When Sherrod Brown stood on the Senate floor to proclaim that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was not a middle-class tax cut and that employers would not use their savings to create more jobs and invest in their employees, he made the wrong bet.

“When Sherrod Brown, Richard Cordray or any other Democrat candidate says that tax cuts are not working for Ohioans, they are lying,” ORP spokesman Blaine Kelly said. “Since the tax cuts were passed, Ohio’s jobless rate has fallen to a 17-year low, workers are seeing more money in their paychecks and Ohio companies are passing savings on to employees.”

On the 6^th month anniversary of President Trump’s signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law:

• 1,000,000 jobs have been created since January
• More than 600 businesses are passing on savings to employees
• 90% of workers have higher take-home pay
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high
• Unemployment is at an 18-year low
• Ohio’s jobless rate hit a 17-year low
• Claims for unemployment benefits are at the lowest level since 1969
• For the first time in 20 years, there are more job openings than workers looking for jobs.
• 95.1% of manufacturers have a “positive outlook for their company,” the highest level ever recorded
• The Tax Policy Center Found that in 2018, Taxes will decline on average across all income groups

Even Ohio Democratic Party employees are benefiting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

The Hill

Vice President Pence went after Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and touted his Republican challenger during a speech in Ohio on Friday evening.

Speaking at an event in Columbus where the focus was on the GOP tax-cut plan signed in to law in December, Pence ripped Brown for calling the legislation a “scam” and joining with every Senate Democrat to oppose its passage.

“[The Democrats have] gone farther to the left than ever before. I mean, you need to only look at Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown to prove it,” Pence told the audience.

“I mean, the hardworking men and women of Ohio deserve to know, when it came time to cut your taxes, Sen. Sherrod Brown voted no,” he continued. 

“Sherrod Brown actually voted no because he called these historic tax cuts a ‘scam,’ ” Pence said. “The truth is, our tax cuts are delivering a middle-class miracle in Columbus and across Ohio. That’s the truth.”

During the speech, Pence also touted Rep. Jim Renacci (R), the Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate who won the Republican primary last month.

“I met Jim back when he was a businessman trying to be a congressman. And I love to tell people, I was for Jim Renacci before it was cool,” Pence told the crowd to laughs.

“He’s a leader who’s been standing shoulder to shoulder with President Trump and our entire administration every day,” Pence added.”We couldn’t have gotten the tax cuts done without his insight, without his counsel and without his support.”

$700 Billion: The Historic Amount Of Defense Spending Allocated By The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Signed By President Trump. (Rebecca Kheel, “Trump Signs Nearly $700B Defense Policy Bill,” The Hill, 12/12/17)     

• $146.2 Billion: The Amount Authorized For Military Personnel Including Costs Of Pay, Allowances, And Bonuses. (Press Release, “President Donald J. Trump Will Make The American Military Great Again,” The White House, 12/12/17)
• 2.4%: The Pay Raise Authorized To Provide A Significant Improvement In The Quality Of Life For Our Troops. (Press Release, “President Donald J. Trump Will Make The American Military Great Again,” The White House, 12/12/17)

$208.5 Billion: The Value Of U.S.-Exported Goods And Services In March 2018, An All-Time High.  (“US Trade Deficit Drops As Exports Hit A Record High,” CNBC, 05/03/18)

$200 Billion: The Amount Of Federal Money Dedicated To Improving America’s Infrastructure Under President Trump’s Infrastructure Plan. (Lydia DePillis, “Trump Unveils Infrastructure Plan,” CNN , 2/12/18)

$125 Billion: The Amount That Has Been Invested Back Into The U.S. Economy Thanks To Savings From The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform , 6/3/18)

$55 Billion: The Amount Allocated To Reform The United States Department Of Veterans Affairs In The VA Mission Act Signed By President Trump.  (Quil Lawrence, “Senate Passes $55 Billion Veterans Affairs Reform Bill,” NPR, 05/23/18)

$50 Billion: The Amount Dedicated To Rural Infrastructure In President Trump’s Infrastructure Plan. (“Legislative Outline For Rebuilding Infrastructure In America,” The White House Of President Trump , 2/12/18, p.6)

$47.8 Billion: The Amount Approved By The House To Fund The Department Of Homeland Security (DHS), And Help Build Physical Barriers And Improve Surveillance Technology Along The Southwest Border. (Press Release, “House Approves Omnibus Bill To Fund The Federal Government,” House Committee On Appropriations , 3/22/18)

$9.8 Billion: The Net Lifetime Savings From Deregulatory Action President Trump Is Committed To Saving In FY2018. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Delivering On Deregulation,” The White House, 12/14/17)

$8.7 Billion: The Amount The United States Trade Deficit Has Decreased Since February 2018. (“US Trade Deficit Drops As Exports Hit A Record High,” CNBC, 05/03/18)

$8.1 Billion: The Net Lifetime Savings From President Trump’s Deregulatory Actions In FY2017. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Delivering On Deregulation,” The White House, 12/14/17)

$2.1 Billion: The Amount Authorized By President Trump For The Veterans Choice Program Through The VA Choice And Quality Employment Act. (“Trump Signs Emergency Bill To Add $2.1 Billion Into Veterans Medical Care,” The Associated Press , 08/12/17)

$1.63 Billion: The Amount That Has Been Donated To Charity Thanks To Savings From The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform, 6/3/18)

$1.3 Billion: The Amount Recovered In Stolen Taxpayer Money In The Largest Healthcare Fraud Bust In History By The Office Of Inspector General At The Department Of Health And Human Services. (“2017: A Year of Accomplishment,” The U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services , 1/26/18, p. 16)

$800 Million: The Approximate Amount Of Money That Has Been Appropriated To Combat The Opioid Crisis. (Press Release, “HHS Marks 2017 Accomplishments Under President Donald J. Trump,” U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services , 1/26/18)

$500 Million: The Amount Granted To The 41 Recipients Of 2018 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grants. (Press Release, “U.S. Department Of Transportation Announces Half A Billion Dollars In Infrastructure Investments To 41 Projects In 43 States,” U.S. Department Of Transportation, 3/9/18)

$98 Million: The Amount Of Grant Funding Directed To The DOJ’s Office Of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) To Hire Additional Police Officers. (“Attorney General Sessions Announced $98 Million To Hire Community Policing Officers.” The Department Of Justice, 11/20/17)

27.2 Million More People That Will Take The Standard Deduction And Avoid The Complex Itemizing Process, Thanks To The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (Shaina Mishkin, “Here’s How To Tell Whether The New GOP Tax Plan Will Simplify Your Taxes,” Time, 12/20/17)

2.96 Million: The Total Amount Nonfarm Payroll Has Increased Since President Trump Took Office. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics,  Accessed 6/1/18)

143,000: The Number Of Administrative Arrests Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Made In FY2017. (“ICE Impact In FY2017,” Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Accessed 5/31/18)

81,000: The Number Of Illegal Immigrants Removed From The Interior Of The Country By ICE In FY2017. (“ICE Impact In FY2017,” Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Accessed 5/31/18)

65,850: The Number Of Jobs That Have Been Created So Far By Companies Thanks To The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform, 6/3/18)

4,800: The Number Of Criminal Arrests Made In National Anti-Gang Operations In FY2017. (“ICE Impact In FY2017,” Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Accessed 5/31/18)

4,000: The Number Of Troops Deployed To The Southwest Border Through The End Of September 2018. (Anna Giaritelli, “Pentagon Approves 736 More National Guard Troops To Support Air, Land, Sea Border Agents,” Washington Examiner, 5/25/18)

4,000: The Number Of MS-13 Gang Members That Faced Charges In 2017 By The Department Of Justice. (Press Release, “President Donald J. Trump Is Dedicated To Combating MS-13,” The White House, 5/23/18)

3,510: The Number Of Investigations Opened By The Trump Administration Into Businesses Who Employ Illegal Immigrants Not Authorized To Work In The U.S.(Stephen Dinan, “DHS Doubles Focus On Businesses That Hire Illegal Immigrants,” The Washington Times , 5/14/18)

1,579: The Number Of Regulatory Actions President Trump Withdrew Or Delayed In 2017. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Delivering On Deregulation,” The White House, 12/14/17)

1,360: The Number Of Employee Audits ICE Made In 2017. (Maria Sacchetti, “ICE Raids Meatpacking Plant In Rural Tennessee; 97 Immigrants Arrested,” The New York Times, 4/6/18)

$1,260: The Average Amount A Taxpayer Will Save In 2018 Under The New Tax Code.(Frank Sammartino, Philip Stallworth, and David Weiner, “The Effect Of The TCJA Individual Income Tax Provisions Across Income Groups And Across The States,” Tax Policy Center , 3/28/18)

1,027: The Number Of Generic Drugs Approved By The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) In 2017-The Highest In History. (“Ensuring Safe, Effective, And Affordable Medicines For The American Public,” U.S. Food And Drug Administration, Accessed 5/31/18)

802: The Number Of Full-Time Community Law Enforcement Officers That Will Be Hired As A Result Of Additional Funding. (“Attorney General Sessions Announced $98 Million To Hire Community Policing Officers.” The Department Of Justice, 11/20/17)

796: The Number Of MS-13 Members Arrested In FY2017. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Dedicated To Combating MS-13,” The White House, 5/23/18)

750%: The Percent Fentanyl Seizures Have Risen At The U.S.-Mexico Border In The First Seven Months Of Fiscal Year 2018 Compared To The Same Period A Year Earlier.(Anna Giaritelli, “Fentanyl Seizures At US-Mexico Border Up 750 Percent,” Washington Examiner, 5/23/18)

610: The Number Of Administrative Arrests Stemming From Worksite Immigration Enforcement. (Stephen Dinan, “DHS Doubles Focus On Businesses That Hire Illegal Immigrants,” The Washington Times, 5/14/18)

594: The Number Of Criminal Arrests Stemming From Worksite Immigration Enforcement. (Stephen Dinan, “DHS Doubles Focus On Businesses That Hire Illegal Immigrants,” The Washington Times, 5/14/18)

365: The Number Of Days That Short-Term Limited-Duration Healthcare Plans Have Been Extended. (Press Release, “Fact Sheet: Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance Proposed Rule,” Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services , 2/20/18)

364 Companies Gave Employees Bonuses With Savings From The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform, 6/3/18)

300: The Number Of People Arrested By ICE For Alleged Criminal And Civil Immigration Violations In 2017. (Maria Sacchetti, “ICE Raids Meatpacking Plant In Rural Tennessee; 97 Immigrants Arrested,” The New York Times, 4/6/18)

228: The Number Of Illegal Immigrants Affiliated With MS-13 Arrested By Border Patrol Agents In FY2017. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Dedicated To Combating MS-13,” The White House, 5/23/18)

179: The Number Of Law Enforcement Agencies Across The Country Receiving Funding Awards. (“Attorney General Sessions Announced $98 Million To Hire Community Policing Officers.” The Department Of Justice, 11/20/17)

125: The Number Of Companies That Have Increased Wages Thanks To Savings From The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform , 6/3/18)

120: The Number Of Individuals President Trump Has Nominated To Serve On The U.S. District Courts And U.S. Courts Of Appeals. (“Judicial Selection,” Alliance For Justice, Accessed 5/31/18)

100: The Number Of Immigration Judges That Were Mobilized To DHS Detention Facilities Across The Country, Including Along The Southwest Border. (Press Release, “Justice Department Announces Additional Prosecutors And Immigration Judges For Southwest Border Crisis,” U.S. Department Of Justice , 5/2/18)

• 2,700: The Additional Number Of Cases Expected To Be Completed Due To The Mobilization. (Press Release, “Justice Department Announces Additional Prosecutors And Immigration Judges For Southwest Border Crisis,” U.S. Department Of Justice, 5/2/18)

100% Of Income Groups Will See A Tax Cut On Average In 2018. (“Distributional Analysis Of The Conference Agreement For The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act,” Tax Policy Center, 12/19/17)

92% Of Illegal Aliens Arrested By ICE In FY2017 That Had Criminal Convictions, Pending Criminal Charges, Were An Immigration Fugitive, Or Were An Illegal Re-Entrant. (“ICE Impact In FY2017,” Immigration And Customs Enforcement, Accessed 5/31/18)

90% Of Americans Will See An Increase In Take Home Pay Thanks To The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“New Withholding Guidelines Under The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Will Increase Take Home Pay,” U.S. Department Of Treasury, 1/12/18)

83%: The Increase Of MS-13 Arrests From FY2017 Compared To FY2016. (“President Donald J. Trump Is Dedicated To Combating MS-13,” The White House, 5/23/18)

82% Of Middle-Class Taxpayers Will See A Tax Cut In 2018. (Frank Sammartino, Philip Stallworth, and David Weiner, “The Effect Of The TCJA Individual Income Tax Provisions Across Income Groups And Across The States,” Tax Policy Center, 3/28/18)

80% Of Manufacturers Say President Trumps Actions On Regulations Are “Headed In The Right Direction.” (“2017 Second Quarter Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey,” National Association Of Manufacturers,7/20/17)

80% Of Americans That Believe Immigration Should Be Based On Merit And Skills.(Jen Kerns, Op-Ed, “New Polling Proves President Trump Is Right – ‘Americans Are #Dreamers Too,’” The Hill, 2/3/18)

72: The Number Of Policy Guidance Documents Removed By The Department Of Education To “Alleviate Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens.” (Moriah Balingit, “Devos Rescinds 72 Guidance Documents Outlining Rights For Disabled Students,” The Washington Post , 10/21/17)

70: The Number Of Obama Regulations That Have Been Rolled Back Under The Department Of Health And Human Services. (“2017: A Year of Accomplishment,” The U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services , 1/26/18, p. 6)

68% Of Households Could See Lower Utility Bills Thanks To The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act. (“Quick Facts United States,” United States Census, Accessed 3/6/18)

50%: The Increase Of Immigration Judges Assigned To Adjudicate Cases In Immigration Courts Near The Southwest Border. (Press Release, “Justice Department Announces Additional Prosecutors And Immigration Judges For Southwest Border Crisis,” U.S. Department Of Justice , 5/2/18)

39: The Number Of Judges Confirmed To The Federal Bench Since President Trump Took Office. (“Judicial Selection,” Alliance For Justice, Accessed 5/31/18)

35: The Number Of New Assistant United States Attorney Positions Allocated To U.S. Attorney’s Offices Along The Southwest Border. (Press Release, “Justice Department Announces Additional Prosecutors And Immigration Judges For Southwest Border Crisis,” U.S. Department Of Justice , 5/2/18)

35: The Number Of Visits By Foreign Leaders To The White House In 2017. (“Visits By Foreign Leaders In 2017,” Office Of The Historian, Accessed 05/31/18)

33% Of Small Businesses Are Raising Wages, The Highest Number In Almost 18 Years. (“List Of Tax Reform Good News,” Americans For Tax Reform, 4/16/18)

25%: Tariff Instituted By President Trump To Protect The United States Steel Industry. (President Trump, Remarks By President Trump In Listening Session With Representatives From The Steel And Aluminum Industry , Washington, DC, 3/01/18)

15.2%: The Trade Gap In May 2018; The Lowest Trade Deficit Since September 2017.(“US Trade Deficit Drops As Exports Hit A Record High,” CNBC, 05/03/18)

15: The Number Of Countries Visited By President Trump In 2017. (“Donald J. Trump,” Office Of The Historian, 05/31/18)

13: The Number Of Years The U.S. Went Without Trading Beef With China Before President Trump Took Office. (Press Release, “In China, Perdue Welcomes U.S. Beef Back To Market,” U.S. Department Of Agriculture , 6/30/17)

12: The Number Of Nominees For Federal Appeals Courts Judgeships Confirmed In President Trump’s First Year, The Most Confirmed In Any President’s First Year In Office. (Khorri Atkinson, “Trump Has Now Appointed Most Ever Federal Appeals Judges In 1st Year,” Axios , 12/14/17)

11: The Number Of Years The U.S. Went Without Trading Potatoes From Idaho To Japan Before President Trump Took Office. (Press Release, “2018 Fact Sheet: USTR Success Stories: Opening Markets for U.S. Agricultural Exports,” Office Of The United States Trade Representative , Accessed 5/31/18)

11%: The Amount Support For The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Has Grown Among Democrats Since Its Passage. (Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley, “Tax Overhaul Gains Public Support, Buoying Republicans,” The New York Times, 2/19/18)

10%: Tariff Instituted By President Trump To Protect The United States Aluminum Industry. (President Trump, Remarks By President Trump In Listening Session With Representatives From The Steel And Aluminum Industry , Washington, DC, 3/01/18)

5.9%: The African-American Unemployment Rate In May 2018. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics , Accessed 6/1/18)

• Under President Trump, The African-American Unemployment Rate Has Decreased From 7.8 To 5.9 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/1/18)

• May Marks The First Time African-American Unemployment Has Ever Been Under 6 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics , Accessed 6/1/18)

5: The Number Of Immigration Roundtables The Trump Administration Has Held.(“Immigration Roundtables,” The White House, Accessed 5/31/18)

3.8%: The Unemployment Rate In May 2018. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/1/18)

• “The Unemployment Rate Has Matched Its Lowest Point In Half A Century,” The Only Other Time Since 1969 That Unemployment Was At 3.8 Percent Was In April 2000.  “The unemployment rate has matched its lowest point in half a century. The Labor Department reported Friday that unemployment fell to 3.8% in May. The economy added 223,000 jobs, better than expected. Since 1969, the only other time unemployment has been this low was in April 2000.” (Nathaniel Meyersohn, “Unemployment Rate Matches Lowest Point In Half A Century,” CNN , 6/1/18)

3: The Number Of Pro-Law Enforcement And Anti-Crime Executive Orders President Trump Has Signed. (“President Trump Signs Pro-Law Enforcement And Anti-Crime Executive Orders,” The White House, 2/9/17)

2.7%: The Record Low Unemployment Rate For Veterans Reached In 2017 Under President Trump. (“Veteran Unemployment Rates Fall To Record Low In October,” Fox , 11/07/17)  

2: The Number Of Regulations That Must Be Eliminated For Every New Regulation Promulgated Under The Trump Administration. (Ted Gayer, Robert E. Litan, and Philip A. Wallach, “Evaluating The Trump Administration’s Regulatory Reform Program,” The Brookings Institute , 10/20/17)

1: The Number Of Supreme Court Justices Confirmed To The U.S. Supreme Court Under The Trump Administration. (Khorri Atkinson, “Trump Has Now Appointed Most Ever Federal Appeals Judges In 1st Year,” Axios, 12/14/17)

0: The Number Of Days Hillary Clinton Has Served As President. (The Voters, 11/8/16)

By Dean Clancy

Ohio voters deserve to know more about Cordray, a liberal lawyer who for four years ran the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Presidents Obama and Trump. Even a cursory examination reveals Cordray to be more than just a self-promoting pit bull with vaguely monarchical tendencies. He is also a corrupt partisan hack.

Created in 2010 and launched in 2013, CFPB is a new kind of independent agency: highly centralized, without oversight by the usual bipartisan commission, and funded by Federal Reserve Bank profits and fines on corporations rather than congressional appropriations. The Dodd-Frank Act makes the agency’s director extremely powerful and basically un-fireable by the president. The idea is to liberate one “impartial” bureaucrat to courageously enforce “justice” in corporate America, unfettered by anything beyond his own sense of rightness.

As CFPB’s first director, Cordray proved neither impartial nor particularly motivated by justice. From the start, he exploited his unique power to the full, working to shape CFPB into a vehicle of immense power and publicity—for himself.  How shall we summarize this man’s record? Let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He staffed the newly created bureaucracy top-to-bottom with partisan Democrats. According to Federal Election Commission data, 100 percent of campaign contributions the agency’s employees made in 2016 went to Democratic candidates.

He funneled nearly $60 million to GMMB, a Democratic consulting firm with strong ties to the Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns, for advertising and PR. Records show his agency spent at least $16 million a year in taxpayer money publicizing its director’s heroic deeds—a lavish amount even by Beltway standards.

He handed a lucrative loan-servicing monopoly to a Democratic crony, Donald Uderitz, a wealthy Florida hedge-fund operator. Under the terms of their sweetheart deal, Uderitz is entitled to collect millions in fees for servicing 800,000 private student loans and to “improve” debt collection from the four-in-ten borrowers behind in their payments. Uderitz has no experience as a servicer, but gets to start at the top—and pocket millions—thanks to his luck in having a very powerful friend in government.

Cordray unleashed his army of liberal attack-dog lawyers to harass private companies, many of them guilty of no crime beyond having a big bank account. He carried out a shakedown racket, euphemized as “governing by enforcement action.”

In a typical case, he would accuse a company (“target”) of vaguely worded offenses like “unfair” or “deceptive” practices, then threaten it with crippling fines or burdensome lawsuits unless it bowed to his demands, which of course included writing a big check to CFPB in an out-of-court settlement. As one disillusioned former agency attorney recalls, “Targets were almost certain to write a check.”

The size of the check did not depend on actual wrongdoing. “During investigations, Enforcement [Division] demanded targets’ financial statements to calculate the maximum fines they could afford to pay.”

In one widely reported case, Cordray filed a lawsuit against student-loan servicing giant Navient following four years of aggressive investigation. Yet, as one commenter summarizes, while “the company produced 450,000 pages of documents, hundreds of hours of phone recordings, and more than 30 written reports,” as of today “the bureau has yet to prove that Navient engaged in fraudulent conduct.”

And oh yes, he attempted to unlawfully appoint his own successor. In sum, the history of Richard Cordray at CFPB is one of repeated abuses of the public trust, to benefit himself and his cronies, and above all to promote himself for future office.

In late 2017, Cordray resigned suddenly to run for governor. President Trump rushed in a successor, both to shut down his last-minute self-replacement stunt and to clean out the stable. The designated stable-cleaner: Mick Mulvaney, former South Carolina congressman and current White House budget chief. Mick has his work cut out.

Muck-rake in hand, Mulvaney’s first major act as director was to deplore “the powers that I have as acting director. They would frighten most of you.” Next, he informed all agency staff: “The days of aggressively ‘pushing the envelope’ of the law in the name of the ‘mission’ are over.” Then, by early May, he was launching a partial reorganization of the rogue agency.

It’s a good start. But in this stable, much muck remains.

Mulvaney needs to do more. If he can’t shutter the agency, at least he can clean house. He should replace all of Cordray’s remaining political appointees, quash all of Cordray’s sweetheart deals, and fire all of Cordray’s cronies. Nay, more: he should suspend all new enforcement and rulemaking activities until the bureau is firmly under the president’s control and accountable to Congress, as the Constitution requires.

Meanwhile, back in Ohio, voters should ask themselves: What does “King Richard” Cordray’s track record portend for us? For corrupt political climbers with vaguely monarchical tendencies, the past is usually prologue.

Originally published in The Federalist

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s first TV attack ad portrays his opponent U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci as a fan of lobbyists working in government.

“The U.S. Congress. There’s 68 teachers, 15 farmers, four pilots but only one lobbyist,” says the narrator as a cash register cha-ching sound is heard in the background. “That’s right, Jim Renacci has been a lobbyist even while in Congress. And what’s he done? He voted to make it easier for lobbyists to hold key government positions and harder to investigate conflicts of interest.”

Text on the screen shows this is a reference to the 112th Congress. That timeframe refers to January 2011 to January 2013.

Democrats have long portrayed Renacci as a lobbyist. But what this ad omits is that while he was registered to lobby, there is no evidence he actually lobbied. And in fact, it wouldn’t make sense for a member of Congress to work as a lobbyist at the same time. The ad also gives viewers no context about the votes cited.

Brown is one of several Democratic incumbents defending a seat in a state that Donald Trump won in 2016. Trump endorsed Renacci during the primary.

After the so-called “blue wave” failed to flood the polls on Tuesday, Democrats were left divided. What’s worse for Democrats is Richard Cordray’s inability to excite their base or unite the warring factions within the party.

On Tuesday night, Mary Taylor graciously endorsed Mike DeWine and urged her supporters to unite behind his candidacy. She also stated:

“We have to win in November, we have to beat Richard Cordray and it’s going to require all of us in this room.”

No endorsement was offered by Dennis Kucinich following his defeat. In his concession speech, Kucinich stated:

“I think that we should all join in congratulating him (Cordray) on his election, but we move forward. We move forward in a cause that is much bigger than a single campaign. This is a movement.” 

Here’s what the Cincinnati Enquirer had to say about the divide between the Cordray and Kucinich factions:

“To defeat DeWine, Cordray must first unite the populists and progressives whom Kucinich had tried to gather. Cordray has the backing of noted populist Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, but perhaps not that of Kucinich… Kucinich said Tuesday night he accepted the results of the election, but he was still trumpeting his campaign platform – not Cordray’s.”

Kucinich and his supporters aren’t the only Ohio Democrats unimpressed by Cordray. During a radio interview this week, former Democrat Ohio State Senator Capri Cafaro stated that Cordray is “not honestly particularly well-liked,” and also referenced his previous loss to Mike DeWine:

“Here’s a fun fact: Mike DeWine beat Rich Cordray when Rich Cordray was the sitting Attorney General in 2010. So that’s a thing that makes me scratch my head. Why are we signing up for this rematch?”

As we head into the general election, it’s clear that Mike DeWine is the right person to bring Ohioans together and build a stronger future for the Buckeye State.