Husted Gives Up on “New Generation of Leadership,” Joins DeWine Ticket

Husted in June: “‘New’ would not be the way to describe” DeWine

By joining the ticket of 70-year old former Senator Mike DeWine, Jon Husted officially abandoned his campaign slogan of “a new generation of leadership.” Husted once jabbed at DeWine’s age, saying “‘new’ would not be the way to describe that.” He now says they will be “working together as a team in this mission.”

But Husted’s slogan was never anything more than empty rhetoric: Husted and DeWine support the same, tired politics-as-usual. And they’ve both spent the primary cozying up to President Trump and endorsing far-right positions such as undoing Gov. Kasich’s Medicaid expansion.

“As Jon Husted himself once said, ‘New would not be the way to describe’ this ticket,” said DGA Press Secretary Melissa Miller. “Ohio voters are ready for change, not the failed status quo of the same-old DeWine-Husted ticket. Now that DeWine and Husted have put aside their petty insults and joined forces, the race to the right is on.”

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BACKGROUND

In June 2017, Husted Attacked DeWine’s Age After 70 Year-Old Attorney General Entered Race. According to the Dayton Daily News, “The youngest contender in the Republican race for Ohio governor went straight to the age issue on Monday when asked about 70-year-old Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s decision to run in 2018. When asked about the newest addition to the race, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said, ‘‘New’ would not be the way to describe that.’” [Dayton Daily News, 6/26/17]

Husted’s Tag Line was “It’s Time for New Ideas and a New Generation of Leadership” was Viewed as an Attack Against DeWine. According Cleveland Plain Dealer, “Husted, 49, closes his video with a phrase – ‘It’s time for new ideas and a new generation of leadership’ — that could be interpreted as a contrast with the 70-year-old DeWine, a former U.S. Senator.” [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/7/17]

In September 2017, Both Husted and DeWine Opposed Medicaid Expansion, But Refused to Say If They Would Freeze or Repeal Expansion Entirely. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “The campaigns of Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine both oppose Obamacare and agree that the cost of the Medicaid expansion cannot be borne by Ohio going forward. The GOP campaigns did not respond to follow-up questions if the candidates would repeal the Medicaid expansion outright or impose a freeze on enrollment.” [Columbus Dispatch,  9/18/17]