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Columbus, OH – In case you missed it, Republican Dave Yost on Friday argued in court filings that parts of Ohio’s previous extreme abortion ban should be upheld, even as Ohio voters voted overwhelmingly to strike down the law last November. Before the election, Yost himself asserted: “the Heartbeat Act would not exist if Issue 1 passes.”

“All aspects of Ohio’s ban on most abortions might not need to be tossed out even though voters approved new language protecting abortion access, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office argued in a Friday filing,” reports Jessie Balmert for Cincinnati.com. 

Yost joins a number of GOP politicians who have made clear that they plan to overrule Ohio voters by continuing to push for extreme abortion restrictions, from every Republican running for U.S. Senate supporting a national abortion ban, to statehouse legislation that would take jurisdiction over Issue 1 from the Supreme Court and put it in the hands of the GOP-gerrymandered legislature, to Matt Huffman saying, “This isn’t the end. It is really just the beginning of a revolving door of ballot campaigns to repeal or replace Issue 1.”

“Ohio Republicans from Dave Yost to Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose and Matt Dolan on down have all made clear that they want to overrule voters and ban abortion – even after Ohio voters made their positions clear. Abortion is on the ballot in 2024 and beyond, and we must continue our work at the ballot box to tell these out-of-touch GOP politicians that we won’t go back,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more from Cincinnati.com HERE and below:

• All aspects of Ohio’s ban on most abortions might not need to be tossed out even though voters approved new language protecting abortion access, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office argued in a Friday filing.
  
• The state asked a Hamilton County judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Ohio’s ban on abortions after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is about six weeks gestation. The position confused attorney Jessie Hill, who represents abortion clinics challenging the law.
  
• Hill said there’s no question that the entire law is unconstitutional after voters approved Issue 1 in November. “It’s disappointing that they couldn’t just come out and say that,” Hill said.
  
• Yost all but said it in a legal analysis his office distributed before the November election: “Some of Ohio’s laws may be defensible, but the Heartbeat Act would not exist if Issue 1 passes.”

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Matt Dolan Takes Another Shot At Moreno, Proving This Is “An Attack That [Ohioans Are] Going To Keep Hearing About Moreno”

Columbus, OH – Last week, Matt Dolan took another shot at Bernie Moreno for shredding evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying his employees the overtime they’d earned. On conservative radio, Dolan called out Moreno as someone who “won’t do what’s best for Ohioans and Americans” but instead will “do what’s best for Bernie Moreno.” 

Matt Dolan on Moreno shredding documents to get out of paying his employees the overtime they’d earned: “[T]hat’s, that’s an extreme position of lack of trust and public service is all about trust […] When you, when you’re, when his employees needed him to do the right thing, he did what’s best for Bernie Moreno, not what’s best for his employee. He will do the same thing. He won’t do what’s best for Ohioans and Americans, he’ll do what’s best for Bernie Moreno. We’ve had enough of that.” [TBHS, 2/2/24]

Read more:

WCMH: “During a debate between Republican candidates in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, state Sen. Matt Dolan accused businessman Bernie Moreno of shredding evidence against him in a court case. …The court record did affirm Dolan’s claim that Moreno got rid of evidence. ‘The inference is clear: Defendants either did not retain or shredded at least these monthly reports,’ a judge wrote in the documents.”

Business Insider: “From the beginning, Moreno was required to preserve all documents relevant to the case, and he specifically agreed to do so in January 2020 as the Adem case progressed. But during a May 2021 deposition for one of those wage theft cases, Moreno conceded that in late 2020, he had destroyed paper copies of monthly reports containing information about overtime hours worked by some employees… [T]he judge in that case, Justice Michael Ricciuti, chose to sanction him for destroying potential evidence…” 

Haley BeMiller, WVXU: “Dolan especially went after Moreno on [the overtime pay lawsuits] pretty hard, and specifically went after him on this part in one of the court cases where Moreno was sanctioned by a judge for destroying records pertaining to employees’ overtime pay while the litigation was still ongoing. Dolan said […] that Moreno can’t be trusted… That’s an attack that we’re going to keep hearing against Moreno […] and certainly this lawsuit thing has become an issue.”

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Columbus, OH – Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters released the following statement to mark the anniversary of the East Palestine train derailment. 

“One year later, our hearts remain with the people of East Palestine as the community recovers from the fallout of the derailment. While there’s more work to be done, Ohio Democrats have worked bipartisanly to secure critical resources for East Palestine and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable. Ohio Democrats will continue fighting for every resident of East Palestine while also working to make our railways – and the communities they run through – safer for all Ohioans,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters.  

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Happy Groundhog Day! It’s Another Year Where None Of The GOP Candidates Are Fighting For Ohioans.

Columbus, OH – Between the abysmal fundraising reports, a new *sassy* pop quiz, Bernie Moreno feeling the heat for shredding key evidence he was legally required to keep, and the field trying to overrule Ohioans by passing a national abortion ban, we almost forgot it was Groundhog Day! While Ohioans can look forward to an early start to spring after Buckeye Chuck didn’t see his shadow, it’s still clear that – just like last year – no one in this field is fighting for Ohioans. 

Here’s a recap of what happened last week in what has already been called one of the “messiest”, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country. 

#OHSEN FIELD POSTS ABYSMAL FUNDRAISING 

Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan all posted abysmal fourth quarter FEC reports this week – now we know why they have collectively loaned themselves more than $10 million this cycle. 

The #OHSEN Field despite loaning themselves $10 million…

and counting…

Matt Dolan even turned it into a family affair! Last quarter, a super PAC supporting Dolan’s campaign received $2 million from Dolan’s parents.

You know what they say, families that buy Senate seats together, stay together. 

POP QUIZ!

Despite the lagging fundraising reports, this slugfest continues to heat up. Yesterday, a super PAC aligned with Dolan launched a website featuring a “Which Bernie?” pop quiz. Check it out here.

Ouch!

NICE TRY, BERNIE – YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM YOUR DECISION TO SHRED EVIDENCE TO GET OUT OF PAYING YOUR EMPLOYEES OVERTIME 

Moreno hasn’t been able to escape scrutiny after he was slammed on the debate stage last week for shredding evidence he was legally required to keep while being sued by his employees for wage theft. 

While he may have destroyed paper records, he can’t erase this from Ohioans’ minds. It is clear that this is “an attack that [Ohioans are] going to keep hearing about Moreno.” 

FIELD DOUBLES DOWN: SUPPORTS OVERRULING OHIOANS BY PASSING A NATIONAL ABORTION BAN

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan celebrated the decision and said it belonged to the states. But once Ohioans voted resoundingly to protect reproductive rights, they changed their minds and now want to overrule voters by passing a national abortion ban at the federal level.

Andrew Tobias, Spectrum News: “All three of [the Republican Senate candidates] feel if they were to get to the Senate, that not only is it appropriate for the federal government to weigh in on [the issue of abortion], but also said they would vote to do so if they could.” 

Read more from Cleveland.com here. 

GROUNDHOG DAY: THE SEQUEL

Move aside, Bill Murray! Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan are starring in the new Groundhog Day remake about how – just like last year – no one in this field is fighting for Ohioans.

COMING SOON TO A DEBATE STAGE NEAR YOU

The Slugfest Showdown was so entertaining last month, that Spectrum News decided to host another debate. Mark your calendars for February 19th because Moreno, LaRose, and Dolan will all take the debate stage, again, and it’s sure to be another bloodbath. 

Get more information here. 

SLUGFEST COUNTDOWN

46 days left until this Slugfest comes to a head and the infighting just keeps getting worse. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Dolan Campaign Strategist: “Bernie Moreno has been caught shredding court documents… all in an effort to obscure the fact that he’s an ideological shapeshifter prone to blaming others for his own bad judgment.” 

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The Field Also Supports Eliminating The Affordable Care Act – Which Would Jeopardize Care For Millions of Ohioans

Columbus, OH – As Medicare drug price negotiations begin today, here is a reminder that Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan oppose efforts to lower prescription drug costs. The field also supports eliminating the Affordable Care Act, which would jeopardize care for 857,000 Ohioans and risk denying care to nearly 2 million Ohioans with a preexisting condition. 

“From wanting to overturn the Affordable Care Act to opposing efforts to lower drug costs, Bernie Moreno, Frank LaRose, and Matt Dolan are looking out for Big Pharma – not Ohioans,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith. “Ohioans can’t trust Moreno, LaRose, or Dolan to fight for them.”

What repealing the Inflation Reduction Act and halting Medicare negotiations would mean for Ohioans:

• Without the Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare would not be empowered to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices for Ohioans.

• Without the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month, Ohioans would be forced to pay hundreds of dollars for life-saving medication. 

• Without the Inflation Reduction Act, Ohioans on Medicare would be forced to pay higher prices on 43 common prescriptions that drug companies often overcharge for. 

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