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#OHSEN Primary Has Made Clear None of the Candidates Will Put Ohio First

March 18, 2024

Columbus, OH – After months of a “nasty,” “expensive,” “increasingly vicious” #OHSEN Slugfest, this “bloodbath” of a primary has made one thing clear: none of the candidates are fighting for Ohio.

“Everyone in this race has been more focused on fighting each other than fighting for Ohioans. No matter which untested rich guy makes it through this expensive slugfest, they’ll enter the general election damaged, with substantial baggage that makes clear they will not put Ohio first,” said ODP spokesperson Katie Smith.

What you need to know about the field:

• All three candidates support a national abortion ban which would overturn the will of Ohioans who overwhelmingly voted to protect reproductive rights last November. 

• All three candidates opposed the bipartisan border security bill – which was backed by border patrol agents – that would have helped secure the southern border and protect Ohioans by providing additional manpower at the border, expanding resources for border patrol agents, and cracking down on fentanyl coming from China and Mexico. 

• All three candidates “are willing to repeal” the Affordable Care Act.

• All three candidates are wealthy, out-of-touch, and using their massive personal fortunes, money from out-of-state billionaires, and parents’ cash to try to buy Ohio’s Senate seat. 

Three things to know about Bernie Moreno:

1. Bernie Moreno refused to pay his employees the overtime they’d earned. Moreno refused to pay his employees the overtime they’d earned, deliberately shredded evidence he was legally required to keep to get out of paying them, and was found liable for wage theft by a jury – forcing Moreno to pay over $400,000 in damages to his employees and settle over a dozen similar wage theft cases. After he got caught, Moreno repeatedly lied about the case and multiple fact checks found his excuses “false.”
2. Moreno is not the outsider he claims to be. Moreno exploited his “inside” political connections, hefty campaign contributions, and public board appointments for years to steer government contracts and taxpayer dollars towards his businesses – leading Moreno to ultimately cash out for “at least $5 million.” 
3. Moreno is out for himself, not Ohioans. From opposing the bipartisan border security bill that was backed by border patrol agents, opposing the existence of the minimum wage, “reject[ing]” bipartisanship, attacking Ohioans’ healthcare, and encouraging a government shutdown, Moreno has made it clear he won’t fight for Ohioans. 

Three things to know about Frank LaRose:

1. Frank LaRose earned the title of Ohio’s “biggest loser” after making himself the face of – and fumbling – August and November’s Issue 1 amendments. LaRose admitted the August amendment was “100%” about blocking the November abortion rights amendment and then colluded with out-of-state special interest groups to rewrite the November ballot language to be intentionally misleading.
2. LaRose moved the Secretary of State office – for the first time in two decades – to his campaign HQ, costing taxpayers $600,000. LaRose was later called out for possibly violating Ohio Ethics code by soliciting a campaign contribution from a taxpayer-funded building by “record[ing] a campaign interview…in the building where he is moving his taxpayer-funded state offices.” 
3. LaRose – whose day job is to oversee campaign finance compliance in Ohio – failed to meet his financial disclosure deadline, proving he doesn’t think the rules apply to him. After refusing to file his required financial disclosure for weeks, LaRose still failed to explain the “myster[ious]” and “highly unusual” six-figure loan he made to his campaign – despite previously claiming that he couldn’t bankroll his campaign and “mock[ing]” his opponents for their wealth. 

Three things to know about Matt Dolan:

1. Matt Dolan is an out-of-touch, multimillionaire-heir who wrote budgets that lowered his taxes but raised Ohioans’ by over $800 million. 
2. Since 2022, Dolan has spent more than $21 million of his family fortune funding his own political ambitions. Multimillionaire Dolan has relied on his personal and family fortune to fund his political campaigns. Financial records also show he’s used his wealth and connections to secure a massive low-interest loan from mega-bank Morgan Stanley – a sweetheart deal experts say is how the enormously wealthy avoid paying taxes.
3. Dolan supports a national abortion ban, which would overturn the will of the overwhelming majority of Ohioans who voted in favor of a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights. Dolan voted against Issue 1 and said defeating it was a “priority” and called the overturning of Roe v. Wade “exciting.”

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