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Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes

Ohio Democrats Release Digital Ad Hammering Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer’s Extreme Abortion Agenda

Watch the new Digital Ad HERE

Columbus, OH — Today, the Ohio Democratic Party released a new digital ad “Dangerous” that outlines the extreme agenda of Ohio Supreme Court candidates Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer. Both candidates have been endorsed by Ohio Right to Life, which has made clear that they only endorse candidates who don’t support abortion in cases of rape or incest. The ad will run digitally statewide, and is backed by a six-figure buy. 

“Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer are too dangerous for Ohio. They have made their stances on abortion abudently clear: they’re ready to rip reproductive rights away from Ohio women, even in cases of rape or incest. Abortion rights are on the ballot this November, and we’re showing Ohioans just how dangerous DeWine and Fischer really are,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Both DeWine and Fischer have taken heat for their extreme abortion stances, from Fischer comparing abortion to slavery to DeWine saying that Ohioans don’t have extensive rights to due process under the Ohio Constitution to both candidates making their anti-choice opinions known as abortion lawsuits are set to reach the court as early as next year. 

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ICYMI: Cleveland.com Editorial: Three Ohio Justices Err in Revealing Views on Abortion Issues Likely to Come Before Them

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Cleveland.com editorial board today took the three Republican Supreme Court justices on the ballot this November to task for making their anti-choice opinions known as abortion lawsuits are set to reach the court as early as next year. The GOP justices have also been endorsed by Ohio Right to Life, which has made clear that they will not support candidates that support rape and incest exceptions to abortion bans. It’s just the latest reminder that abortion is on the ballot this November, and if the extreme Republicans on the court are all re-elected, Ohioans’ reproductive freedoms will be ripped away from them. 

“In a year when a flurry of abortion litigating and legislating was to be expected in Ohio, the decision by these three justices to share their personal abortion views in this way cannot help but further erode trust in the judiciary — and increase the perception that justice in Ohio is far from blind, fair and impartial,” writes the Cleveland.com editorial board. 

Read more from Cleveland.com HERE and below: 

  • In early March, with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade abortion ruling expected to fall that spring, three sitting Ohio Supreme Court justices — all of whom are on the ballot this year — answered a questionnaire from Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati on their legal philosophies and views on abortion, as well as other issues. 
  • Among the questions they answered were ones that bore on whether Roe v. Wade was rightly decided, when life begins and whether the Ohio Constitution includes any provision “intended to require the use of public funds for abortion.”
  • But Ohio Supreme Court Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, who is running for chief justice, and Pat Fischer and Pat DeWine, who are running for re-election, had no problem answering “Agree” to all three questions, although Kennedy annotated her Roe answer to note that Roe was (at that point) the law of the land. Pat DeWine’s annotation to that question said, “The text of the Constitution does not reference a right to abortion.” Fischer similarly wrote, “The right of privacy is not written in the text of the U.S. Constitution.”
  • None of them annotated their “Agree” to the question on life beginning at fertilization. On the issue of whether there’s an Ohio constitutional provision intended to require public funding of abortion, Kennedy wrote she knew of no such provision and Fischer that “there is no such text in the Ohio Constitution.” DeWine answered “Agree” without annotation.
  • Why is this significant? Because the Ohio Supreme Court is expected to take up important legal questions bearing on abortion soon. One such case was filed at the Ohio Supreme Court in June, after Roe was overturned and a judge allowed Ohio’s abortion “heartbeat” law to take effect.
  • That is, the justices’ answers on constitutional rights to abortion, to when human life begins and to Ohio constitutional provisions bearing on funding of abortions all could be relevant in this case — which will eventually find its way to the state high court — and in similar legal cases.
  • How can litigants expect a fair shake if three of the court’s current seven justices have offered their personal legal opinions already on these matters — without noting explicitly that these were their personal views and that they would set them aside to apply the law?
  • Arguably, three sitting Ohio Supreme Court candidates just offered their views on the substance of abortion matters likely to come before them.
  • In a year when a flurry of abortion litigating and legislating was to be expected in Ohio, the decision by these three justices to share their personal abortion views in this way cannot help but further erode trust in the judiciary — and increase the perception that justice in Ohio is far from blind, fair and impartial.

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ICYMI: ODP Veterans Caucus Chair Connie Pillich Pens Op-Ed Slamming J.R. Majewski for Lying About His Military Service

“J.R. Majewski is bad for Ohio. He’s bad for our country. And northwest Ohio voters deserve better.”

Columbus, OH —  In case you missed it, Ohio Democratic Party Veterans and Military Community Caucus Chair Connie Pillich penned an op-ed for the Sandusky Register that takes J.R. Majewski to task for lying about his military service. Pillich, a former Air Force Captain, points out how Majewski’s lies dishonor Ohio’s veterans and servicemembers and how he’s exaggerating his military service to score political points. 

“I’m a veteran myself, and the Ohio veterans I know are rightfully proud of their service. No veteran I know would exaggerate that service or lie to serve their own political interests. But J.R. Majewski chose to put politics over principles, and Ohio veterans are mad as hell,” wrote Veterans Caucus Chair Connie Pillich. 

Read Pillich’s full op-ed in the Sandusky Register here and below: 

  • Serving your country with honor is one of the most important things any one person can do. Lying about that service is one of the most despicable.

  • J.R. Majewski has lied about his military service, dishonoring the generations of Ohioans who have put on the uniform in service to their nation. And it’s yet another reminder to the voters of Ohio why Majewski belongs nowhere near the halls of Congress.

  • It was bad enough that J.R. Majewski was at the U.S. Capitol during the attack on January 6, paid for others to join him and then blamed law enforcement for what happened.

  • But now, the Associated Press has reported that J.R. misrepresented his service in Afghanistan, calling himself a combat veteran who deployed to Afghanistan but providing no evidence to back up his claims.

  • Then, it was uncovered that J.R. lied about why he wasn’t eligible to reenlist in the U.S. Air Force, claiming it was because of a ‘brawl,’ when in reality he was caught driving drunk and demoted.

  • J.R. Majewski is bad for Ohio. He’s bad for our country. And northwest Ohio voters deserve better.

  • And it is so odd: J.R. served his country. That’s all he ever needed to say. Instead, he chose to dishonor his fellow veterans by exaggerating his service and lying – all so he could get himself elected to political office.

  • I’m a veteran myself, and the Ohio veterans I know are rightfully proud of their service. No veteran I know would exaggerate that service or lie to serve their own political interests. 

  • But J.R. Majewski chose to put politics over principles, and Ohio veterans are mad as hell.

  • If he can’t muster the courage to tell the truth, he should drop out of the race. His actions don’t reflect the values of northwest Ohio, and they certainly don’t reflect the values of the U.S. military or our veteran community.

  • For most Ohio veterans, nothing’s more important than serving their country. For J.R., it seems, nothing’s more important than serving himself.

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Jon Husted Apparently Backs Kanye West After Antisemitic Tirade

Watch the full video HERE

Columbus, OH – Jon Husted has decided to side with Kanye West, apparently. After West went on an antisemitic tirade earlier this month, Husted then retweeted a Fox Business video in defense of West after J.P. Morgan Chase cut ties with him, claiming they did so because of his ‘political viewpoints,’ when in reality the bank had severed ties with West weeks earlier. The video claims that West is being discriminated against because of his political beliefs, when in reality West is being held accountable for spewing a number of antisemitic tropes, which we will not repeat, but can be found HERE. 

“Jon Husted is dangerously amplifying antisemitic rhetoric and defending the indefensible. Ohioans deserve leadership that brings people together, not one that excuses hate in search of political points. Husted should take his retweet down, and apologize immediately,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Vivek Ramaswamy, who is featured in the video defending West, served as an advisor to Husted in 2020. Watch his full interview HERE. 

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Ohio Republicans Are Coming for Abortion Rights

“If we’re not able to get everything we want to get done in lame duck, we will be right back on Jan. 1.” 

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Columbus Dispatch just outlined how anti-abortion activists are working behind the scenes to push Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban during lame duck session. And they’re confident they have Republican support to do so, with Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis telling the Dispatch: “Based upon my conversations with Huffman and Cupp I am convinced that abortion will be addressed during lame duck.”

While Republican leaders are trying to tamp down their anti-abortion agenda ahead of November’s election, it’s clear that they’re telling anti-abortion activists behind the scenes that they’re ready to do their bidding – pushing for a ban on abortion that starts at conception, with no exceptions for rape or incest, once the election is over. These are the same extremists who Mike DeWine promised just months ago that he would “go as far as we can” to rip away reproductive rights. 

“Twenty-one Republican legislators recently promised to ban abortion from the point of conception at an Oct. 5 anti-abortion rally at the Ohio Statehouse. And abortion opponents previously expressed optimism that 2022 was their year,” write Anna Staver and Jessie Balmert of the USA Today Network. 

“Make no mistake: Ohio Republicans are coming for abortion rights in Ohio and the only way we can stop them is by electing Democrats up and down the ballot,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more from the Dispatch here and below: 

  • Twenty-one Republican legislators recently promised to ban abortion from the point of conception at an Oct. 5 anti-abortion rally at the Ohio Statehouse. And abortion opponents previously expressed optimism that 2022 was their year: “We are going to accomplish our goal and our mission to end abortion in 2022,” Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis said in June, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

  • It’s also not clear what lines, if any, Gov. Mike DeWine will draw before signing another abortion ban. 

  • Kellie Copeland, executive director of Pro-Choice Ohio, said abortion rights advocates warned lawmakers that their restrictions would have consequences.

  • “If they’re saying that after nine years of deliberation, they are going to somehow craft clearer exceptions that will in any way prevent people from being harmed by their policies, they are either lying or revealing how truly incompetent they are when it comes to understanding the complexities of pregnancies,” Copeland said.

  • “The only way to protect Ohioans facing pregnancy complications, or the myriad of other nuanced and important reasons we may need access to abortion, is to not ban abortion in the first place.”

  • And Gonidakis says Ohio Right to Life is pushing for that in the final weeks of the legislative session, which are often called “lame duck.”

  • “Based upon my conversations with Huffman and Cupp I am convinced that abortion will be addressed during lame duck,” said Gonidakis, adding that he backs a comprehensive approach including DeWine’s proposals, improvements to adoption and more resources for children. “Ohio Right to Life will utilize all of its resources to ensure these topics are addressed.” 

  • “If we don’t get it done now,” Huffman said. “We will all be back here anyway.”

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