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Columbus, Ohio — One year after being appointed to the United States Senate, Jon Husted’s record is clear: life is more expensive for Ohio families.

Over the last year, Husted has voted to drive up costs for health care, groceries, and utility bills, leaving families struggling. Meanwhile, Husted has repeatedly denied an affordability crisis exists at all — complaining that Ohioans’ “work ethic is broken” and lecturing families to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

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

“In just one year in the Senate, Jon Husted has made life more expensive for Ohioans — voting to cut health care, drive up premiums, and protect reckless tariffs hurting small businesses and farmers. He’s completely out of touch with the people of Ohio, and they’ll send him packing in November.”

Read more about Jon Husted’s year of higher costs:

• Husted has dismissed concerns from struggling Ohioans, claiming that he has helped lower grocery and gas prices and that affordability problems do not exist.

• Husted revealed he has no solutions to actually lower prices, suggesting that Ohioans should just “earn more” money to make ends meet.

• Husted insulted hardworking Ohioans, complaining that their “work ethic is broken.”

• Husted voted nine times against lowering health care costs, sending premiums soaring for more than half a million Ohioans.

• Husted called the cuts to health care “purposeful” and said he “love[s] doing that kind of stuff,” even as families, seniors, and rural communities across Ohio face losing life saving coverage.

• Husted has doubled down on his support for the reckless tariffs that are raising costs, saying that critics “are wrong”, they “haven’t affected the economy negatively,” and “the policies are working.”

• Ohioans are furious as electricity bills have doubled during Jon Husted’s first year in office. They are expected to increase even further in 2026.

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Columbus, Ohio — New reporting shows that Senator Jon Husted has taken at least $75,000 in campaign contributions from Centene, a company that was forced to pay the state of Ohio $88 million in damages for committing Medicaid fraud.

While Husted takes cash from big insurance companies, he has voted nine times against lowering health care premiums for Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, health care costs have skyrocketed for an estimated 583,000 Ohioans.

See For Yourself: 

Ohio Capital Journal: Husted took thousands from company that paid Ohio $88 million to settle Medicaid fraud allegations

• Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has taken at least $75,000 in campaign contributions from Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care provider in the United States. 

• Of that, more than $29,000 came after the company paid $88.3 million to settle allegations that it had fraudulently extracted tens of millions from Ohio Medicaid.

• Meanwhile, Husted has repeatedly voted against extending subsidies for 600,000 Ohioans who are now seeing their health insurance skyrocket. One of the reasons he has cited is fraudulent activity in the program during the coronavirus pandemic.

• When Centene paid the settlement, then-Lt. Gov. Husted was part of the administration that was in charge of the program that had allegedly been defrauded.

• The administration of Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine suspended contract negotiations with Centene for a few months in 2021. But taxpayer dollars flowed again after Centene hired an old friend of DeWine’s to lobby the officials on its behalf.

• Husted’s office didn’t respond to questions for this story — including whether he thinks it’s important to fight fraud.

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Columbus, Ohio — In a new interview today, Jon Husted blamed struggling Ohioans for the challenges they are facing, complaining that no one has a strong work ethic anymore.

LISTEN HERE:

Transcript: 

Senator Husted on struggling Ohioans: Our work ethic is broken. We don’t have the work ethic in this country that we once had.

This is part of a long trend of Senator Husted blaming hardworking Ohioans as they struggle with rising prices. 

• Husted has dismissed concerns from struggling Ohioans, claiming that he has helped lower grocery and gas prices and that affordability problems do not exist.

• Husted revealed he has no solutions to actually lower prices, suggesting that Ohioans should just “earn more” to make ends meet.

• Husted defended his friends and donors, complaining about people saying “rich people [are] selfish” while attempting to justify his record of delivering tax breaks to the rich.

• Husted claimed the affordability crisis only exists in “blue states,” dismissing the pain Ohio families are feeling every day.

• Husted voted nine times against lowering health care costs, sending premiums soaring for more than half a million Ohioans.

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

“Jon Husted couldn’t be more wrong. Ohioans are working harder than ever to make ends meet and deal with rising costs, but they’re being screwed by Jon Husted and politicians in Washington voting to make everything more expensive. Jon Husted is completely out of touch with what people in Ohio are actually going through.” 

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Columbus, Ohio — Jon Husted is under fire for starring in a fraudulent television ad that aired across Ohio claiming to highlight local small businesses, even though every business featured in the ad was located in Washington, D.C.

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

“Jon Husted wants Ohio small business owners to think he is on their side, but he couldn’t be bothered to visit a single Ohio small business to film his ad. While Senator Husted chases fake photo ops, his support for reckless tariffs is driving up costs across the state.”

See For Yourself:

TiffinOhio.net: Ohio Sen. Jon Husted promotes D.C. businesses in Ohio TV ad

• Ohio voters were told by Republican Sen. Jon Husted to support “local small businesses.” But the businesses featured in the ad were all in Washington, D.C.

• The ad aired on stations in Toledo, Columbus and Cleveland and featured Husted alongside three business owners discussing the importance of small businesses to their communities. The advertisement did not disclose that the businesses shown were located outside Ohio.

• One of the businesses shown in the ad was Cinder BBQ, a restaurant operating in Washington, D.C. The segment included footage of one of the restaurant’s owners speaking inside the business.

• Television airplay records show the ad aired on WTOL in Toledo, WBNS in Columbus and WKYC in Cleveland as of Oct. 22, 2025. At no point did the advertisement disclose the location of the businesses featured.

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Columbus, Ohio — In a new interview with WDTN, Jon Husted doubled down in support of the Administration’s military actions in Venezuela, praising the operation for helping the Venezuelan people and economy.

Meanwhile, at home, Husted has refused to help Ohioans struggling with skyrocketing health care premiums, grocery bills, and utility costs. Instead, he has dismissed the mounting affordability crisis and told Ohioans to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

WATCH HERE:

Transcript: 

Senator Husted: “To help support its economy, its government, the people of Venezuela, that’s an important role that America is playing right now, and creating that stability. It’s working with other countries in the region who have been very supportive of the United States’ action there.”

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

“Jon Husted cares more about an expensive and unnecessary intervention in Venezuela than the affordability crisis hurting Ohio families. While Ohioans struggle to afford everything from health care to groceries to their utility bills, Senator Husted’s only solution is for them to ‘earn more’ money.”

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