted backs prolonged war in the Middle East, has no solutions to cost of living crisis in Ohio

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, Jon Husted voted in support of the Administration’s military actions in Iran, backing an expensive foreign intervention in the Middle East that risks American lives and has no end in sight.

Meanwhile, Husted has no solutions for Ohioans struggling with skyrocketing health care premiums, grocery bills, and utility costs. Instead, he has dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to “fix their work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money.

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

“Ohioans are struggling to afford everything from health care to groceries to utility bills, but Jon Husted would put money towards risking American lives overseas in another forever war in the Middle East. Ohio families need a Senator focused on making their lives more affordable — not enabling an expensive and unnecessary foreign war.”

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Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

Toledo, Ohio — Last week, Ohioans in Toledo 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 Toledo follows mounting criticism from across the state. Earlier in the month, Ohioans protested outside Husted’s Columbus office, calling on him to return all the contributions from the Epstein co-conspirator. Ohioans in Norwalk also called out Husted for being a “pedophile protector,” and Husted declined to answer questions — instead turning his head and refusing to respond.

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: 

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• WTOL Anchor: Several people gathered in protest today against Senator Jon Husted outside of his office in downtown Toledo. The protesters say they are calling out Senator Husted for accepting more than $116,000 in donations from Les Wexner, a suspected associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

• Lisa Sobecki, Lucas County Commissioner: I think it’s important that people’s voices are being heard on this, because I am a grandmother of a daughter. I’m a survivor, a rape survivor. I’ve met with many that are rape survivors. I’ve met with many that have been trafficked, and this to me just shows them that we’re not going to just sweep this under the rug and ignore it.

Toledo Blade: Demonstrators stage protest outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office

• Participants condemned Mr. Husted, citing news reports that he has accepted $116,000 in campaign contributions throughout his political career from Columbus businessman and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner. Mr. Wexner has been tied to Epstein.

• The news conference was led by Lucas County Commissioner Lisa Sobecki, a Democrat who at one point made a passing reference to when she was raped in her 20s.

• “I really wish we didn’t have to be here in these times, having these conversations,” Ms. Sobecki said. “We have an election coming up soon. And we should be electing folks that aren’t going to be supporting people that support people that are pedophiles.”

• “To be quite honest, I’m really disappointed to be here today. I’m disappointed that it takes this [demonstration] to implore our elected officials to do the right thing,” said Elle Cotterman, an Ottawa Hills mother of three who also holds a degree from Ohio State University’s college of engineering.

• She and others noted that he initially voted to block the Epstein files in July, then voted to release them after President Trump instructed lawmakers to do so.

• Neither Mr. Husted nor his campaign spokesman responded to repeated requests for comment.

WTOL: Ohioans protest outside Husted’s Toledo office over donations tied to Les Wexner

• Protesters gathered outside U.S. Sen. Jon Husted’s Toledo office Thursday, calling on him to return more than $116,000 in campaign contributions they say he received from Les Wexner, who has been described as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein.

• During Thursday’s rally, demonstrators questioned why Husted has not returned the full amount. Organizers claim the senator previously said he would give Wexner’s money back but has so far returned only $18,900, roughly 17% of the total, while keeping the remaining $98,000.

• Protesters asked why a portion of the money was deemed problematic but not the rest, and accused Husted of avoiding accountability. The group also questioned why he has not responded publicly to their concerns.

• The Toledo protest follows similar demonstrations at Husted’s Columbus office last week. Organizers say residents in Norwalk also confronted the senator, alleging he declined to answer questions.

• Husted’s office did not immediately respond to WTOL 11’s requests for comment Thursday.

Stay Tuned Sandusky: Coffee House patron calls Sen. Jon Husted a ‘pedo protector’

• Husted was appearing with Huron County Commissioner Harry Brady on Tuesday when the carefully managed atmosphere evaporated. 

• As Husted moved through the coffee house, a patron called out, “You’re a pedo protector.” Husted did not respond. 

• While the Reflector and the Register reported on the outburst, the event was far from open. No other media outlets were invited, and Husted’s office has continued a policy of blacklisting local news, refusing to place StayTunedSandusky.com on its press lists or schedules.

• The “pedo protector” shout points directly to the growing firestorm over Husted’s ties to Ohio billionaire Les Wexner. The confrontation occurred just as Wexner was being deposed by a House committee over his decades-long association with Jeffrey Epstein.

• During that testimony, it was revealed that Wexner funneled over $116,000 into Husted’s various campaigns. Husted’s office announced he would donate his most recent Wexner contributions to a human trafficking charity. 

• The timing is telling: the “charity” move only happened after the Norwalk confrontation and the release of unredacted FBI files labeling Wexner a “co-conspirator,” which made Wexner and his money a political liability.

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Husted at center of ongoing FirstEnergy corruption trial, mentioned more than 100 times

Columbus, Ohio — New reporting reveals that Senator Jon Husted “led the charge” to pass HB 6, the scandal-ridden bribery legislation that has contributed to Ohioans’ electric bills, rising by an average of more than $660 since the bailout passed in 2019.

As the FirstEnergy criminal corruption trial continues, Husted’s ties to the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history continue to deepen — with new phone calls, text messages, and previously unreported secret meetings placing him at the center of the scheme that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities while sticking Ohio families with higher energy bills.

Read more about the latest revelation on Husted’s role in the center of Ohio’s largest corruption scandal: 

TiffinOhio.net: Husted backed the corrupt HB 6 bailout. Ohio households now pay $663 more a year.

• U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, who is running to keep his Senate seat in Ohio’s 2026 special election, allegedly played a central role in passing a utility bailout law that sits at the heart of the state’s largest-ever corruption scandal — and that has contributed to Ohio households paying $663 more per year for electricity in the years since.

• The financial toll is direct and documented. When House Bill 6 took effect in October 2019, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio recorded the average monthly residential electric bill at $89.19 — $1,070.28 annually. By January 2026, that figure had climbed to $144.47 per month, or $1,733.64 per year. The difference: $55.28 per month, $663.36 per year.

• Text messages and internal emails released in 2024 show that Husted allegedly led the charge with now-indicted FirstEnergy executives to pass the bill, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

• A FirstEnergy email stated that Gov. Mike DeWine “left the details of H.B. 6 to others — John [sic] Husted and Danny,” referring to Husted and Dan McCarthy, DeWine’s legislative director and a former FirstEnergy lobbyist.

• House Bill 6 passed in 2019 and authorized a $1 billion ratepayer-funded bailout of the state’s nuclear power industry, with monthly surcharges paid by every Ohio residential electricity customer. 

• Federal authorities later revealed it was secured through a nearly $61 million bribery scheme — described by U.S. Attorney David DeVillers as “the largest bribery money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

• HB 6 required Ohio residential utility customers to pay a monthly surcharge of between $1.30 and $1.50 […]. From 2020 through August 14, 2025, Ohioans paid $527,808,043 in OVEC subsidies specifically under HB 6’s Legacy Generation Rider.

• According to PUCO’s January 2026 Unit Costs data, the average Ohio household now pays $144.47 per month for electricity — $1,733.64 annually, based on the commission’s standard estimate of 750 kilowatt hours of monthly residential usage. 

• When HB 6 took effect in October 2019, that same household paid $89.19 per month, or $1,070.28 per year.

Read more about Jon Husted’s role in Ohio’s largest corruption scandal:

• New evidence at trial revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• New reporting reveals Jon Husted held secret meetings with indicted FirstEnergy executives, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted and FirstEnergy Executives reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.”

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• Just weeks after Husted and DeWine were elected in 2018, they had a dinner with FirstEnergy executives Jones and Dowling at the Athletic Club of Columbus that has become a focal point of the current criminal trial.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy funneled $1 million in dark money to a nonprofit backing Husted in 2017 — part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal indictments.

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