ICYMI: 1100+ Fired Up Ohioans Attend Ohio on the Rise Dinner With Ohio Democrats and Sen. Mark Kelly

ICYMI: 1100+ Fired Up Ohioans Attend Ohio on the Rise Dinner With Ohio Democrats and Sen. Mark Kelly

August 3, 2026

COLUMBUS, OH - On Saturday in Columbus, Ohio Democrats joined more than 1,100 Ohioans for the Ohio Democratic Party's annual "Ohio on the Rise" dinner. In front of a packed room, Sherrod Brown, Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde, and Democrats up and down the ballot joined special guest Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to emphasize the energy surrounding Democrats' winning message to bring down costs for working families and take on the corruption in Columbus and Washington. Speakers included leaders and candidates from the Ohio Senate and Ohio House, and Ohio Democrats' full statewide ticket who made clear their resolve to get our state back on track and fight back against Republicans' devastating economic policies that are raising costs, ripping away healthcare, and hurting our communities.

In case you missed it, check out some of the coverage below:

The Columbus Dispatch: Brown, Acton bet voters want change as Democrats keep Ohio close

• Ohio Democrats are banking on voters wanting a change from President Donald Trump, high living costs and Republican rule in the Buckeye State.
• "No matter how hard you work, your pay is not keeping up, and too often you just can't get ahead," said former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted this fall. "Families see more money going out the door and not enough money coming in to pay for utilities and health care and groceries and everything."
• Acton and Ramaswamy are vying to replace GOP Gov. Mike DeWine, who cannot run again because of term limits. Acton, who was director of the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID pandemic, has kept the gubernatorial race competitive in the polls despite tens of millions in ads spent against her by Ramaswamy and his supporters. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently donated $5 million to a super PAC supporting Ramaswamy, his former co-leader in the Department of Government Efficiency.
• "It hasn't moved the needle," Acton said to cheers from Democrats at the Columbus Convention Center. "You cannot buy this state. You can't buy us."
• Democrats are hoping to capitalize on President Donald Trump's low approval rating and anti-Republican sentiment nationwide.
• Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired astronaut and husband to former Rep. Gabby Giffords, headlined the Ohio Democrats' fundraiser as he mulls a 2028 presidential bid.
• Kelly recounted his high-profile fight with Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over advising troops to "refuse illegal orders."
• Kelly also discussed the struggles young voters, like his daughter, face in purchasing property despite their best efforts to save and invest.
• "They are doing everything right. They are working hard. They're saving what they can. They are playing by the rules. But all that doesn't get you nearly as far as it did when I was her age," Kelly said. "The system is working. It's just not working for you, and that's what we need to change this November."
• Ohio Democrats also touted their slate of statewide candidates: Maple Heights Mayor Annette Blackwell running for state auditor; longtime lawyer John J. Kulewicz running for attorney general; state Rep. Allison Russo running for secretary of state; Cincinnati councilman Seth Walsh running for state treasurer; and Marilyn Zayas and Brunner running for state Supreme Court.
• "Our state is at an inflection point. How I see it: we're in the ninth inning of a Guard(ian)'s game. We haven't won yet, but we're at bat, and the bases are loaded. This is in our hands," Clyde said. "Together, we're going to hit a grand slam."

Signal Ohio: 'Bases loaded': Ohio Democrats embrace rare optimism at fundraising gala

• Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde used a baseball metaphor to describe the scenario facing Democrats this November.
• Addressing attendees at the state party's annual fundraising dinner in Columbus Saturday night, she said the upcoming election is like a Cleveland Guardians player stepping up to the plate in the ninth inning with a chance to be a hero.
• "We haven't won yet. But we're at bat and the bases are loaded," Clyde said, addressing hundreds who filled a ballroom in the Columbus Convention Center. "Let's hit a grand slam."
• "There's so much excitement in this room tonight," Brown said to cheers from the audience. "I feel the same enthusiasm in our cities. I feel the same enthusiasm in our suburbs. I feel it in farm country, and we see people showing up like never before."
• In her own speech Saturday, Acton, the former state health director under outgoing Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, said Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and his allies have spent tens of millions of dollars on attack ads targeting her since March.
• Acton went on to rip Ramaswamy as a self-interested billionaire, criticizing him for spending tens of millions of his own money on his campaign and referencing the tens of millions a pro-Ramaswamy political action committee has raised from Elon Musk and other billionaires.
• "All of us in this room, and everyone we know, we're linking arms. We're pushing back. And we are going to tell Mr. Ramaswamy in no uncertain terms: You cannot buy this state," Acton said.
• The headlining speaker on Saturday was Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, who spent the weekend campaigning with Brown. Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and Navy pilot who was reelected in 2024, has expanded his national profile since Trump called for his arrest and execution over a post in which Kelly encouraged military members not to follow "illegal orders" - which the president and his allies viewed as treasonous.
• Kelly appeared with Brown in Cincinnati and Cleveland over the weekend, and told the audience he hopes his "friend" will return to the Senate.
• "He's always fought for better health care, for fair wages, and protections for Ohio families with courage and conviction. God knows we need more of that in Washington right now," Kelly said.

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