Latest / Brian Thomas / AFP - Endorsements

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AFP - Endorsements · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: It is 7.30 here at 55KRC, the talk station. Happy Wednesday.
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  Speaker 1: It's that time of the week we talk with Lee
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  Speaker 1: Summon from Americans for Prosperity. Normally, Donovan O'Neill, but every
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  Speaker 1: once in a while, he'll do a sub. And this morning,
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  Speaker 1: I'm pleased to announce that AFP political director Tim Ross
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  Speaker 1: is on the show to talk about some endorsements here
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  Speaker 1: in the state of Ohio. Welcome, Tim. It's great to
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  Speaker 1: have you on the program this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Well, thanks for letting me sub in, Brian. Really appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, happy to do it. You know, we need to
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  Speaker 1: change the pace every once in a while. Good morning, Donovan.
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  Speaker 2: It's okay.
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  Speaker 1: You don't want to get up out of bed this morning, Donovan, huh?
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  Speaker 1: All right. Tim, you got some new endorsements for Ohio,
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  Speaker 1: but I saw your statement at americansforprosperity.org about your excitement
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  Speaker 1: about endorsing these General Assembly candidates. I guess considering the
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  Speaker 1: issues that the Americans for Prosperity is wrestling with, including
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  Speaker 1: my listening audience, like, for example, property taxes, when you
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  Speaker 1: endorse the candidates, are you having specific discussions with them
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  Speaker 1: about the important issues that are clearly identified on AFP's website?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's one of the better parts
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  Speaker 2: of the job is traveling the state and talking to
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  Speaker 2: people that want to fix the problems that are out there.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you mentioned property tax. It's certainly one of
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  Speaker 2: the larger ones. You know, school choice is another thing
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  Speaker 2: that we talk to candidates about. It's very fulfilling to
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  Speaker 2: go around to various corners of Ohio and talk to
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  Speaker 2: people that are interested in tackling these things. That's why
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  Speaker 2: we're so excited to have this most recent round of
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  Speaker 2: endorsements that we announced yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: Tim Ross, let's start with the Ohio Senate endorsed candidates.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. So starting in central Ohio, we have Michelle
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  Speaker 2: Reynolds at Senate District 3, big parts of Franklin County
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  Speaker 2: and a couple of the surrounding counties. Michelle has been
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  Speaker 2: in the Senate for four years now. She beat a
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  Speaker 2: Democratic incumbent, which is tough to do. in that time
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  Speaker 2: has tackled some big issues, including property tax. Also looking
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  Speaker 2: at an issue that we're looking to get more involved in,
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  Speaker 2: which is making housing more affordable. You know, we've set
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  Speaker 2: housing policy out of reach and housing prices out of
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  Speaker 2: reach for most young Americans and trying to dial that back,
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  Speaker 2: get government out of the way and opening up some
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  Speaker 2: opportunities there is something we're really excited about. So excited
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  Speaker 2: to be supporting Senator Reynolds. And then the other state
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  Speaker 2: Senate candidate that we announced yesterday is a someone I'm
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  Speaker 2: sure that your listeners are familiar with from her time
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  Speaker 2: running for the U.S. Senate and as state ORP chair
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  Speaker 2: with Jane Temkin, someone I've had the pleasure of knowing
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  Speaker 2: for a number of years given my work in Stark
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  Speaker 2: County over the years. Really smart, compassionate person, just has
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  Speaker 2: been appointed to the Senate just a couple years ago
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  Speaker 2: to fill a vacancy, and is doing great work, so
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  Speaker 2: we're excited to support Jane as well.
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  Speaker 1: Are you sensing, again, I just kind of looking at
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  Speaker 1: the topics we're going to talk about today, one of which,
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  Speaker 1: and maybe Joe summarized it this way, but hold your
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  Speaker 1: nose and vote Republican. This is something I've been talking
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  Speaker 1: with Tom Zawistowski from We the People Convention about. I
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  Speaker 1: get this sense out there, and because you, Tim, and
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  Speaker 1: everybody with AFP does all this door knocking, what the
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  Speaker 1: temperature of the water is when you're talking with people
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  Speaker 1: as you go around door knocking, are they in this
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  Speaker 1: damn it, I don't like any of them, I'm not
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  Speaker 1: even going to bother mode? Or is it kind of
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  Speaker 1: better out there than we perceive based upon all this
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  Speaker 1: concern that people keep expressing about people not going out
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  Speaker 1: and voting? I think of the gubernatorial race, people have
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  Speaker 1: told me, quite frankly, you know, I'm not going to
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  Speaker 1: vote for Vivek Ramaswamy. And my immediate response is, well,
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  Speaker 1: are you voting for Amy Acton? The answer is, hell no,
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  Speaker 1: I'd never vote for her. So, you know, not voting
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  Speaker 1: for Vivek is a vote for Amy, I would argue.
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  Speaker 1: But what is the sense that you get on the
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  Speaker 1: door to door, uh, knocking.
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  Speaker 2: So it's a midterm cycle. Uh, you know, I think you,
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  Speaker 2: if you're in politics, you hear this quite a bit,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the party that controls the white house in
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  Speaker 2: these midterm, uh, cycles tend to do a little worse.
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  Speaker 2: There's an enthusiasm gap. And I think certainly that is true, uh,
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  Speaker 2: in Ohio right now, you know, people are frustrated and
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  Speaker 2: rightfully so, um, there are some significant problems out there.
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  Speaker 2: So candidates need to be out there talking to people, uh,
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  Speaker 2: About solutions. So that's why we're endorsing these candidates. But, yeah,
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  Speaker 2: we've got to get that message out to people that
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  Speaker 2: are conservative minded. And just like what you said, the
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  Speaker 2: importance of why each of these candidates, each of these
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  Speaker 2: races is going to have a marginal impact on their
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  Speaker 2: day to day lives. Huge impact, in fact.
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's with great delicacy before we take a break
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  Speaker 1: and talk about the Ohio House representative endorsements from AFP.
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  Speaker 1: I get the sense that maybe, and maybe this is
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  Speaker 1: a bit of an overstatement, Trump may be more of
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  Speaker 1: a liability for Republicans in this election cycle than a benefit.
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  Speaker 1: I know his endorsements have gone a long way, but
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  Speaker 1: with the war going on, inflation problems, housing problems that
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  Speaker 1: you just pointed out, price of gasoline is extraordinarily high.
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  Speaker 1: Those are some serious challenges, and a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: are just looking directly at Donald Trump for the blame.
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  Speaker 2: Certainly some of that. I expect that we'll hear some
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  Speaker 2: solutions out of Texas this week. I think a lot
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  Speaker 2: of those efforts are going to be outlying a vision
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  Speaker 2: as to why this path, voting for these candidates, voting
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  Speaker 2: for conservatives up and down the ballot, is the right
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  Speaker 2: thing to do to address problems. And there are problems
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  Speaker 2: out there. That's why people are frustrated. I drove into
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  Speaker 2: Columbus today, and I passed a few gas station signs
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  Speaker 2: that said $ 4 on them. That's certainly too high, and
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  Speaker 2: I think people are looking for a solution on that
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  Speaker 2: and rather quickly. So hopefully that's what we hear out
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  Speaker 2: of Houston with the convention this week, and I expect
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  Speaker 2: we will.
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  Speaker 1: Tim Ross, we'll bring him back, political director for Americans
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  Speaker 1: for Prosperity. 740 here, 55KRCD talk station, Americans for Prosperity,
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  Speaker 1: making it easy for us to get involved as we
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  Speaker 1: fast approach November. I'm still just spinning from the reality
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  Speaker 1: that Republicans are struggling to gain traction as we get
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  Speaker 1: into November, considering what's going on in the world with
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  Speaker 1: the Democratic Socialist America. On the program today, substituting for
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  Speaker 1: Donovan O'Neill, he is Americans for Prosperity political director Tim Ross. Tim,
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  Speaker 1: before we get to the Republican endorsements in Ohio for representatives,
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  Speaker 1: I saw that AFP was in Chicago over the weekend.
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  Speaker 1: You guys put a truck outside the Democratic Socialist of
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  Speaker 1: America Socialism 2026 convention. And honestly, I'm old enough to
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  Speaker 1: just stare in disbelief, Tim Ross, that they actually have
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  Speaker 1: a socialism 2026 convention anywhere. But this is what we're
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  Speaker 1: staring at. How did that event go, if I can
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  Speaker 1: put you on the spot on that one?
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  Speaker 2: I think it went well. It's an opportunity to highlight
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  Speaker 2: why that is the wrong approach for America. And you're
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  Speaker 2: seeing it more and more, especially on the federal level.
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  Speaker 2: a number of candidates running for Congress and the Senate
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  Speaker 2: that are about socialists. You know, something that would have
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  Speaker 2: been absolutely unthinkable a number of years ago is something
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  Speaker 2: that people, that the Democratic Party is openly embracing now.
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  Speaker 2: So the people that I have spoken to that were
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  Speaker 2: involved in that said it went very well. You know,
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  Speaker 2: we're in touch with our brothers and sisters up in
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  Speaker 2: AFP Michigan, and they're dealing with this fight on their
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  Speaker 2: doorstep right now. They've got a candidate there that is
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  Speaker 2: running on a socialist message, and I think Michigan is
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  Speaker 2: going to reject that, and we're going to reject that
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  Speaker 2: around the country in November.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'd like to pray the autoworkers haven't gone socialist
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  Speaker 1: on us. I mean, Lord Almighty, they should at least
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  Speaker 1: recognize their jobs are on the line.
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  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
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  Speaker 1: All right, so let's pivot over to.
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  Speaker 2: I'm sorry, go ahead.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, I was just going to say, let's pivot over
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  Speaker 1: to the Ohio House of Representatives endorsed candidates from AFP.
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  Speaker 1: Let's start with Denise D'Angelo.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Denise is a great candidate running in the
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  Speaker 2: 10th District, which is southern Franklin County, the Grove City area.
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  Speaker 2: Just a person that was involved in her business and
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  Speaker 2: got a passion to run. Originally ran for school boards,
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  Speaker 2: currently serving on school boards. So very passionate about those issues,
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  Speaker 2: about making sure that every child has the opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: go attend an institution where they are best suited to learn.
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  Speaker 2: So we're really excited to be supporting Denise in that election.
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  Speaker 2: She's taking on a Democratic incumbent, which is tough to do,
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  Speaker 2: but we think she has the ability to flip that seat.
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  Speaker 1: Now, do these endorsements from AFP come with maybe a
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  Speaker 1: donation to the campaign?
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  Speaker 2: So we actually spend on behalf of the candidates. We
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  Speaker 2: will run our own independent messaging and tell people why
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  Speaker 2: we think they are the best choice in November. That
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  Speaker 2: could be digital ads. We can do some direct television,
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  Speaker 2: those ads that play on when you're trying to watch
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  Speaker 2: a YouTube video. We can do some of those, and
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  Speaker 2: we'll do some of those for the candidates, and then
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  Speaker 2: direct mail.
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  Speaker 1: Fair enough. Now pivoting over to House District 17.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, State Representative Mike DeVille, I'm not sure if he's
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  Speaker 2: had a chance to join you on the show, but
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  Speaker 2: has been deeply involved in Medicaid reform in his first
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  Speaker 2: term back to the House. He had previously served for
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  Speaker 2: six years and now is back for his second stint,
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  Speaker 2: just hitting the ground running and tackling some of the
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  Speaker 2: major issues, including the fraud that's going on in the
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  Speaker 2: Medicaid system. A phenomenal member of the Ohio House, running
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  Speaker 2: in southern Cuyahoga County, kind of the Strongsville, North Royalton area.
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  Speaker 2: So very excited to be supporting him up in that
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  Speaker 2: neck of the woods. Just a little bit over in
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  Speaker 2: Lorain County, there's Cliff Winkle, another business owner, owns an
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  Speaker 2: electrical company, also on North Ridgeville City Council, North Royalton
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  Speaker 2: City Council, excuse me, I get those two confused. But yeah,
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  Speaker 2: common sense guy has had to deal with burdensome regulation
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  Speaker 2: as a business owner. So I was very eager to
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  Speaker 2: come to Columbus and help dial some of those things back,
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  Speaker 2: make it easier to do business in Ohio.
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  Speaker 1: Good.
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  Speaker 2: So very excited to be supporting Cliff. He was most
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  Speaker 2: recently appointed to the ballot, so that race is coming
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  Speaker 2: online a little late, but he's doing a great job.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Hitting over to House District 61 with Sean Stevens.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, Sean had previously served a stint in the House
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  Speaker 2: and is coming back again, Delaware County and a little
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  Speaker 2: bit of Knox County. Again, business owner, you see a
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  Speaker 2: common theme here, someone that has dealt with how oppressive
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  Speaker 2: government can affect everyday life. We have business owners that
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  Speaker 2: are providing value to people, providing jobs. And the more
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  Speaker 2: the government gets in the way of those things, the
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  Speaker 2: less able to do those things they are. So Sean's
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  Speaker 2: a great example of that. He's going to do great work,
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  Speaker 2: awesome person, and a good friend of the organization. We
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  Speaker 2: like Sean a lot. Moving over to House District 72,
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  Speaker 2: State Representative Heidi Workman, also serving in her freshman term
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  Speaker 2: in the Ohio House of Representatives, has tackled technology issues primarily. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we're seeing a lot of talk come online
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  Speaker 2: about AI and how that's going to affect our day-to-day
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  Speaker 2: data centers. You know, those are always a hot political topic,
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  Speaker 2: trying to find a reasonable path to deal with that topic.
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  Speaker 2: Great candidate, great member, had gotten here to the Ohio
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  Speaker 2: House of Representatives by beating a more liberal incumbent, Republicans.
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  Speaker 2: in the primaries in 2024, which is, again, just beating
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  Speaker 2: an incumbent in general is an incredibly hard thing to
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  Speaker 2: do in politics.
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  Speaker 1: No question.
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  Speaker 2: But she did it and is running a great race
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  Speaker 2: and has been a great representative since. All right, you
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  Speaker 2: got one more. Yeah, round out the list up on
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  Speaker 2: the lake, kind of the Ottawa County, Erie County, that
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  Speaker 2: kind of north central area, Caleb Stidham. He's the treasurer
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  Speaker 2: of Erie County right now, the county treasurer. And we
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  Speaker 2: talked about property taxes to kind of kick off. And
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  Speaker 2: this is an area where Erie County has led the way.
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  Speaker 2: They're eliminating unvoted increases in people's property taxes and are
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  Speaker 2: the number one county in dealing with this topic. So
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  Speaker 2: I'm also not sure if you've had a chance to
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  Speaker 2: have State Representative David Thomas on the show. And if not,
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  Speaker 2: great person to talk to about the property tax issue.
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  Speaker 2: He described Caleb as his reinforcements on this topic. So
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  Speaker 2: Caleb is going to do great work on that and
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  Speaker 2: a litany of other issues.
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  Speaker 1: All right. And which website are you directing my listeners
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  Speaker 1: to today, Tim? Because I know AFP has several of them.
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  Speaker 1: I'm staring at the americansforprosperity.org list that you have posted.
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  Speaker 1: But where else should we go and where else would
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  Speaker 1: you direct my listeners to get engaged, Tim?
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  Speaker 2: BuckeyeBlueprint.com is where we tell people to check out the news,
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  Speaker 2: sign up to get involved. If you like what you hear,
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  Speaker 2: we have chapters all over the state of Ohio where
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  Speaker 2: you can come hear about the issues that matter most.
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  Speaker 2: and get involved, not just, as Donovan would say, just
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  Speaker 2: give him a shout-out since I'm taking his time. Don't
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  Speaker 2: just throw your shoe at the television screen. Put on
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  Speaker 2: your shoe and get to work. We offer people the
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  Speaker 2: opportunity to do that and not just be mad. Don't
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  Speaker 2: just be mad. Go out and change the way things
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  Speaker 2: are done, and that's how we affect positive outcomes in Ohio.
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  Speaker 1: And by not voting, you're going to ensure that the
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  Speaker 1: worst possible candidate gets elected. So let's not make that mistake, right?
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  Speaker 1: Tim Ross, he's the AFP political director. It's BuckeyeBlueprint.com. Check
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  Speaker 1: it out and get engaged. Tim, thank you so much
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  Speaker 1: for what you and Americans for Prosperity are doing throughout
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  Speaker 1: the state of Ohio, and I applaud your work, and
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  Speaker 1: you're always welcome here on the 55KRC Morning Show, sir.
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  Speaker 2: Brian, it's been a pleasure. Thank you very much. Have
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  Speaker 2: a good rest of your morning.
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  Speaker 1: My pleasure, indeed, and my listening audience's pleasure as well.