#OHSEN Slugfest: Trump Causes Chaos, Matt Dolan in Hot Water, and LaRose’s Latest Scandal Costs Ohioans
September 8, 2023
Columbus, OH – It’s been another busy week in the Ohio Senate Slugfest. This week, Matt Dolan was caught red-handed criticizing Donald Trump and his primary candidates (Reminder: Dolan isn’t the only #OHSEN Republican to downplay Trump’s endorsement…) throwing more gasoline on this primary fire. Dolan is also in hot water after a new report shows he broke his pledge to financially support other GOP candidates through his leadership PAC and is instead funding his own campaign consultants. And no shocker here: Frank LaRose owes Ohioans answers after his latest scandal costs Ohioans.
Here’s what you missed this week in what has already been called one of the “messiest, “most expensive” and “bruising” primary battles in the country.
TRUMP CONTINUES TO CAUSE CHAOS IN #OHSEN SLUGFEST
Donald Trump’s looming presence continues to throw gasoline on the Ohio Senate slugfest fire. This week Matt Dolan was caught red-handed claiming whoever Trump endorses in the race will eventually lose while slamming LaRose and Moreno in the same breath.
But Dolan isn’t the only candidate who has been caught in Donald Trump’s ire. Frank LaRose also downplayed Donald Trump’s endorsement, saying “it doesn’t carry the same weight it used to” and was caught in hot water after making “kind remarks” about Trump-nemesis Mike Pence. LaRose refused to endorse the former President in 2016, 2020, and the first week of his Senate campaign.
Read more from The Messenger.
DOLAN BREAKS HIS PLEDGE TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORT OTHER GOP CANDIDATES – INSTEAD PAYS OFF HIS CONSULTANTS
It was a rough week for Matt Dolan as a new report revealed that he broke his pledge to use his leadership PAC to support other GOP candidates – instead funneling cash to his own campaign consultants. In fact, “more than one year after its launch, Ohio Matters has spent more money on Dolan’s campaign consultants than candidates.”
Details on Dolan’s “public relations gimmick” follow reports that Dolan is using a “cheap loan” with a too-good-to-be-true interest rate to bankroll his Senate campaign.
LAROSE OWES OHIOANS ANSWERS AFTER HIS LATEST SCANDAL
The Ohio Secretary of State Office has been in the same location for decades – until LaRose started running for U.S. Senate. Now a new report outlines how LaRose is moving the Ohio Secretary of State Office to the same building as his Senate Campaign headquarters, costing Ohio taxpayers over half a million dollars.
WCMH: “[LaRose’s] staffers say they considered three other buildings. NBC4 asked why none of those were chosen, but we have not heard back.”
As details about LaRose’s latest scandal are exposed, he must answer:
You claim the lease was set to expire – but was there no offer to renew it? Was the proposed rent less expensive than the overall cost of moving the entire Secretary of State’s office to a new building?
What was the process for deciding that you wanted to move the Secretary of State’s office from where it’s been for over 20 years? And given how many buildings are located in Columbus, how do you explain the fact that you decided to put it in the same building your campaign is working out of?
Will you release the full details of your monthly lease for your campaign? How much is your campaign paying per square foot compared to what the state is paying to be in the same building?
Was your campaign lease negotiated before or after you began to consider moving the Secretary of State’s office?
Have you put a process in place to ensure it is clear when you are at work as Secretary of State versus when you are at work campaigning for Senate? Will you commit now to release weekly schedules so Ohioans know how you’re spending your time?
Quote of the Week:
Matt Dolan: “But if you seek the endorsement of President Trump right now,” he said, “I don’t believe, A) I don’t think you can win, and B) I don’t think you’re acting in the best interest of all of you.”
That’s gonna leave a mark!
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