OHSen

REPORTING: Husted Took $116,892 From Les Wexner, Including A Max Donation Just A Few Weeks Before Blocking Epstein Files Release

MARIETTA, OHIO — This week, Ohioans in Marietta called out Senator Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 directly from Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. 

The rally in Marietta comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Recently, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator. 

Ohioans have also protested Husted in Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown, Westlake, Steubenville, and Lima, and Husted was called out for being a “pedophile protector” at an event in Norwalk. Husted is the only Senator up for re-election to take Wexner’s money, and has taken 10 times as much money from the Epstein co-conspirator than any other sitting Senator.

###

Axios: Ohio tops the nation in ACA enrollment drop

COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting shows that Ohio has seen the largest drop in Affordable Care Act enrollment of any state in the nation — with more than 160,000 Ohioans losing their coverage. Nearly 1 in 3 Ohioans who previously relied on the Affordable Care Act are no longer enrolled thanks to Jon Husted’s votes. 

Jon Husted voted nine times against lowering Ohioans’ health care premiums. After Husted’s votes, health care costs have spiked for an estimated 583,000 Ohioans, forcing tens of thousands of Ohioans to forgo coverage altogether.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“More than 160,000 Ohioans have lost Affordable Care Act coverage thanks to Jon Husted’s votes — the largest decline in coverage of any other state in the country. Jon Husted voted nine times to rip away health care from Ohio families, and in November, they will hold him accountable.” 

Read more about Husted’s Health Care Crisis:

• Jon Husted voted nine times against lowering premiums for Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, hundreds of thousands of Ohio families will see their health care costs spike.
  
• Ohio families are seeing their health care costs increase by an average of $804 a year because Jon Husted refused to extend the ACA tax credits.
  
• Instead of coming up with solutions to help lower costs, Jon Husted continues to blame hardworking Ohioans, telling them that they’re “not very experienced at navigating the real world,” and that they must fix their “work ethic” and simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.
  

###

FirstEnergy Hiking Rates in Toledo Thanks to Husted’s Corruption

TOLEDO, OHIO — This week, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, State Representative Erika White, and Ohioans getting crushed by rising utility bills called out Jon Husted for his key role in the FirstEnergy bribery scheme, the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio that delivered a billion dollar bailout to utilities.

The rally comes as Toledo Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, announced they are hiking rates for Toledo ratepayers. Jon Husted’s corruption involving the FirstEnergy scandal has contributed to electricity costs for Ohioans increasing by $663 a year.

“Jon Husted was at the center of the largest bribery scheme in the history of the state of Ohio. In particular, the citizens of Ohio and Toledo are going to have to pay more on their Toledo Edison bills because of the corruption that was orchestrated by Jon Husted,” said Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz. “That is an incredible statement if it weren’t so sad and weren’t so heartbreaking — that instead of serving the interests of Ohioans, Jon Husted has mocked them. He has blamed them for their problems when in reality it’s his own actions and policies that have caused Ohioans to be suffering the way they are.” 

“We are here today because Toledo Edison has announced another rate hike that will impact families who are already struggling. Ohio families deserve answers about Jon Husted’s corruption and why that is making them pay more for their energy bills,” said State Representative Erika White. “Jon Husted has a lot to answer for, and Ohioans here in Northwest Ohio deserve accountability, answers and deserve transparency. Your electric bill should not be a reminder for political corruption.”

As a reminder, Jon Husted remains at the center of the massive FirstEnergy scandal, with recent reporting from the Associated Press revealing Husted’s ties to be much deeper than previously known:

• When Husted was forced to testify, his testimony showed discrepancies from public documents and reporting, only raising more questions. 

• New evidence during the corruption trial revealed nine calls between Jon Husted and Mike Dowling in the months preceding a $4.3 million bribe to former Utilities Commission Chair Sam Randazzo. 

• Recent reporting revealed Jon Husted held secret meetings with Dowling and Jones, including with the “mastermind of Ohio’s largest public corruption scheme two days before scandal-ridden bribery legislation was introduced.”

• Neil Clark, a FirstEnergy lobbyist and co-defendant with former House Speaker Larry Householder, referred to Husted as FirstEnergy’s “golden boy.”

• Text messages between Husted, Dowling, and Jones reveal that the trio were in constant communication “before, during and after his campaign.” 

• Indicted FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said Husted was a “good friend of FirstEnergy” who was “highly engaged” and “fighting to the end” in support of the massive bail out.

• A dinner between Jon Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives at the Athletic Club of Columbus was a focal point of the criminal trial.

• Public records show that FirstEnergy — led by Jones and Dowling — funneled $1 million in dark money to a dark money group backing Husted in 2017, part of the same corrupt scheme that led to federal and state indictments.

###

REPORTING: ‘Husted has supported total abortion bans with zero exceptions for over 20 years’

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision that repealed Roe v. Wade and ripped away freedoms from millions of women in Ohio, Jon Husted remains deeply out of touch with Ohioans on reproductive rights. 

Jon Husted has spread dangerous misinformation, recently calling the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone “not safe” and is pushing to ban its use. Husted has also long backed abortion bans without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother.

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“Jon Husted supports banning abortion with no exceptions, including for the life of the mother, and has spread dangerous misinformation about FDA-approved medications. Ohioans have made clear that these deeply personal medical decisions belong with women and their doctors — not out of touch extremists like Jon Husted.” 

###

Husted continues to dodge questions about Iran deal and high costs for Ohioans

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a new vote today, Jon Husted has now officially voted ten times to support the expensive and unnecessary war in Iran, doubling down on a foreign conflict that has sent energy and food prices soaring for Ohioans.

Husted’s tenth vote in support of higher costs comes as he ran away from questions about the deal to end the war that has received “strong pushback” from senators in his own party. Husted claimed earlier this month that the military operation “went very well” while admitting the war he supported “has put a strain on Americans.”

Ohio Democratic Party Senior Communications Advisor Tony Wen released the following statement:

“For Jon Husted, screwing over Ohioans once isn’t enough. Husted has now voted ten times to support another foreign conflict in the Middle East that has sent energy and food prices skyrocketing in Ohio. Jon Husted couldn’t care less about lowering costs for Ohioans, and they will vote him out in November.” 

While Husted keeps voting to make everything more expensive, he also can’t help himself from insulting hardworking Ohioans struggling because of his votes:

• When asked what he was doing to address rising gas prices for his constituents, Husted responded: “What do you want me to do?” 

• When a truck driver asked about soaring diesel costs, Husted brushed him off and responded by asking if he was comfortable with Iran being a nuclear power. 

• When asked about the pain that Ohio families are feeling at the pump, Jon Husted’s campaign “declined to comment.”

• Jon Husted has claimed that he thinks the war is “good news for the global economy” and going “much better than anyone thought it would.”

• Husted promised that lower prices would be “returned” as soon as the U.S. was “done” with the war in Iran, even though experts have asserted that gas “won’t return to pre-war levels any time soon.”

• Husted argued that Ohioans getting crushed with skyrocketing prices just have to “remain strong,” as gas in Ohio “remains astronomically high.”

• Jon Husted continues to insult struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and consistently dismisses the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

###