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COLUMBUS, OHIO — New bombshell reporting reveals that Jon Husted’s record of protecting pedophiles and predators dates back more than twenty years, when, as Ohio Speaker of the House, he gutted legislation to help survivors of sexual abuse hold their abusers accountable.

The new revelation is the latest in a disturbing pattern of Jon Husted surrounding himself with predators and protecting abusers: 

• Jon Husted’s campaign chair in Ohio’s largest county was forced to resign after it was revealed he served jail time for committing sexual misconduct with a minor.

• Jon Husted is still proudly touting the endorsement of State Representative Rodney Creech, who has been accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor relative, while his current Sandusky County campaign chair also came under fire for talking to young girls about their sex lives.

• Jon Husted has been under fire 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.

Read more:

American Journal News: Claims Jon Husted protected sexual abusers date back more than 20 years

• In 2006, when he was leading the Ohio House of Representatives, Husted, who is now running for reelection to the U.S. Senate, has come under fire recently for accepting donations from a Jeffrey Epstein associate and having a county campaign chair who served jail time for alleged misconduct with a minor. Each of these stories has fueled a narrative that Husted is tolerant and even protective of sexual abusers.

• The Ohio Senate passed SB 17, known as the clergy abuse bill, in March 2006. The legislation was led by Democratic state Sen. Teresa Fedor as a response to the Catholic clergy abuse scandal. It sought to enact several reforms, including requiring clergy (of all religions) to report child abuse committed by their colleagues, expanding the legal definition of sexual battery to cover clergy who sexually exploit minors in their congregations, and creating a one-year civil window for victims to seek damages for offenses that happened outside the 35-year statute of limitations.

• The Catholic Conference of Ohio, which represents the state’s bishops, lobbied the state House to water down the bill. The group specifically took issue with the one-year civil window provision, arguing that the church could not reasonably defend itself against older allegations.

• Husted, who is a Roman Catholic, was serving as House speaker at the time. He oversaw a process by which the civil window provision was stripped from the bill and replaced with a plan to create an online registry of clergy members found liable of sexual abuse in civil court.

• Barbara Blaine, who started an advocacy group for survivors of priest abuse, told the Columbus Dispatch that she felt betrayed by Husted and accused him of caving to pressure from the Catholic Conference of Ohio.

• On the day the House voted on the weakened SB 17, survivors lined the halls of the state Capitol, each one holding an image of themselves at the age when they were abused. Several Republican lawmakers reportedly entered the chamber through side doors to avoid confronting the angry victims.

• This was not the first time Husted used his position to limit the ability of abuse survivors to seek justice. In 2004, he voted for a tort reform law that capped noneconomic damages for sexual abuse plaintiffs at $250,000.

• The Ohio Capital Journal wrote 2021 that the law had the effect of “stripping child rape victims of millions of dollars in legal damages.”

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — New reporting from Spectrum News shows that Jon Husted led the charge to bring a record number of “power-hungry” data centers to Ohio that have sent utility rates skyrocketing. Now, three months before an election, Husted is pretending he cares about protecting families from higher electricity bills.

WATCH:

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

“Jon Husted is shamelessly running away from his record of jacking up Ohioans’ utility rates and delivering billions in sweetheart tax deals to out-of-state corporations building data centers in the state. It won’t work because Ohioans know the truth, and they will hold him accountable in November.”

See for yourself: 

Spectrum News: As voters turn on data centers, Husted pushes new ratepayer protections

• After taking a leading role in trying to attract data centers to Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, has introduced legislation to protect ratepayers from the higher electric rates that data centers can cause.

• As Ohio’s Lieutenant Gov. from 2019 to 2025, Husted had championed new data centers to power artificial intelligence.

• In 2019, for example, he pushed for a deal giving Google $43.5 million in state tax incentives and a 15-year abatement on local property taxes in exchange for the tech company building a $600 million data center in central Ohio.

• At the time Husted argued the economic returns would outweigh the cost, writing in a statement: “Ohio is establishing itself as a premier destination for technology investment, and it further strengthens our case that Ohio is becoming the tech capital of the Midwest.”

• Ohio currently has 240 data centers, tying with Illinois for the fifth most in the country.

• However, that growth has come with a cost. Data centers have contributed to a 175% increase in Ohio’s residential electricity rates since 2005, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, rising about 1.8 times faster than the national rate and 2.5 times faster than inflation.

• Widespread anger over soaring electric bills has fueled a backlash to Ohio’s data center boom.

Read more about how Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio: 

• Jon Husted played such a large role in bringing data centers to Ohio, the editor of Cleveland.com referred to Husted as “the face of data centers.”

• When he was Lt. Governor, Husted led the charge to give billions in out-of-control tax breaks to out-of-state corporations building data centers in Ohio. 

• Because of Husted’s efforts, Ohioans have seen their utility bills skyrocket, with Ohio seeing the second largest utility rate increase in the country over the last year.

• According to the Plain Dealer, Husted was “a data center’s best friend” and “spent years rolling out the red carpet” for these massive corporations to come to Ohio. 

• Now, three months away from an election, Husted is “suddenly positioning himself as the guy who’s going to rein them in.”

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Husted was called “The Face Of Data Centers” and led the charge to hand out billions in tax breaks

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a shocking new interview, Jon Husted blamed hardworking Ohioans for utility rate increases caused by the record number of data centers that he brought to Ohio.

WATCH:

Transcript:

Jon Husted: But we just have to realize, you know, we’re in this world in which we-we’ve created the demand. We, the people, have created the demand for these data centers because we use all of these digital products that it processes, and if we don’t want them, then don’t use them. I mean, you can go back to the bunny ear antenna on your TV — you don’t need a data center. But if you’re connected to a wire, you’re using the data center. So, understand, like, when we look in the mirror, we are the problem.

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

“It’s absolutely disgraceful that Jon Husted is blaming hardworking Ohioans for their skyrocketing electricity bills caused by the record number of data centers that he helped bring to the state. Jon Husted could not be more out of touch with the people of Ohio, and they will hold him accountable in November.” 

Read more about how Jon Husted led the charge to bring data centers to Ohio: 

• Jon Husted played such a large role in bringing data centers to Ohio, the editor of Cleveland.com referred to Husted as “the face of data centers.”

• When he was Lt. Governor, Husted led the charge to give billions in out-of-control tax breaks to out-of-state corporations building data centers in Ohio. 

• Because of Husted’s efforts, Ohioans have seen their utility bills skyrocket, with Ohio seeing the second largest utility rate increase in the country over the last year.

• According to the Plain Dealer, Husted was “a data center’s best friend” and “spent years rolling out the red carpet” for these massive corporations to come to Ohio. 

• Now, three months away from an election, Husted is “suddenly positioning himself as the guy who’s going to rein them in.”

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — As sweeping new tariffs take effect, threatening to send costs even higher for Ohio farmers, small businesses, and families, Jon Husted is nowhere to be found.  

Jon Husted has voted three separate times to block efforts to rein in the tariffs that are driving up costs and closing off markets. Husted has also repeatedly doubled down in support of the tariffs, arguing that critics “are wrong,” that they “haven’t affected the economy negatively,” and that “the policies are working.”

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

“Jon Husted is still backing the reckless tariffs that are driving up costs and crushing Ohio farmers and small businesses. Ohioans across the state are getting hit with higher prices, but they won’t get any help from Husted, who would rather lecture them than actually fight to lower costs.” 

Jon Husted’s tariffs are driving up costs for Ohio families, farmers, and small businesses:

• Jon Husted voted three separate times to block efforts reining in the reckless tariffs that are driving up costs.

• Husted dismissed the pain that Ohioans are feeling due to the tariffs, saying “you don’t hear from the ones that love it.”

• 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.”The Husted-backed tariffs are crushing Ohio family farms, threatening many with “risk of foreclosure and forced auction.”

• In 2025 alone, Ohio farmers saw a massive 74% loss in sales to China, while farm bankruptcies rose 46% nationwide. 

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Meanwhile, gas prices have skyrocketed again in Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a new interview with CNN this week, Jon Husted claimed he wants the Iran “war to end” and for “gas prices to come down.” However, Husted’s actions don’t match his words.

When given another opportunity to vote to end the war, Husted officially voted for the twelfth time to support the expensive and unnecessary conflict that has sent energy and food prices soaring for Ohioans. Nationally, gas prices reached an average of $4 a gallon after continued attacks in Iran. 

WATCH: 

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

“Jon Husted claims that he wants the Iran war to end, but just voted for the twelfth time to support the endless conflict in the Middle East. Gas prices are surging again thanks to the Husted-backed war in Iran, and Ohio families are once again being forced to pay the price.”

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

• Husted claimed earlier this month that the military operation “went very well” while admitting the war he supported “has put a strain on Americans.”

• When asked recently if he was okay with not knowing how long the war will last or how much taxpayer dollars will be spent, Husted replied, “it’s not really up to us.”

• 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. 

• 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.”

• 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.

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