#OHSEN Slugfest: Buckeye Brawl Continues While LaRose’s Scandals Escalate
December 1, 2023
Columbus, OH – This week, the #OHSEN slugfest included *more* calls for resignation, *more* brawling, and as always, *more* scandals. Over two weeks past the deadline, LaRose still hasn’t filed his personal financial disclosure, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t found the time to pour gasoline on the infighting by picking fights with Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan! Buckle up, this brawl is just getting nastier…
Here’s what you missed in what has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country.
BERNIE MORENO’S GEORGE SANTOS PROBLEM
Ohioans are wondering: What did Bernie Moreno see in George Santos to max out to his campaign?
FRANK LAROSE DOESN’T THINK THE RULES APPLY TO HIM
🚨 COUNTDOWN: IT’S BEEN 17 DAYS SINCE LAROSE MISSED THE DEADLINE TO FILE HIS PERSONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 🚨
LaRose is making it crystal clear he doesn’t think the rules apply to him – again. After receiving an extension in August, LaRose missed the deadline to file his personal financial disclosure over two weeks ago…Read more from Mother Jones:
“As Ohio’s Secretary of State, Frank LaRose is responsible for overseeing state election laws. But as he seeks the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in 2024, LaRose has not complied with a federal law requiring US House and Senate candidates to submit information about their income and assets. And this has heightened a mystery about a $250,000 loan LaRose, who characterizes himself as an everyman of modest means, made to his campaign in September.”
AND WHILE HE BREAKS THE RULES… FRANK LAROSE ADMITS TO COLLUDING WITH OUT-OF-STATE SPECIAL INTERESTS TO BAN ABORTION
A must read Cleveland.com report this week exposed LaRose for colluding with special interest groups to ban abortion by rewriting the State Issue 1 ballot language to be intentionally misleading.
What they’re saying…Sandusky Register Editorial Board: “There’s nothing wrong with aligning with one cause against another or taking a stand unless you are the secretary of state, and it’s your job to ensure fair elections. In this instance, it was exactly LaRose’s job to assure fair elections, and he did exactly the opposite in helping one side gain an advantage in the 2023 general election.”
JABS THROWN WHILE MORENO AND DOLAN GET THROWN UNDER THE BUS
In an attempt to distract from his continuous cycle of scandals, LaRose poured more gasoline on the infighting by throwing Moreno and Dolan INTO the fire 🔥
We all know mega-millionaire Moreno can afford a nicer car than that…
Yikes! But that didn’t stop Moreno and Dolan’s teams from attacking one another…
Bernie Moreno at a campaign stop in Van Wert: “My two opponents have other important jobs and either they’re not going to do the job properly or they’re going to campaign. You can’t do both.”
LaRose Spokesperson on Moreno’s recent poll: “Just like a used car salesman to exaggerate the value of a product he’s trying to sell. I wouldn’t buy a Porsche from Bernie, and I’m certainly not buying his ‘poll.’ Ohio voters won’t buy his flip flops on immigration, President Trump, or abortion next March either.”
DID SOMEONE SAY SCANDAL? LAROSE MOVES INTO HIS NEW *COSTLY* SECRETARY OF STATE OFFICE
This week, LaRose officially moved into his new *costly* Secretary of State office. This marks the first time the SOS office has moved in nearly two decades. But at least it will be a smooth transition since LaRose is already familiar with the building… It is his campaign HQ after all!
Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal, which highlights how LaRose’s $600,000 move is being bankrolled by taxpayer dollars.
Ohio Capital Journal: “In addition, spokeswoman Amato told NBC4 that taxpayers aren’t funding the move, because fees from business filings are. That ignores the fact that tax funds would have to make up for any losses in filing fees and vice versa. Another question that received no response: If business filing fees are so plentiful, would LaRose support cutting them to help small businesses?”
#OHSEN FIELD CONTINUES TO BE DOGGED FOR SUPPORTING NATIONAL ABORTION BAN
Earlier this month, Ohioans made it clear that women’s health care decisions should be between them and their doctors – standing in stark opposition to the entire #OHSEN field who opposed Issue 1 and have already said they would overrule the majority of Ohioans by voting for a national ban.
Read more from The New York Times:
“Frank LaRose, the Ohio secretary of state, has supported a national ban and opposed exceptions for rape and incest — and also unsuccessfully campaigned against the abortion ballot question…
“Another contender, Bernie Moreno, a businessman seeking his first elected office, has said he supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the woman, but he told a reporter from Breitbart News last year that he did not. He has also expressed support for a 15-week federal ban…
“Matt Dolan, a state senator, opposed the state’s constitutional amendment this month… Mr. Dolan opposes a national ban, though he has said he is willing to reconsider that stance.”
SLUGFEST COUNTDOWN
109 days left until this Slugfest comes to a head and the infighting just keeps getting worse.
WHAT OHIOANS ARE READING ABOUT THIS SLUGFEST
Columbus Dispatch: How should the U.S. help Israel, Ukraine? Ohio Senate candidates clash on path forward
Cleveland.com: Secretary of State Frank LaRose says abortion opponents helped craft ballot language to aid defeat of Issue 1
Ironton Tribune: EDITORIAL: A pledge for more partisanship? No thanks
New York Times: Could Abortion Rights Rescue Red-State Democrats in the Senate?
Mother Jones: Ohio GOP Senate Candidate Frank LaRose Just Blew Another Deadline to Disclose His Finances
Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Sec. of State LaRose concedes he politicked out of building where he moved his state office
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Law Professor on LaRose’s Mystery $250,000 Self-Loan: “I would assert, not as an academic expert, but just as an American, that it’s unusual for someone in the middle class to have $250,000 lying around…Highly unusual.”
###