New Ad: Jon Husted Wants Ohio to Forget He Was FirstEnergy’s 'Golden Boy'

Today, WinSenate is putting $6 million behind a new TV ad exposing how Jon Husted worked hand-in-glove with FirstEnergy while the company ran the largest corruption scheme in Ohio history.

In 2017, FirstEnergy funneled $1 million into a dark-money group backing Husted. Two years later, as Lieutenant Governor, Husted worked behind the scenes to help the company land a roughly $1 billion nuclear plant bailout, the same bailout at the center of the bribery scheme that later saw Ohio regulators hit FirstEnergy with more than $250 million in penalties and refunds. FirstEnergy even had a nickname for Husted: “Golden Boy.”

Husted hasn’t been able to escape the scandal since. His name came up nearly 400 times during the trial, and he was forced to take the stand and answer for his role.

Ohioans, meanwhile, have watched their electric bills climb year after year since the bailout Husted helped deliver. An average household could see their energy bills increase by close to $200 under the rate increase plan FirstEnergy is currently implementing in Ohio.

The ad begins with Husted’s testimony, where he claims not to “remember” critical details.

“[L]et’s help Jon Husted remember. Three hundred and eight-six times: Husted was mentioned in the FirstEnergy trial,” the narrator says in the 30-second ad. “One million: The amount FirstEnergy spent to help elect him. Sixty-one percent: The amount electric bills went up in Ohio after Husted got them a bailout. ‘Golden Boy:’ What FirstEnergy called Husted…no wonder he doesn’t remember.”

The $6 million ad campaign will run on television stations statewide, plus digital and streaming.

Watch “Remember.”