Ohioans for Justice and Integrity’s Right to Choose ad
Watch the ad:
Ad text:
“The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a woman’s right to choose. Extreme Ohio lawmakers have already gone a step farther by banning abortion almost entirely… and when the Ohio Supreme Court had a chance to intervene, they declined.”
The ad refers to Cleveland.com’s July story Ohio Supreme Court decides to keep abortion illegal at six weeks, denying an emergency request by clinics to block heartbeat law.
Who's responsible for this ad?
This ad is paid for by Ohioans for Justice and Integrity which is a federally registered SuperPAC.
This SuperPAC’s treasurer is David Latanick.
During this election cycle, Ohioans for Justice and Integrity reported raising $439,581. Major donors include Preferred Capital Funding of Ohio, LLC ($25,000), Ohio AFL-CIO ($50,000), Bey & Associates ($20,000), Geiser Bowman & McLafferty LLC ($11,406), and Dyer Garofolo Mann & Schultz ($30,000).
Here are the reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission:
Click here for a summary of activities about Ohioans for Justice and Integrity from Open Secrets.
The Brennan Center for Justice’s Buying Time project has been tracking political spending in state Supreme Court races. Click here for information about political ads and spending in the Ohio Supreme Court races.
Update: Ohioans for Justice and Integrity have been running ads on social media as well. Click here for information from Meta about the organization’s Facebook ads.
Update: On Oct. 14, Jerry Austin, David Milenthal, and Jim Ruvolo, the leaders of the SuperPAC Bring Back Ohio, officially launched this year’s campaign and announced that: “the Ohioans for Justice and Integrity, directed by well-respected veteran political consultant AJ Stokes, asked us to join him in launching a multi-million dollar statewide independent TV campaign in support of the Democratic candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court.”
- Click here for an overview of Bring Back Ohio’s activities from Open Secrets.
- Click here for a list of contributors.
Discussion and Analysis
Discussion and Analysis
Overview by TC Brown, former reporter:
This ad is a gut punch to the GOP in general – “extreme Ohio lawmakers” – and to Republican members of the Ohio Supreme Court in particular.
Use of the little girl in the swing is a powerful image coupled with the language “not even a rape victim only 10-years-old,” referring to the well-known national story about the child rape victim from Ohio who was forced to leave the state to get an abortion. That should get the attention of and prompt a visceral reaction in viewers.
Despite initial widespread denial by Ohio GOP officials, the story was proved true. No one in their right mind would believe a child rape victim should be forced to carry a child to term. That should also connect this ad to viewers on an emotional level, suggesting, in a not-so-subtle way, the hypocrisy of the GOP anti-abortion crowd.
Great sum-up tag line in pointing out the court had “a chance to intervene,” but passed: “Republicans aren’t tough on crime, they’re tough on victims.” That is a fantastic campaign line.