Ohio Sen. Jon Husted says Senate Democrats torpedoed a bipartisan bill that would have cut electric bills for working families and forced data centers to pay their fair share — and he's naming names as he campaigns to unseat former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
In an interview with Breitbart News Saturday, Husted (R-OH) said the legislation passed the House with overwhelming support — 417 to 3 — but stalled in the Senate when Democrats moved to block it.
"This bill passed House 417 to three, 206 Democrats voted for it. Hakeem Jeffries and AOC voted for it. So did the Freedom Caucus. Okay, everybody's for it," Husted said. "Comes back over to the Senate. Democrats don't even need to vote for it. They just need to not block it. They block it."
Husted said the measure was designed to address rising electricity costs tied to the explosive growth of data centers, which he argued are driving up local rates while leaving ordinary ratepayers on the hook.
"They talk about affordability, but then they had a chance to cut electric rates for ratepayers, make the data centers be accountable, and they all voted no against it," he said.
The bill's exact text and the procedural mechanism Democrats used to block it were not detailed in the Breitbart interview. What is clear, according to Husted, is that the measure had broad bipartisan backing in the House before Senate Democrats stopped it.
The fight comes as Husted faces Brown in Ohio's Senate race. Husted pointed to recent campaign events in Dayton and Youngstown as evidence of momentum, noting that President Trump has visited the state twice on his behalf.
"We've had the president here twice. He was in Dayton and then in Youngstown, and he brought a lot of people with him, including my former teammate John Gruden, who is a Super Bowl-winning football coach who came in to help support us," Husted said.
Husted also pointed to early voting trends, claiming Republicans have been narrowing the Democrats' initial advantage — a claim that could not be independently verified from the interview alone.
He went on to criticize Brown's record on trade and manufacturing, arguing the former senator supported policies that benefited Chinese producers at the expense of Ohio businesses. Husted credited Trump's economic policies with attracting manufacturing jobs to Ohio, saying the state has gained thousands of jobs and experienced historically low unemployment.
With the November election approaching, Husted framed the race as a turnout battle.
"I'm asking five minutes a day. Call one person a day over the next 17 days. Five minutes a day. You go vote early. If we do that, we will win," he said.
The Senate Democrats' blockade of the electricity bill is the latest flashpoint in the affordability debate heading into the midterms. Republicans argue Democrats talk about lowering costs but vote against measures that would actually deliver relief. Democrats have not publicly responded to Husted's specific allegations in the Breitbart interview.
For Ohio ratepayers, the practical effect is that the bill's consumer protections — however broad the House support — remain stalled in the Senate. Whether Senate Democrats will allow a vote before November is not yet known.
Our Take
This is what Democrats do. They stand at podiums and weep about affordability, then quietly kill a bill that passed the House 417-3 because letting Republicans deliver a win is worse for them than letting your electric bill go up.
Husted nailed it: Democrats didn't even have to vote for the bill. They just had to stop blocking it. They couldn't bring themselves to do that. Hakeem Jeffries voted for it. AOC voted for it. The Freedom Caucus voted for it. The only people standing between Ohio families and lower electric rates are Senate Democrats playing politics with your power bill.
And notice the timing. Husted is running against Sherrod Brown, the poster boy for the old guard that shipped Ohio manufacturing to China and now wants to lecture voters about costs. Every Democrat who blocked this bill just handed Husted a campaign ad.
Patriots, this is why turnout matters. Husted is asking for five minutes a day. Call one person. Vote early. If Republicans show up, they win — and the people who blocked your rate cut get sent home.
The question is simple: do you want the party that voted to lower your electric bill, or the party that blocked it?
