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Sixty Days In, Jon Husted Still Backs Endless Middle East War Sending Prices Skyrocketing

Husted has voted five times to back expensive and unnecessary war

WCPO: ‘This is gonna break me down,’ Cincinnati drivers stunned as gas prices near $5 per gallon

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today marks 60 days of war in the Middle East that Jon Husted continues to fully support. Despite prices soaring for Ohio families, Husted has voted five times over the last two months to back the expensive and unnecessary foreign intervention.

Because of the Husted-backed war, Ohioans are being hit by soaring gas prices, and farmers are getting crushed by rising diesel and fertilizer costs, which will raise the price of groceries. But Husted has no problem sending more money overseas while costs skyrocket at home. Husted has said he thinks the war is “good news for the global economy” and going “much better than anyone thought it would.”

Husted also continues to insult struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and consistently dismisses the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

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

“For 60 days, Jon Husted has backed another endless war in the Middle East while Ohio families and farmers pay more for everything. It’s clear that Jon Husted has no interest in lowering costs — just sending more money for war overseas while lecturing hardworking Ohioans to simply earn more.” 

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Reminder – Messy GOP OH09 Primary Keeps Getting Messier: A Website and Accusations of a Smear Campaign

COLUMBUS, OH – Republicans have less than a week until their primary for OH09 and it’s getting messier by the day – well really by the minute. In a new low for the Republican primary field, reporting detailed that Derrick Merrin’s campaign was tied to a website targeting GOP candidate Josh Williams. The website, titled “Liberal Fraud Josh Williams,” slammed Williams for legislation he has supported, his voting record, and even emphasized sexually explicit Facebook posts. In response, Williams slammed Merrin for “resort[ing] to these smear tactics.”

“Despite Ohioans struggling in the face of sky-high costs, Republican candidates for Congress are spending their time focusing on attacking each other,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “While Republicans race to escape their messy GOP primary, Ohioans know that Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is laser focused on fighting against the policies that drive up costs, like Washington Republicans’ tariffs and massive healthcare cuts.”

Read more about how Republicans’ messy OH09 primary just keeps getting messier.

Toledo Blade: GOP rival linked to website targeting Rep. Josh Williams

A website dedicated to digging up past information on state Rep. Josh Williams (R., Sylvania Township) appears to have ties to a fellow Republican running for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District.

The website, titled Liberal Fraud Josh Williams, has published a range of content, such as legislation Mr. Williams has supported, his voting record, and sexually explicit Facebook posts.

Mr. Williams is just one of five Republicans running in the primary election for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo).

Several images on the website are tied back to Alec Faggion, who is listed as the author under the images’ metadata.

According to public financial disclosure reports, Mr. Faggion is the owner of AMF Political LLC, a Republican political consulting firm based in Lansing.

Former state Rep. Derek Merrin made two payments to AMF Political, one in February and the other in March, according to campaign finance disclosures.

A spokesman for Mr. Merrin’s campaign said the firm was paid for campaign management, but did not respond to a request for further comment on Mr. Faggion’s connection to the photos on the website.

A search of campaign records shows none of the other Republican candidates for the 9th District made payments to AMF Political.

[…]

In response to learning that the website has ties to Mr. Merrin’s campaign, Mr. Williams said he was “deeply disheartened” that Mr. Merrin would “resort to these smear tactics.” In a statement, Mr. Williams said he once considered Mr. Merrin a friend and noted his support for Mr. Merrin when he ran for House speaker in 2023 and when he campaigned for Congress in 2024.

[…]

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On National Honesty Day, Will Jon Husted Tell the Truth About His Role in Ohio’s Largest Bribery Scandal?

ICYMI from ASSOCIATED PRESS: Republicans plan big spending to keep Ohio’s Senate seat. A bribery scandal adds to their challenges

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, on National Honesty Day, will Jon Husted finally tell the truth about his role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history? 

As a reminder, Jon Husted remains at the center of the massive scandal, with new reporting from the Associated Press revealing Husted’s ties to be much deeper than previously known:

  • When Husted was forced to testify, his testimony showed discrepancies from public documents and reporting, only raising more questions. 
  • This political headache isn’t going away for Husted anytime soon, as the United States Supreme Court upheld the conviction of one of Jon Husted’s top allies just this week.

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

“On National Honesty Day, Ohioans are calling on Jon Husted to come clean about his central role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history that’s costing families thousands of dollars more on their utility bills. It seems every week more details come to light about Jon Husted’s deep ties to this massive corruption scheme. Ohioans deserve accountability and answers about how deep his involvement goes.”

As a reminder, Jon Husted played a central role “running the show” in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history alongside Dowling and Jones:

  • New evidence during the 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 revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings with Dowling and Jones, 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, Dowling, and Jones reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.” 
  • A dinner between Jon Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives at the Athletic Club of Columbus was a focal point of the criminal trial.
  • Public records show that FirstEnergy — led by Jones and Dowling — funneled $1 million in dark money to a dark money group backing Husted in 2017, part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal and state indictments.

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Ohioans in Cincinnati Call Out Jon Husted’s Out of Touch Attacks on Hardworking Families

Husted: “People living in poverty are just not very, they’re not very experienced at navigating the real world”

CINCINNATI, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Cincinnati gathered for the final stop of Husted’s Real World Tour, calling out Jon Husted for his out of touch attacks on hardworking families.

Ohioans are already struggling with high grocery and utility prices due to Jon Husted’s corruption, and the skyrocketing cost of gas is forcing families to cut back even more. Instead of working to lower costs, Jon Husted has insulted struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

“For people in this district in Cincinnati, they go to work. They work as hard as they can. Jon Husted would say they just don’t understand the real world. That’s what he said about Ohioans who are struggling to get by — that maybe if they had a different work ethic, they would be able to get ahead,” said Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (District 24 — Cincinnati). “Jon Husted does not understand what most Ohioans are going through. Jon Husted was involved in one of the largest bribery scandals in Ohio’s history. He believes that taxpayer dollars, your dollars, should go to bail out billion dollar corporations to make life easier for millionaires and billionaires.”

“I always try to take the high road. But I was absolutely stunned when Jon Husted said people living in poverty are ‘just not very experienced at navigating the real world.’ He said if you can’t afford groceries, just ‘earn more.’ He even said working families have a ‘broken’ work ethic. What an insult to our hardworking Ohio families. Jon Husted — working people understand how the world works,” said Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney.

“The increase in utilities are my main concern. In the past we were able to manage pretty well. However, this winter was pretty brutal for us, as I am sure it was for many of you, and the increase in cost has really put a strain on our finances,” said Jackie Robbins, a Cincinnati native and retired Ohioan. “This brings me to Mr. Husted who seems to have gone out of his way to make life harder for working families in Ohio by leading the charge to give utility companies a billion dollar taxpayer bailout that contributed to our electric bills skyrocketing by more than $600 annually. And believe me I have felt the pain of this increase.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy on Ohio: “NOT THE BEST STATE”

“I can’t say it’s the best state.”

Columbus, Ohio- In newly unearthed footage, candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy said that Ohio wasn’t “the best state” in another comment revealing his dim view of Ohioans. Ramaswamy previously called Ohio workers “lazy” and said affordability is just a “buzzword” as Ohioans see gas prices surge close to $5 per gallon. 

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW:

“One thing all Ohioans can agree on is that Ohio is the best state. We are proud of our state’s natural beauty, unique communities, and of course, our winning college football teams. Ramaswamy does not understand Ohio. His decision to run a campaign for governor that focuses on how Ohio isn’t the best state and our workers are lazy highlights how everything he says is a scam designed to raise our costs and line the pockets of billionaires like himself,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer.