Republican leaders in the Ohio House and Senate are criticizing Democrat Rich Cordray and his campaign for governor. GOP lawmakers who control the Legislature say Cordray is making expensive promises.
Republican House Speaker Ryan Smith and Senate President Larry Obhof are sending a warning to Cordray that they do not plan on raising taxes to fulfill his campaign promises.
“Promises are important and if you’re making promises to the people of Ohio you better have a plan to actually follow through with them and if you’re making a promise to spend billions of dollars in extra money I’d like to know where that comes from,” says Obhof.
Cordray’s campaign fired back, saying the Republicans don’t have any proof to support their “outlandish claims and numbers.”
Christina Freundlich with the Cordray campaign says, "Rich has continually said that anyone who understands Ohio's budget knows we are running big surpluses, and with that, we need to prioritize workforce development training and getting people the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs."
Cordray has said he won’t raise taxes and that the state can tap into other sources of revenue to invest more in infrastructure, schools and the opioid crisis.
Smith and Obhof endorse fellow Republican Mike DeWine for governor. They did not look into how much DeWine’s campaign promises would cost.
