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COLUMBUS, OHIO — Ohio families and farmers are getting crushed, and Jon Husted is only making things worse. Thanks to the Husted-backed war in Iran, gas prices have hit $5 a gallon at some stations across Ohio and according to AAA, “Ohio currently has some of the highest gas prices in the country.”

This comes as diesel and fertilizer prices have also skyrocketed, putting even more strain on farmers already struggling to stay in business. According to a new survey, “70% of respondents say fertilizer is so expensive that they will not be able to buy all the fertilizer they need.”

Despite the damage, Jon Husted has said the war in the Middle East is going “much better than anyone thought it would” and is “good news for the global economy.” Husted also 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.

See For Yourself:

News 5 Cleveland: Gas prices hit $5 at some stations in Ohio

• Drivers are seeing prices at the pump climb again, and at some stations, gas is now topping $5 a gallon.

• News 5 found prices as high as $5.09 per gallon Thursday at some Northeast Ohio gas stations, up from $4.99 per gallon just one day earlier.

• According to AAA, Ohio currently has some of the highest gas prices in the country.

Cleveland.com: Ohio farmers hit with rising fertilizer, fuel costs

• It’s easy to notice the climbing cost of gas, our eyes popping at the nearly $5 per gallon price blaring from roadside signs.

• And that’s just for our cars. What if you relied on diesel for your livelihood?

• After tariffs from the Trump administration hurt farmers’ ability to sell their products abroad, they’re now paying more for fuel for their tractors and fertilizer for their crops, thanks to the war in Iran.

• The costs of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers have increased by about $200 per ton. So farmers may grow crops that require less fertilizer, use different kinds of fertilizer or just make do with smaller yields.

NBC 4 Columbus: Central Ohio gas prices shot up over $1 per gallon last week

• After several price hikes within a seven-day period, the average cost for a gallon of gasoline is now nearing $5.

• According to GasBuddy’s survey of 500 stations in and around Columbus, Ohio, gas prices surged by 99 cents per gallon last week, to average out at $4.92 per gallon. Sunday’s current price is now $1.14 per gallon higher than four weeks ago and a whopping $1.71 higher than this time one year ago.

• A driver with average midsize car and an approximate gas tank size of 15 gallons could pay around $17-to-$25 more to fill up each visit to a gas station than they would have this time one month and one year ago, respectively.

WLWT 5: Gas prices rise to over $5 per gallon in Greater Cincinnati

• Friday was another rough day for gas prices in the Greater Cincinnati area, with some towns now seeing prices per gallon above the $5 mark.

• The Marathon gas station on Kenwood Road had gas selling for $5.25 per gallon on Friday afternoon, above the national average of $4.39.

• In Ohio, the average is higher than the national mark, at $4.83.

• This year, experts say the ongoing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is preventing the flow of oil around the world and contributing to higher prices at the pump.

Axios: Ohio farmers face ’80s-style price squeeze

• Rising costs are squeezing Ohio’s largest industry, putting new and rising pressures on farmers statewide.

• Why it matters: Agriculture drives $124 billion of Ohio’s economy and supports one in eight jobs — so strain on farms can ripple into food prices and local economies.

• What they’re saying: Ryan Matthews, a spokesperson for the Ohio Farm Bureau, called food and agriculture “the backbone of our state” and said farmers today are navigating an economy reminiscent of the 1980s farm crisis.

• But rising fuel, shipping and packaging costs are squeezing those already tight profits.

• “I’m looking at those [fuel] bills, and they’re $700 instead of the usual $400,” he said. “Our containers have gone up about 30% over the last couple years.”

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Husted has voted five times to back expensive and unnecessary war

WCPO: ‘This is gonna break me down,’ Cincinnati drivers stunned as gas prices near $5 per gallon

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today marks 60 days of war in the Middle East that Jon Husted continues to fully support. Despite prices soaring for Ohio families, Husted has voted five times over the last two months to back the expensive and unnecessary foreign intervention.

Because of the Husted-backed war, Ohioans are being hit by soaring gas prices, and farmers are getting crushed by rising diesel and fertilizer costs, which will raise the price of groceries. But Husted has no problem sending more money overseas while costs skyrocket at home. Husted has said he thinks the war is “good news for the global economy” and going “much better than anyone thought it would.”

Husted also 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.

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

“For 60 days, Jon Husted has backed another endless war in the Middle East while Ohio families and farmers pay more for everything. It’s clear that Jon Husted has no interest in lowering costs — just sending more money for war overseas while lecturing hardworking Ohioans to simply earn more.” 

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ICYMI from ASSOCIATED PRESS: Republicans plan big spending to keep Ohio’s Senate seat. A bribery scandal adds to their challenges

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, on National Honesty Day, will Jon Husted finally tell the truth about his role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history? 

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

• Previous reporting has already uncovered phone calls, text messages, and secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives, and Husted was forced to testify for the defense in a state criminal trial.

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

• This political headache isn’t going away for Husted anytime soon, as the United States Supreme Court upheld the conviction of one of Jon Husted’s top allies just this week.

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

“On National Honesty Day, Ohioans are calling on Jon Husted to come clean about his central role in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history that’s costing families thousands of dollars more on their utility bills. It seems every week more details come to light about Jon Husted’s deep ties to this massive corruption scheme. Ohioans deserve accountability and answers about how deep his involvement goes.”

As a reminder, Jon Husted played a central role “running the show” in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history alongside Dowling and Jones:

• New evidence during the 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. 

• New 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.

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Husted: “People living in poverty are just not very, they’re not very experienced at navigating the real world”

CINCINNATI, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Cincinnati gathered for the final stop of Husted’s Real World Tour, calling out Jon Husted for his out of touch attacks on hardworking families.

Ohioans are already struggling with high grocery and utility prices due to Jon Husted’s corruption, and the skyrocketing cost of gas is forcing families to cut back even more. Instead of working to lower costs, Jon Husted has insulted struggling Ohioans as “not very experienced at navigating the real world” and dismissed the mounting affordability crisis by telling Ohioans to fix their “work ethic” and to simply “earn more” money to make ends meet.

“For people in this district in Cincinnati, they go to work. They work as hard as they can. Jon Husted would say they just don’t understand the real world. That’s what he said about Ohioans who are struggling to get by — that maybe if they had a different work ethic, they would be able to get ahead,” said Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (District 24 — Cincinnati). “Jon Husted does not understand what most Ohioans are going through. Jon Husted was involved in one of the largest bribery scandals in Ohio’s history. He believes that taxpayer dollars, your dollars, should go to bail out billion dollar corporations to make life easier for millionaires and billionaires.”

“I always try to take the high road. But I was absolutely stunned when Jon Husted said people living in poverty are ‘just not very experienced at navigating the real world.’ He said if you can’t afford groceries, just ‘earn more.’ He even said working families have a ‘broken’ work ethic. What an insult to our hardworking Ohio families. Jon Husted — working people understand how the world works,” said Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney.

“The increase in utilities are my main concern. In the past we were able to manage pretty well. However, this winter was pretty brutal for us, as I am sure it was for many of you, and the increase in cost has really put a strain on our finances,” said Jackie Robbins, a Cincinnati native and retired Ohioan. “This brings me to Mr. Husted who seems to have gone out of his way to make life harder for working families in Ohio by leading the charge to give utility companies a billion dollar taxpayer bailout that contributed to our electric bills skyrocketing by more than $600 annually. And believe me I have felt the pain of this increase.”

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U.S. Supreme Court upholds the conviction of top Jon Husted ally

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld the conviction of one of Jon Husted’s top allies in the FirstEnergy corruption scheme — the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history — proving this political headache isn’t going away for Husted anytime soon.

As a reminder, Jon Husted remains at the center of the massive scandal, with new reporting from the Associated Press revealing Husted’s ties to be much deeper than previously known. Previous reporting has already uncovered phone calls, text messages, and secret meetings between Husted and the indicted FirstEnergy executives, and Husted was forced to testify for the defense in a state criminal trial. 

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

“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is another reminder that Jon Husted remains at the center of the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history, and it’s costing Ohioans thousands of dollars more on their utility bills. As more details come to light about Jon Husted’s deep ties to the corruption scheme, Ohioans deserve accountability and answers about how deep his involvement goes.” 

READ MORE: 

Associated Press: Republicans plan big spending to keep Ohio’s Senate seat. A bribery scandal adds to their challenges

• As he seeks to retain his U.S. Senate seat this fall, Ohio Republican Jon Husted has been unable to escape the shadow of a $60 million bribery scandal that has roiled state politics for more than five years.

• Husted was recently called to testify as a defense witness in the related criminal trial of two former energy executives, testimony he might have to reprise after a hung jury led to a mistrial in the case in March. 

• A judge in Akron scheduled the retrial to begin Sept. 28, meaning Husted could be back on the witness stand a week before early voting begins for the November elections.

• Husted calendars that came to light during the recent trial involving executives for the utility, Akron-based FirstEnergy, showed a number of additional meetings or phone calls that he had with former CEO Chuck Jones, with the state’s former top utility regulator, who has since died, and with then-Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.

• The interactions noted in Husted’s calendars were around the time the bailout bill was being developed and passed. Evidence presented in various cases showed Jones and Dowling discussing a push by Husted for additional subsidies in the legislation.

• A longtime Ohio lobbyist told federal agents that FirstEnergy and FirstEnergy Solutions, the subsidiary that owned the nuclear power plants helped by the bailout, funneled dark money to nonprofits that benefited Husted and Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican.

• According to the notes from his Department of Justice interview obtained by The Associated Press and not previously reported, lobbyist Neil Clark identified one of the groups as Freedom Frontier. That was the very group that received a $1 million contribution in 2017 marked internally by FirstEnergy as “Husted campaign.”

• Internal FirstEnergy communications from 2017 and 2018, which is evidence in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, include discussions involving Jones, Dowling and others about attending Husted events as far back as 2016. They also reflect Dowling’s concerns about dark money contributions becoming public.

• Jones and Dowling also discussed strategies to contribute under alternate names. In July 2018, for instance, as the two were planning a DeWine-Husted fundraiser in Naples, Florida, they discussed contributing under one name while covering event costs under another — so there would be “no cost billed to (the) campaign.”

• Husted declined a request for further comment about the details that have emerged as the various cases surrounding the bribery scandal play out.

As a reminder, Jon Husted played a central role “running the show” in the largest bribery scandal in Ohio history alongside Dowling and Jones:

• New evidence during the 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. 

• New 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.

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