00:00ABC 6, I'm Taylor Woods, but as Senator John Husted, obviously he has said President Trump's support shows that Ohio
00:06Republicans are united and motivated.
00:09So what is your campaign doing to win over Trump voters?
00:12John Husted, knowing his campaign was in trouble because he's so much on the side always of the data centers,
00:20of Wall Street, of the big insurance companies, of the drug companies, of the oil companies.
00:25He's essentially sent a message to the big tech, to the data center crowd, I need help, I need you
00:31to bail me out.
00:32They responded with $30 million.
00:35Now he's sending the same kind of message to the president to bail me out, to bail him out.
00:40And it's just simply not working.
00:42When you're on the side always of the drug companies, in big insurance, in big oil, in Wall Street, the
00:48voters have had it with those kind of special interests.
00:50So you and Barack Obama are the only Democrats to win statewide here since 2006, and I'm wondering what makes
00:57you the exception and how have you changed your message since 2024?
01:00My message hasn't changed.
01:01I've taken on the rigged system.
01:03This war has driven prices up.
01:05The system's more rigged than it was.
01:07The war, the tariffs, the tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the middle class, at the expense
01:13of workers, is the reason we're in this situation.
01:16We need to end the war, we need to end the tariffs, and we need to have workers represented at
01:21the table.
01:22Does the pitch change at all after you lost two years ago?
01:25Is there anything that you're doing differently?
01:27I mean, it always comes from going around the state, listening to people.
01:32People are talking about prices all the time, more money going up than coming in.
01:36They're seeing these data centers as another example of a rigged system.
01:40John Husted got $2.5 billion in tax subsidies for the data centers.
01:47They come in, they swallow up the land, they gulp up the water.
01:52Voters, residents had no say about these data centers, and then their electricity prices go up.
01:57John Husted was called by the media the face of these data centers, and it's making things worse.
02:04How are you planning to vote on Issue 3?
02:07I'm going to vote against it.
02:10What's your concern with it?
02:12We have safe elections in this state with no sign of fraud and corruption in any way.
02:20So that's the answer.
02:23So Ohio passed a gas tax holiday last week.
02:25What do you think about that?
02:26Well, I guess it's nice, but the fact is that if we're going to get serious about gas prices going
02:32up, they'll go up 50 cents a day some days, or diesel prices will go up 30 cents a day
02:37because of the war.
02:38And politicians in Ohio can talk about a gas tax holiday.
02:43Mike DeWine doesn't even like it much.
02:45They can talk about a gas tax holiday, but the focus should be on ending the war.
02:49The focus should be on getting rid of these tariffs, which is what really fuels high gas prices.
02:55So one of the things out of 2024 that people talked about was that young voters swing more towards Trump.
03:01Do you feel confident more towards Trump than 2024?
03:04Yeah, yeah.
03:05I mean, do you feel confident that's going to swing back for this cycle?
03:08I think voters are every bit as upset about high prices, about how hard the challenge of ever buying a
03:15home, about what's happened with not just gas prices, food, but if they're in college, maybe gas, whatever, but food
03:24prices generally.
03:25The cost of everything continues to go up.
03:27I mean, voters didn't vote for this war.
03:29They didn't vote for these tariffs.
03:31They didn't vote for gas prices going up.
03:33They didn't vote for fertilizer prices if they're living on farms.
03:36They didn't vote for any of this.
03:38So they'll be supporting candidates that stand up to these price increases, that want to put a cap on health
03:46insurance premiums, while John Husted every time does the bidding of the big insurance companies.
03:52And Senator John Husted.
03:53You're with me.
03:54I'm with ABC6.
03:55I'm Taylor Woods.
03:56But as Senator John Husted, obviously he has said President Trump's support shows that Ohio Republicans are united and motivated.
04:04So what is your campaign doing to win over Trump voters?
04:07Well, John Husted, knowing his campaign was in trouble because he's so much on the side always of the data
04:14centers, of Wall Street, of the big insurance companies, of the drug companies, of the oil companies.
04:20He essentially sent a message to the big tech, to the data center crowd, I need help.
04:26I need you to bail me out.
04:27They responded with $30 million.
04:30Now he's sending a same kind of message to the president to bail me out, to bail him out.
04:35It's just simply not working.
04:37When you're on the side always of the drug companies, in big insurance, in big oil, in Wall Street, the
04:42voters have had it with those kind of special interests.
04:44And I know you briefly talked about it over here.
04:48Obviously, Senator John Husted, he says he publicly supports a federal gas tax.
04:53So if you can explain again your position when it comes to a federal gas tax.
04:58Well, to eliminate the federal, to suspend or whatever gas taxes is not the real answer.
05:06The real answer is when we end the Iran war.
05:09You said just two weeks ago said, I want the war to end, then for the 14th time, he voted
05:15for the war.
05:16That's what's driven gas prices up.
05:18That's what's driven food prices up this war.
05:21It's made fertilizer costs go up and diesel prices almost double and gas prices going up more than a dollar
05:28a gallon.
05:28That's the real issue.
05:30They can play politics and do other things, but they're not really addressing the real issue.
05:37Oh, you're with the...
05:38Hi.
05:39So, Husted's talking about the data center bill that he says Democrats blocked.
05:43What are your thoughts on that?
05:44Well, the data center bill, all it said was, please, data centers, don't...
05:49Please, pay more for electricity.
05:52Don't make us pay.
05:53The bill didn't do anything.
05:54So if John Husted really wanted to deal with data centers, first of all, he's the face of the data
06:00centers.
06:01We have 225 of them in Ohio.
06:03They're here because John Husted gave them a $2.5 billion subsidy.
06:08They're there because John Husted's been in bed with the electric companies looking at First Energy, which your listeners know
06:15a whole lot about, because he's in the middle of this First Energy, this whole scam, this whole scandal with
06:22First Energy.
06:23And they're executives paying the bribe.
06:25So what he's doing is sort of just trying to look better, but nothing of substance in that bill.
06:31Does this feel like 2006 to you at all?
06:33I don't know.
06:33I don't analyze that way.
06:35It feels to me that voters are very unhappy because they didn't vote for higher gas prices, higher fertilizer costs.
06:41They didn't vote for grocery prices to be higher and higher.
06:44They didn't vote for Americans getting killed in Iran, and three Ohioans have been killed, and John Husted, maybe he
06:50doesn't even know that.
06:51I don't know.
06:52Just being with Ohio State's the land here, they say this is a grassroots movement.
06:56What do you want young voters on campus to do besides the vote to get a vote?
06:59What do you want young voters who, no matter what they care about, they're saying, you know, whether it's not
07:04working on climate issues, whether it's not fighting for women's and civil and voting rights, whether it's just the fear
07:13they have of getting a job and buying a house and all the things that people in their 20s start
07:19thinking about for the future.
07:21John Husted is addressing none of that except to continue to contribute to a war, to higher prices, to higher
07:29insurance prices, to higher gas prices.
07:33Where are you from?
07:34I'm from what the Lantern has.
07:36No, where are you from?
07:37Cleveland, Ohio.
07:38Where?
07:39Twinsburg.
07:40It's not Cleveland?
07:41Twinsburg's not Cleveland?
07:4220 minutes out.
07:43Did you go to Chamberlain?
07:43They don't call it Chamberlain anymore, right?
07:45I call it Cleveland.
07:46No, Twinsburg High School.
07:48Yeah.
07:48They don't call it.
07:49It was called Chamberlain for years.
07:51That's the middle school.
07:51They changed it.
07:52Oh, that's the middle school.
07:52Did you go to Twins Festival every year?
07:54Yes, I did.
07:55You do?
07:55Really?
07:56Most people I know, they saw it like twice and then they go away for the weekend?
08:00No, they have some celebrities.
08:03Like celebrities?
08:05Twins.
08:05Twin celebrities?
08:06I missed that one.
08:07I won't.
08:10Thanks, everybody.
08:11All right.
