Husted Heads to Dallas Convention While Ohioans Struggle to Pay Their Energy Bills

COLUMBUS, OH— This week, Trump and Republican candidates from across the country are holding their first-ever midterm national convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas—a two-day, multi-million-dollar pep rally branded “The Great American Comeback,” with no official party business on the agenda—other than hobnobbing with billionaire donors and avoiding the issue that’s actually top of mind for Ohioans and all Americans: energy affordability and the cost of living crisis. 

While families across the country struggle to pay for gas and to cool their homes, Republicans are spending $25,000 to $100,000 to attend. Trump and MAGA Republicans like Jon Husted promised to lower costs, then blocked the cheaper, cleaner, American-made power, handed over the grid to data centers, and let Big Oil and monopoly utilities pass costs on to everyone else. 

Jon Husted is amongst the top recipients of the Big Oil contributions this cycle in key congressional races. Husted has already taken $272,361 from Big Oil donors this cycle, along with $66,500 from utility company donors. 

Here are the facts you won’t hear from Jon Husted and other Republicans this week:

• We just saw the highest Labor Day gas prices ever, with diesel also hitting an all-time high.
• The average family will pay nearly $800 in cooling costs by the end of the summer, up 10.5% from last year.
• Big Oil’s bottom line keeps getting bigger as they rake in $85.2 billion in profits in Q2 alone.
• Between higher gas prices, utility bills, and tariffs, Trump has cost the average Ohio family an extra $2,175 since he took office. By the end of 2026, those totals could grow to $3,300. 
• Instead of embracing American energy independence, Trump and Republicans’ shortsighted attacks on clean energy have resulted in the loss of $1.28 billion in investment and 5,765 jobs in Ohio. 
• Republicans caved to Trump’s demands by gutting affordable, American-made clean energy, paving the way for their ultra-wealthy oil and gas donors—who spent $450 million to elect Trump and the GOP and influence Congress in the 2024 election cycle — to make even more money.  

Voters know that Republicans have rubber-stamped Trump’s every move, even if some want to distance themselves from him. Trump told Americans to pretend he’s on the ballot this November. He knows Republicans in Congress will keep rolling over for him, and voters do too.

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