Democrat Seth Walsh’s campaign for Ohio treasurer has opened a social media offensive against Republican nominee Jay Edwards, launching a series on Instagram and TikTok under the name “No Way Jay.”
The series features Walsh, a Cincinnati city councilman, speaking to the camera and setting Edwards’ past statements against his record in the legislature. The campaign describes the format as a rhetoric-versus-reality comparison.
“Ask anyone who worked at the Ohio Statehouse, and they’ll tell you that when Jay Edwards was Chair of the Finance Committee, he was famous for saying one thing and then doing the opposite,” said Lauren B. Worley, campaign director. “This series demonstrates that disconnect between Jay’s words and his deeds, proving that he cannot be a trustworthy steward of Ohio’s investments, pensions and taxpayer dollars.”
“Just as Ohio’s Treasurer has a fiduciary responsibility to steward Ohio’s $280 billion public funds, we as a campaign have a responsibility to make sure Ohioans are aware of Jay Edwards character and record,” Worley said.
The FirstEnergy money
State campaign finance records show FirstEnergy’s political action committee gave Edwards’ campaign $5,000 the day before the 2018 general election, and the Athens News reported in October 2020 that the company had also supported him in earlier years at higher levels.
After the July 2020 arrest of then-Speaker Larry Householder, some Ohio legislators redirected FirstEnergy contributions to charity. Edwards did not.
“I know that I have done nothing wrong and so I’m not going to go out and feel the need to go do something with money that I know came to me legally,” Edwards said in a 2020 interview with the paper. Asked about the principle of keeping money from a company then under federal investigation, the Athens News reported, Edwards dodged the question and said FirstEnergy was innocent until proven guilty.
In the same interview, Edwards said he had no advance knowledge of the scheme and that Householder’s arrest came as a shock. He also said he remained on good terms with him.
“I’ll openly admit I still consider Larry Householder a friend,” Edwards said. “Am I upset by him and some of his actions? Yeah, absolutely, but I think he deserves an untainted day in court and we’ll find out what happens.”
The House Bill 6 record
Edwards voted for House Bill 6, the 2019 nuclear and coal subsidy law that federal prosecutors later described as the product of a $60 million racketeering scheme. He served on Householder’s leadership team as majority whip. In 2021, when the Ohio House voted 75–21 to expel Householder, Edwards was among the Republicans who voted against expulsion. Householder was convicted in 2023 and is serving a 20-year federal sentence.
The Walsh campaign’s release also refers to Edwards as “Representative No. 8” in FBI recordings. Indicted lobbyist Neil Clark identified Edwards as “Representative 8” in the federal affidavit, according to reporting by the Athens News and cleveland.com. The affidavit itself stated that Representative 8 was not known to be a member of the alleged criminal enterprise. Edwards has never been charged with a crime in connection with the case. Clark died by suicide in March 2021 while awaiting trial.
TiffinOhio.net examined Edwards’ record in the House Bill 6 case in detail in May, and republished Signal Ohio’s reporting on his gift disclosures in April.
How Edwards describes his own record
Edwards has campaigned on his work as House Finance Committee chair, describing himself on his campaign website as the chairman who sponsored and passed a $3.2 billion tax cut and universal school choice, according to WKYC’s coverage of the May primary. The 2023 budget he wrote converted Ohio’s EdChoice Expansion program into a universal voucher program open to students regardless of family income or school district, the Ohio School Boards Association reported at the time.
Edwards, of Nelsonville, represented Ohio’s 94th House District from 2017 until term limits ended his tenure, and chaired the House Finance Committee in 2023 and 2024. He won the Republican nomination for treasurer on May 5 with 53% of the vote to state Sen. Kristina Roegner’s 47%, backed by endorsements from Vice President JD Vance and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.
What the office does
The treasurer serves as the state’s banker, managing roughly $280 billion in state assets and investments and playing a role in public pension oversight. Republican Robert Sprague is term-limited and is running for secretary of state.
Walsh was appointed to Cincinnati City Council in December 2022 to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, and won election in his own right in 2023 and again in 2025. Before joining council he led the College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation, where he has said he oversaw more than $85 million in development along Hamilton Avenue. He previously worked with the Sedamsville Community Development Corporation and the CDC Association of Greater Cincinnati, and sits on the Cincinnati Retirement System Board of Trustees. He holds a political science degree from Xavier University.
Edwards and Walsh meet on the November 3 general election ballot.
