Derek Merrin SILENT on Ties to Largest Bribery Scandal in Ohio History [Fremont News-Messenger]

While “other Ohio House members who received campaign donations from FirstEnergy-linked groups came up with post-campaign restitution methods,” the Fremont News Messenger found “no evidence” that Merrin had made a similar effort.

REMINDER: While Ohioans were getting squeezed with higher electric bills, Merrin voted in favor of FirstEnergy’s billion-dollar bailout and was one of only 20 Republicans to vote against expelling Larry Householder following his federal indictment.

DCCC Spokesperson Riya Vashi:
“Derek Merrin took more than $90,000 in FirstEnergy-linked cash, voted for Householder’s bailout, and refused to expel him after he was indicted. Now Merrin is hiding while Ohio families pay the price for his corruption with their electric bills. Northwest Ohio rejected him once, and they’ll do it again in November.”

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Fremont News-Messenger: In Ohio congressional race, silence on FirstEnergy donations

• The largest bribery scandal in Ohio history haunts a local political race, and one candidate declined to comment on it.
• Republican Derek Merrin, running for U.S. Congress against Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur, received campaign donations linking him to FirstEnergy, but declined to get into the specifics with the News-Messenger.
• FirstEnergy is the former owner of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Oak Harbor. The company spent more than $60 million in exchange for a nuclear bailout known as House Bill 6. The money went to aid former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder in a pay-to-play scheme with fellow legislators. Householder went to prison for the scheme, along with former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges.
• Merrin is in his second race for Congress, having lost to Rep. Kaptur in 2024.
• FirstEnergy, however, has donated to some of his political campaigns through PACs and individuals linked to the scandal from 2016 to as recently as his last Congressional run in 2024.
• The Merrin campaign declined to talk about data centers and his connection to FirstEnergy. 
• Other Ohio House members who received campaign donations from FirstEnergy-linked groups came up with post-campaign restitution methods, such as making donations to various charities. 
• No evidence could be found by press time that Merrin had made a similar effort, despite staff promises to follow-up with the News-Messenger. 
• FirstEnergy-linked donations came to $91,474 for all of his campaigns from 2016 to 2024.
• Householder was arrested by the FBI in July 2020. 
• With some bribery-related court cases still in progress, Merrin voted not to expel Householder. He previously voted for him to become speaker of the House and voted to pass House Bill 6. He also accepted campaign funds from Friends of Larry Householder, including $7,707 in 2018 for Merrin’s state-level campaign. 
• According to the Federal Election Commission, in 2024, Merrin accepted $3,300 from Brooke Bodney, a fundraiser connected to the FirstEnergy scandal. 
• In 2016 and 2017, First Energy PAC contributed a total of $1,500 to Friends of Derek Merrin for his state campaigns. 
• Other associated PACs include The American Electric Power Ohio Committee for Responsible Government, which most recently donated in July 2021, for a combined $2,500 to Merrin’s state campaigns. The group was linked in a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission to Generation Now and Householder, and required to pay $19 million for “violations of federal securities laws.” 
• He also accepted donations from Thomas Rastin and Karen Wright, linked to Householder’s Generation Now, for a combined total of $28,500. 
• Follow-up emails have been sent by Merrin campaign, with one campaign communication about the release of Merrin TV advertisement on his working-class roots from his first job loading boxes on a union truck.
• Other emails announced his campaign stops, but did not address his links to FirstEnergy.