Mike Check

February 7, 2022 

Good Monday afternoon, and welcome back to Mike Check, your weekly source of all the infighting, conspiracy spewing and corruption that’s making headlines in and around the Republican governor’s race and Mike DeWine’s statehouse, courtesy of the Ohio Democratic Party.

As the gubernatorial race passes the filing deadline and enters a new month, Republicans are in disarray with Mike DeWine’s popularity dropping by the day, facing attacks both inside and outside of the Republican Party, and having to answer for the largest public corruption scandal in state history. It’s hard to keep up with all of the corruption and mess surrounding Mike DeWine and the GOP gubernatorial primary, so here are some stories you may have missed:

PATHETIC POLLING.  A new poll released late last week shows DeWine has lost so much support in his own party, just 25% of likely Republican primary voters would vote for him over a Trump-backed challenger. Even messier? His favorability now sits at a meager 36% according to the same Public Policy poll. And let’s not forget, the chances of Donald Trump endorsing Mike DeWine are virtually nonexistent. Mike DeWine’s only response: he “hasn’t asked” for Trump’s endorsement yet.

$60 MILLION ANNIVERSARY. Friday marked three years since DeWine appointed Shady Sam Randazzo to head the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. A decision that ultimately aided in the passage of House Bill 6. In case you forgot, DeWine chose Randazzo over the objections of Republican insiders and energy strategists. DeWine’s former chief of staff Laurel Dawson not only recruited Randazzo, she knew all about Shady Sam’s $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy for weeks before telling DeWine. But that’s not all to the Randazzo saga. To this day, DeWine continues praise of Randazzo’s PUCO leadership, telling reporters after accepting his resignation: “He has done very, very good work as chair.” But that’s not all. DeWine also told Ohio media outlets “I hired him. I think he’s a good person.” That sure sounds like you know something about statehouse corruption to us.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. Speaking of the largest public corruption scandal in state history,  a reminder that the Ohio Democratic Party submitted several public records requests two weeks ago asking Mike DeWine to give Ohioans answers about who knew what and when about HB 6. Fourteen days later, still no answers. You can follow our countdown online if you need a daily refresherIf Mike DeWine continues to stonewall, we’re prepared to sue. Stay tuned.

Thanks for catching up with us, that’s all the Mike Check we’ve got for this week. If you have questions my email is ckeir@ohiodems.org. Have a great week!