Category: News

Columbus, Ohio – Vivek Ramaswamy’s press conference to roll out his latest policy scam didn’t quite go as planned. Ohioans are reading all about Ramaswamy’s “rage-baiting” press conference full of “Republicans blaming other Republicans.” If that wasn’t bad enough, reporting revealed Ramaswamy’s running mate, Senate President Rob McColley, voted to dissolve a key panel in charge of Medicaid oversight.

“Vivek Ramaswamy’s desperate attempt to distract from calling Medicaid and Medicare ‘mistakes’ was an embarrassing failure,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Despite Ramaswamy working overtime to pretend he cares about Medicaid fraud, his own running mate dismantled the Medicaid Oversight Committee in Ohio’s corrupt Statehouse. Ohioans know that Vivek Ramaswamy is a scam artist who is only out for himself.” 

Here’s what Ohioans are reading about Ramaswamy’s rollout of his latest scam:

Cleveland.com: Ohio Republicans are rage-baiting over Medicaid fraud, but they’ve run the program since 2011

• There’s nothing quite like watching politicians rage about a problem they created.

• Vivek Ramaswamy and a chorus of Ohio Republicans took to the stage to sound the alarm about Medicaid fraud, leaning heavily on a report claiming that Medicaid payments were flowing through clusters of home health care companies operating out of the same Columbus addresses.

• But if there is fraud, taxpayers should be the ones who are outraged, and that outrage should be directed at the Republicans on stage Tuesday.

• “If there’s Medicaid fraud, it is 100 percent default of the Republican elected leaders,” who Quinn said have been in charge of the state for 16 years, run the Medicaid office and send out the checks. “So for them to stand there and make a political issue out of it — it’s their fault. This is their scandal. If it’s a scandal.”

TiffinOhio.Net: Ramaswamy vows Medicaid fraud crackdown, but his running mate’s budget killed Ohio oversight panel

• Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy declared the fight against Medicaid fraud his “absolute top priority” at a Columbus news conference Tuesday — even as the running mate standing beside him helped engineer the dissolution of the legislative panel charged with watching over the program.

• At the heart of the story is a contradiction the AP laid out plainly: Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, held key decision-making power over the state budget that last year eliminated Ohio’s Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, known as JMOC.

• The bipartisan panel — five senators and five representatives — had served as a single legislative checkpoint on Medicaid since 2014. 

• State Rep. Jennifer Gross, a Republican from West Chester who served on JMOC and chairs the House Medicaid Committee, told the AP on Tuesday that the panel could have helped accomplish exactly the fraud-fighting goals that Vance and Ramaswamy are now promoting.

Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Republicans blame other Ohio Republicans for Medicaid fraud

• Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy wants to overhaul the state Medicaid system to combat unproven allegations of fraud, as GOP leaders blame Gov. Mike DeWine for a lack of oversight.

• After the right wing news outlet The Daily Wire published a story alleging rampant fraud, Ramaswamy has announced his plans to fight the not-yet-proven abuse.

What they’re saying online: 

• @RachelCoyleOhio: Ohio Republicans are rage-baiting over Medicaid fraud, but they’ve run the program since 2011. 

• @jbalmert: Ramaswamy running mate @Rob_McColley says Ohio needs leadership to “tackle the crisis of Medicaid fraud head on.” McColley is Ohio senate president.

• @RandyHeyyy: “Let us fix the problem we created.”

• @darreldrowland: GOP rep contests Medicaid fraud narrative by GOP leaders, noting they killed oversight panel. “I believe that if we had kept JMOC it always could have been something that we kept in place that could have morphed into a DOGE Ohio, an Ohio Medicaid DOGE”

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The post Vivek Ramaswamy Slammed for “Rage Baiting” Press Conference Full of “Republicans Blaming Republicans”  appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — In case you missed it, Ohioans in Youngstown 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 Youngstown comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Last week, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator.

Ohioans have also protested Husted outside his Columbus and Toledo offices, 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.

See For Yourself:

WMFJ: Youngstown protest targets U.S. Sen Husted over Epstein vote

• The Ohio Democratic Party is accusing U.S. Sen. Jon Husted of helping block the release of files connected to now deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pointing to a Senate vote and campaign donations tied to billionaire businessman Les Wexner.

• Democratic activists gathered in Youngstown at Wick Park Monday with signs reading “Vote Husted out,” “Husted is busted,” and “Pedophile protector,” claiming the senator voted against releasing the Epstein files weeks before accepting donations connected to Wexner, who has faced scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein.

• The protest centers around a September 2025 Senate vote in which Husted rejected an amendment that would have directed the Department of Justice to release files tied to Epstein.

• “That initial vote sent the wrong message to society, and it’s really more than a partisan issue. It’s an issue of ethics and morality,” Maria Pappas, Vice Chair of the Mahoning County Democratic Party said.

• Activists also pointed to campaign donations from Wexner made around the same time as the September vote.

Youngstown Vindicator: Local Dems criticize Husted over Wexner contributions

• A group of local Democrats criticized Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted for taking more than $116,000 from billionaire Les Wexner, who had a longtime relationship with notorious child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

• At a Monday news conference at Wick Park Pavilion, organized by the Ohio Democratic Party, retired educators Maria Pappas of Poland — who is also the Mahoning County Democratic Party’s vice chairwoman — and Donna Zielinski of Niles said they had serious concerns about Husted’s judgment because he took the money from Wexner.

• Pappas and Zielinski criticized Husted for initially not voting to release the Epstein files. Husted voted Sept. 10 against an attempt by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York senator, to attach an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to release the Epstein files.

• Husted is the only incumbent senator on the ballot this year who took Wexner’s money.

• Zielinski said: “My objection is to how Husted handled the files,” and as an educator she was responsible for reporting any child abuse.

• She said: “Why are politicians immune to that?”

• Pappas said Husted exercised “bad judgment” by taking Wexner’s money and “we need those in leadership roles to lead by example.”

• Pappas said: “You can judge a nation by how it treats its most-vulnerable citizens – children, underaged teens, the elderly, the handicapped. This is way bigger than the Epstein files because the Big Beautiful Bill attacks all of those vulnerable populations” and Husted voted for that.

• While Les Wexner hasn’t been charged criminally for his relationship with Epstein, he is named as a co-conspirator in the FBI’s sex trafficking investigation into Epstein.

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The post ICYMI: Ohioans Call Out Jon Husted For Taking More Than $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Half a million Ohioans could lose Medicaid coverage in next decade

COLUMBUS, OH – According to reporting, “recent cuts in funding from Ohio’s Medicaid budget will force more than a half a million Ohioans off the program in the next decade and threaten the closure of 31 hospitals and clinics in Ohio.” 

Reminder: Ohio Republicans are responsible for ripping health care away from Ohio families so they can pay for more tax breaks for billionaires and corporate special interests. 

• In the Senate, Jon Husted has voted 9 times to increase health care premiums on Ohio families. Because of Husted’s votes, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans will see their health care costs rise over $800 a year.
• While Ohioans “decry” Ohio Republicans’ votes in Congress to rip health care – and food assistance – from Ohio families, politicians like Mike Turner couldn’t be bothered to comment.

Read more HERE from Statehouse News Bureau on how Republicans’ health care cuts are not only devastating for the millions of Ohioans who rely on Medicaid, but also “will increase stress on emergency rooms, and rural patients will have to travel to get medical care.”

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The post ICYMI: New Report Says 31 Ohio Hospitals, Clinics and Providers Are At Risk Of Closing appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Site features Click’s own campaign ad endorsing House Bill 6 and his official campaign website still calling the law “a necessary investment” as recently as this month.

TIFFIN, OHIO — The Seneca County Democratic Party today launched GaryClickFacts.com, a public-records site documenting State Representative Gary Click’s sustained public defense of House Bill 6 — the 2019 utility bailout at the center of what federal prosecutors have called the largest public-corruption scandal in Ohio history.

The site presents two pieces of documentary evidence:

• A September 2019 sponsored Facebook ad, paid for by Click’s campaign committee, endorsing HB 6 and tagging then-House Speaker Larry Householder — who is now serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for the $60 million bribery scheme that passed the law.
• An archived capture of Click’s official campaign website from May 2026 — six years into his time in office — still describing HB 6 as “a necessary investment, providing stability by preserving nuclear energy in Ohio.”

Click removed the HB 6 endorsement from his campaign website shortly after the archive was captured. He issued no public statement, no apology, and no return of the 2019 ad spending.

Ohio ratepayers have paid more than $500 million in HB 6 coal-plant subsidies between 2020 and August 2025, according to the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel and Common Cause Ohio. 

“We built GaryClickFacts.com because voters in Seneca and Sandusky Counties deserve to see the record themselves,” said Gina Grandillo, Chair of the Seneca County Democratic Party. “Every claim on the site links back to a primary source — Gary Click’s own ad, his own campaign website, and court records that are matters of public knowledge. We’re not asking voters to take our word for anything. We’re asking them to look at the documents.”

Grandillo added: “Gary Click spent his own campaign money defending House Bill 6 before he was elected. He kept defending it on his campaign website for six years after he was elected — through Larry Householder’s arrest, through Householder’s twenty-year sentence, through the federal indictment of FirstEnergy’s executives. He scrubbed his website only when it became politically inconvenient. That’s not a man who changed his mind. That’s a man who got caught.”

The site is live now at garyclickfacts.com.

The 88th Ohio House District covers all of Seneca and Sandusky Counties, including Tiffin, Fremont, Clyde, Green Springs, and surrounding communities. Click narrowly survived a “brutal” Republican primary challenge from Tiffin businessman Eric Watson on May 5, 2026, winning 52–48 percent and losing Seneca County by approximately 8.5 points.  

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Columbus, Ohio – Desperate to hide the fact that he’s on video calling Medicaid a “mistake,” Vivek Ramaswamy unveiled his latest scam yesterday where he claimed he’d fight Medicaid fraud while standing with the very politicians who have been running Ohio for nearly two decades. But in a damning new report from the Associated Press, it was revealed that Ramaswamy’s running mate, State Senate President Rob McColley, was a key architect of a state budget that dissolved the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee.

The Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee was charged with watching over Medicaid and served as a single point of contact between the legislature and the Medicaid system. It was quietly dissolved through a last minute provision in the state budget that McColley had significant influence over. Even Republican State Representative Jennifer Gross, who was at Ramaswamy’s Tuesday press conference, said it could’ve helped fight fraud.

“Ohioans know Vivek Ramaswamy thinks Medicaid is a mistake. His pathetic attempt at claiming he will fight Medicaid fraud while his own running mate dismantled the Medicaid Oversight Committee is proof of yet another Ramaswamy scam,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. “Ohioans can’t trust a word Vivek Ramaswamy says because he only cares about himself.”

READ: Vance takes his fight against fraud to red Ohio, muddying waters for GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy

• Vice President JD Vance’s decision to extend his fight against Medicaid fraud beyond Democratic states to his red home state of Ohio has set off a scramble among the state’s Republicans — including his close ally Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s nominee for governor.

• A common theme at Ramaswamy’s news conference was the past failings of the state’s Department of Medicaid, overseen by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine for the past seven years. The criticism was leveled not only by Ramaswamy, but by sitting Republican officeholders who have held sway over Ohio’s existing checks and balances of the program for years.

• Asked to what extent the ruling GOP establishment that has controlled government for more than 15 years should be held accountable for failing to catch more Medicaid fraud, Ramaswamy said he wouldn’t point fingers. “I’m not playing that game, OK?”

• Ramaswamy’s running mate, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, held key decision-making power over the state budget that last year eliminated Ohio’s Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee, which was charged with watching over Medicaid, a joint federal-state healthcare program that covers more than a quarter of Ohio residents. The panel was investigating contracts with Gainwell, the nation’s largest processor of Medicaid claims, at the time.

• State Rep. Jennifer Gross, a Republican who served on the committee, said Tuesday that the panel could have helped accomplish Vance’s and Ramaswamy’s fraud-fighting goals.

• “I believe that if we had kept JMOC it always could have been something that we kept in place that could have morphed into a DOGE Ohio, an Ohio Medicaid DOGE,” she said.

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The post Associated Press: Ramaswamy Running Mate Voted to Dissolve Medicaid Oversight Committee   appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Husted to trucker getting crushed by diesel prices: “What do you think about Iran being a nuclear power?”

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In two new interviews, Jon Husted dismissed concerns from Ohioans getting crushed by skyrocketing gas prices because of the war in Iran he supports: 

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

WATCH HERE:

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

“Jon Husted could not be more out of touch with Ohioans who are getting crushed by soaring gas and diesel prices because of the endless war he supports. Instead of actually working to lower costs, Husted is backing more money for war overseas while insulting his constituents and lecturing Ohioans to work harder.”

The Husted-backed war in Iran is crushing Ohio families and farmers:

• 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.

• Jon Husted has voted eight times to continue the war in Iran while costs continue to skyrocket.

• 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.”

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

• 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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The post Jon Husted to Ohioans Struggling With Gas Prices: “What Do You Want Me To Do?” appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

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

Husted Continues to Dodge Questions From Ohioans Who Deserve Accountability

YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO — Today, Ohioans in Youngstown 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 Youngstown comes as Husted continues to dodge questions and accountability after voting against the release of the Epstein files. Last week, Husted ran away from a reporter when asked why he accepted money from an Epstein co-conspirator. 

Ohioans have also protested Husted outside his Columbus and Toledo offices, 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.

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The post Ohioans in Youngstown Call Out Jon Husted For Taking More Than $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Husted continues dodging basic questions that Ohioans deserve answered

COLUMBUS, OHIO — In a new interview, Jon Husted was asked why he took more than $116,000 directly from Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Les Wexner, including a maximum donation just a few weeks before he voted to block the release of the Epstein files. Instead of answering, Husted ran away. 

WATCH HERE:

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

“It’s no surprise that Jon Husted literally ran away when asked why he took more $116,000 from an Epstein co-conspirator, including a maximum legal donation just weeks before voting against releasing the Epstein files. Ohioans deserve answers about why Husted took the money, voted to protect his billionaire donor, and continues to run away from accountability.”

As a reminder, Jon 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 as any other sitting Senator. Wexner’s name appears in the released Epstein files more than 4,000 times.

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The post NEW INTERVIEW: Jon Husted Runs Away When Asked Why He Took Over  $116k From Epstein Co-Conspirator appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

COLUMBUS, OH – New reporting is further detailing Republican candidate for Ohio Treasurer Jay Edwards’ long record relating to the FirstEnergy scandal, which is raising costs for Ohio families by $663 more a year on their utility bills. In addition to voting for House Bill 6, Edwards was included in reporting from the FirstEnergy trial, and was even asked at the time to step down from House leadership over his connection to Larry Householder.

“Corruption is running rampant in Columbus after decades of Republican control, and right in the center of it all is Jay Edwards, who stood by disgraced former Speaker Householder throughout the FirstEnergy bribery scandal,” said Ohio Democratic Party Communications Director Marisa Nahem. “With his strong ties to the largest public corruption scandal in Ohio history, Ohioans know they can’t trust Jay Edwards to stand up to corruption and safeguard taxpayer dollars as Ohio Treasurer.”

Read more on Edwards’ record as questions “loom” over his involvement with the FirstEnergy scandal that is raising energy costs for Ohio families:

TiffinOhio: Jay Edwards’ ties to Larry Householder, HB 6 vote, and ethics questions loom over Ohio Treasurer bid

• Former state Rep. Jay Edwards, the Republican nominee for Ohio treasurer, would manage roughly $280 billion in state assets if elected on Nov. 3. The record he brings to that campaign includes a vote for House Bill 6, an FBI-recorded dinner with former Speaker Larry Householder and an indicted lobbyist, a $200 personal check to the dark money entity at the center of the bribery scheme, a vote against expelling Householder after his racketeering indictment, FBI recordings released in a 2025 documentary, a public records dispute over deleted text messages, a censure from his own state party, and a 2025 financial disclosure listing dozens of gifts the candidate now says he probably never received.

Read more HERE.

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The post Questions About Jay Edwards’ Involvement With FirstEnergy Scandal “Loom Over Ohio Treasurer Bid” appeared first on Ohio Democrats.

Columbus, Ohio-  New reporting from TiffinOhio.net spotlighted what Ohioans already know: Vivek Ramaswamy is just using his bid for governor of Ohio as a layover on the way to a 2028 presidential run.

TiffinOhio.net: Is Ohio a stepping stone? NYT lists Ramaswamy as a 2028 presidential prospect

• A New York Times feature this week added Vivek Ramaswamy to its list of potential 2028 presidential candidates — 15 months after the Ohio Republican nominee for governor publicly pledged to serve a full four-year term and rule out a 2028 White House bid.

• The Times piece, published Wednesday by political reporter Reid J. Epstein, grouped Ramaswamy with Florida Rep. Byron Donalds in a category labeled “The Politicians Who Could Make a Quick Leap.” The Times wrote that the two Republicans “could bounce from running for governor to national campaigns” and noted that Ramaswamy “already ran for president in 2024.”

• Even before Ramaswamy launched his campaign, members of his own party were warning that his ambitions extended beyond Columbus. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who initially ran for the gubernatorial nomination before dropping out, told NBC News in February 2025 that Ramaswamy had spent the previous year cycling through bigger ambitions.

• “He has wanted, over the last year, to be president, to have a Cabinet spot, to be co-leader of DOGE,” Yost said. “The governor of Ohio is not a consolation prize … My concern is that what he seems to do best is to quit.”

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