This is the FCB Podcast Network. This is Pillow Talk with Allie Michelle on the FCB Podcast Network. Today, I'm sitting down with Jay Edwards, former Ohio State Representative, former chairman of the Ohio Finance Committee, and now the Republican candidate for Ohio Treasurer of State. Jay grew up in Southeast Ohio, played football at Ohio University, owned a degree in mathematics, and went on to serve in the Ohio Representing Communities Committee. across Southeast Ohio. We're talking about what he's been hearing while traveling around Ohio, what he wants to do as treasurer. We're also going to have a little fun to get to know the person behind the campaign. Jay, welcome back to Pillow Talk with Allie Michelle. Since this is our second time here, I don't want to simply repeat like the first conversation. You've been busy since then from Dallas and the RNC to what feels like every county fair in Ohio. Yes. So I want to talk about what you're seeing and what you're hearing. and who you are when the campaign signs come down. Yeah, so, you know, the last time we talked, we had a contentious primary, probably the most contentious Treasurer's primary in Ohio's history or in Ohio in a long time. So, you know, we've been traveling around, talking to people, getting ready for the general election. I think, you know, there's two ways to go in general elections. You can try to, you know, come back to the middle and appeal to independence, which is one strategy. And you can also give your base something to be excited for and something to talk about. And I think from the last time we talked, it's been so long ago that we didn't see some of this fraud and some of the things that we've seen pop up from Nick Shirley's reporting and things like that. And we're seeing it in Ohio, which kind of plays into the treasurer's race. But But right now, you know, it's really about the environment out there and the entire landscape. You know, you have the U.S. Senate race with John Newstead and Sherry Brown. You have a vacant Amy Acton. And we have the environment of the national politics. And the environment's not great for Republicans right now. Everything points to being a very tough year for the midterms, Democrats being energized, Republicans not being as energized because we just won all three branches of the federal government two years ago. And gas prices are a struggle. And so we're hearing from people, people are struggling right now and inflation is up and gas prices are up. And so, you know, we're trying to have real conversations over who do you think is best suited to fix that problem? A party that wants to tax and spend your money more or the party that wants to go after the fraud, that wants to go after trying to lower people's property taxes, trying to figure some of these things out. So we're really trying to have those real conversations with people and It's part of the reason you see me at county fairs so much is I like talking to real people and being boots on the ground and talking to people and hearing their struggles and talking about some of the things that we want to do as the next state treasurer. I love fairs. Like, that is my thing. I feel like Ohio is like the state of fairs. I personally think that. But before we get into Ohio, I want to get into Dallas. So you're at the RNC. And on social media, there's been plenty of rumors of... they're saying that the vibe was off, that they were just there for photo shoots. Can you kind of give us like an insight of what really went, like what was happening there? What were the conversations? Yeah, so, you know, it was awesome. It was a good idea, I think, by the Trump administration or Trump himself. You know, we do these conventions typically in presidential years. They do serve a purpose. We have delegates and it's how you actually select the primary who's going to be on your ballot for the primary and both the Democrat and Republican candidates. Trump felt a lot of energy around these conventions from 16, 20, and 24. So he thought a way to energize the base was to do this. I believe it did have that effect. Trump spoke both nights. I'm biased. I thought the second night was amazing with J.D. Vance. I thought J.D. did a great speech. He kind of hit on everything from his newborn child and his children to he had the interruption and the people holding the Mexican flag up. So he kind of hit on all sorts of things and talking about the future. I thought he came across as very presidential. I've also heard rumors that it costs $ 25, 000 to attend. That's just not true. You know, it was free for me to attend. I was a delegate again this year, just like I was in the previous presidential conventions. So, you know, and I know a lot of people there didn't. Pay $ 25, 000. Or any money. You do have to pay for your travel and your hotel and that sort of stuff. But It was a really good thing. Obviously, people are going to hate on it. It's funny season in Ohio, so people are going to hate on it and say whatever they want to say. But I thought we got a lot of really good press out of it. I thought it was able to, for Trump to be able to go back and talk about some of the things he's done from the one big beautiful bill to the fraud that J.D. Vance is on to the closing down the border to a lot of great things that have gone done, some of which seem like it's been forever ago, but it's really just been within the last couple of years. So I think it was a good opportunity to remind people where we were previous to Trump coming in, where we are now and how things are better. Are they perfect? No. But I think they're a lot better in the grand scheme of where we could be right now versus if things went the. Other way in 2024. Nice. You mentioned J.D. So he was that like a second endorsement or is that just like a, hey, friend, J.D., to you? Yeah, I think all Republicans are endorsing Republicans these days. So it's not that not that big in the general election, but yeah, absolutely. Got to spend some time with JD. He actually spoke at an, at a breakfast with, uh, four or five of the state delegations. Ohio was part of it. So we got to hear JD speak over a luncheon, which was really cool. And, uh, they got to spend a lot of time with, with John Eustad and Bernie Moreno. I, you know, I don't know about you guys, but Bernie is like killing it. Um, he seems like he's having the time of his life. He's having a great time in Washington, DC. And, uh, I just think he's doing amazing things, carrying on the America First agenda and doing a great job representing Ohio. Well, congratulations on that again. I thought that was so cool. I was fangirling for you for the second time. It was awesome. It was awesome. You mentioned Nick Shirley and the fraud. I kind of wanted to, that wasn't on the notes, but I want to go into that. How are you going to, on your end, kind of like back him or protect him? Yeah, no, it's a big deal. And right now people are getting hit with high electricity prices, high property taxes. So first it comes with the realization that it's not the government's money, it is the people's money. And so we have to protect that just as we would our own money and how we handle our household budget. And the Ohio Treasure actually plays into this. We're not the enforcement mechanism. We don't go out and arrest people and can't lock people up and even investigate these charges. But what we can do is- Um, about over a decade ago, a guy by the name of a previous state treasurer named Josh Mandel started what is known as the Ohio checkbook program, which is a state run program through the state treasurer's office that requires the state operating budget for us to be able to show our revenues and our expenses. You log into the Ohio checkbook. It's supposed to be very simple when it was passed. I think it was passed in 2012 when it was passed. The local government, it was voluntary for them to sign up. Everything from your counties to your cities, villages, to your townships, to your school districts could sign up voluntarily. And all their input, they submit their data. It's very simple to them. They submit their data to the treasurer's office. The treasurer uploads it to the iCheckbook. So any average person should be able to log in and see how that's done. I can tell you that website has not been updated since Josh Mandel started it. We're going to update it. We want it. You know, the average farmer in. Northeast Northwest Ohio or or the average iron worker should be able to log in, see how the state's spending their money, see how their locals are spending their money. I think it's time that the locals should be required to be on the Ohio checkbook program. And we should be able to make that very simple. I can tell you the Web site right now is very complex. You almost have to be like a road scholar to get on that Web site and. Figure it out. I want to make this very, very simple, and maybe it can lead to us not going down this path of having all this fraudulent activity if we have this access to the public. I actually think it's one of those weird things where even journalists are going to like what we do with the Ohio Checkbook program because they're going to be able, in the reporting, log in, see exactly where the state gets the revenue, exactly where the state spends its money, and hopefully all the local governments will buy into this program as well. I like that. Would it be more of a website or would it be like app worthy? Yeah, we can make it an app, but I can tell you the website is way outdated. It still exists right now, but you cannot figure out how to use the website. I've tried. I know a lot about the state budget. It is very, very complex. I want this to be very elementary, very simplified. You can log in. I could log in. Anyone can log in. and see exactly it's broken down in simplistic terms, exactly where the state revenues come from, where the state spends our money. And quite frankly, you should be able to do it for your local school district that your kids are. Going to school at. You should be able to do it for your local township, particularly if they're trying to go to the ballot and pass a levy. You know, I think the communities that embrace the Ohio Checkbook under this new simplified form that I'm going to create, the communities that embrace it are the ones that are going to be honest with their voters and say, look, we can show you right on the Ohio Checkbook why we need this levy because, you know, our EMS is suffering or whatever the case might be. Communities that are going to fight back against me, I think, are the ones that are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the voters and they're not going to want to tell the whole story. So, But I think it should be mandatory for all local governments to be on here. And, but the first thing we're going to do is update the system for the state and we're going to go around and try to get communities to buy in and sign up for the checkbook program. I love that idea. I transparency, you know, that's what, that's what the whole point is these past few years is just transparency. So I love that you're, you're suggesting that. And you mentioned community. So yeah, County fair time. Uh, what, uh, why is that? So you mentioned it was because, um, you wanted to get the input. So what has been like the most, I guess, concerning thing that you've heard, um, from the community in like the fair. Property taxes, electric bills, and gas prices. Now gas prices, we can't do anything about property taxes. And we talked about it last time, you know, the state needs to take the initiative to figuring out how to lower people's property taxes. particularly when last budget cycle, they gave $ 1. 7 billion to both football stadiums, $ 600 million to the Cleveland Browns. It was kind of a slap in the face to property owners in Ohio, in my opinion. That's what we're hearing about. And, you know, I try to go to the county fairs, no knock on Vivek, but Vivek's been going to a lot of county fairs. And, you know, when Vivek shows up, it typically draws a huge crowd with Republicans and I try to go to the county fairs when Vivek's not there so that I can show up and talk to the average person, the 4-H kid, the mom and dad. So it's not just a Republican crowd, but it's a mixed crowd and talk to people. And, you know, most everyday pragmatic, common sense folks are not thinking in terms like maybe you and I do, Allie, of looking at politics because we like politics. It's a sick thing that we do. It is. It is. And, you know, but they're just trying to get by. And so, you know, they don't think about it like you and I do. They don't. They're thinking about it in terms of their electricity bill when it shows up and writing that check every month and their property tax bill and when they're filling up their gas tank. So it's you have to kind of you have to kind of to understand that you kind of have to get out amongst the people and realize that people are just trying to get by and they want their kid to be safe. They want their daughters to be able to change in locker rooms and be safe. They want the schools to do good and educate their kids without indoctrinating or bringing politics into the classroom. They want just a simple life. They want to leave their kids with a better life than what they had. And so, you know, they're getting up and putting their boots on and going to work every day or whatever they're doing. And it's nice to have some of those conversations. And I can tell you, we talk a lot about the transparency piece that we just talked about. They're really disheartening when Their expenses are going through the roof. The government's asking for more money and yet are spending their money on things that they don't necessarily care about. And yet, you know, they see the Somali fraud that's taking place in South Columbus. You know, something that they want to see something get done here. And so it's going to. It's going to take people with willpower that's willing to go in and look at the state budget, people that's willing to track it, like I'm going to as your next state treasurer, and I'm going to call things out and I'm going to call balls and strikes, whether it's Republicans or Democrats. In this case of stadium funding, it was Republicans. I got no problem calling that out because I think it was a crazy expense and something that shouldn't have been done. And I'm willing to say it. I do have to say that. I think a lot of like Democrats and liberals, I have a few friends and family members that are on that side. They are sick of the men in bathrooms thing. So I'm feeling like they're getting there. And I feel like if you were to bring more transparency to our budgeting and maybe they'll feel like, hmm, maybe the Democrats have been ABCDE and I haven't been, you know, open-minded. But to hear those conversations behind, you know, not my podcast or anything, but just at a dinner table or wherever, I'm like, okay, so I think we're doing something right, you know, so. Yeah, they call it 80-20 issues, right? It's like you're on 80%, regardless of a Republican or Democrat, you're on 80%. It's kind of like showing an ID to vote. People generally agree on that across party lines. And it's something that. We got to hone in on. I'm glad that we're not having those conversations in Ohio. We're talking about gas prices and property taxes and other things. And so that's one of the messages is we don't want to go back to talking about those things. We want to continue moving forward. And I'm afraid if we Vote the wrong way. We're going to go back to talking about those things again. I do want to talk about gas prices. What is your outlook if people are listening and they're like, well, why are gas prices? From your perspective and your knowledge, can you maybe just break that down just a little bit? Yeah, a lot of it has to do with worldwide politics and OPEC and all kinds of other things. Obviously, the war is not helping. Trump thought it was, and who knows what Trump's been privy to. A lot of people are upset that we're in another conflict. Also, you've got Russia-Ukraine still going on. So I think a lot of it has to do with the war and overseas. Things are kind of outside of our power in Ohio. But I trust Trump, and I think Trump's doing this for national security. And so I think it's, you know, I trust in Trump. I've disagreed with him some and I wish we'd get out of this war as. Fast as we possibly could. But I think, you know, as far as controlling gas prices, it's nothing a governor or state treasurer or state legislature can do. Right. Well, there's hope. I think there's hope. So, but we're going to go to break and we will be right back after this. Welcome back from the break. Um, I want to do a more of a lighthearted, um, part if you don't mind. Yes. It's called the lightning rod. So, um, favorite fair food go. Um, if it's dessert, I'm probably going with an elephant ear. Um, otherwise I like those like big beef tenderloin, uh, sandwiches. That they have. Um, but what's, but what's really interesting is, um, every fair is like known for something. So I'm trying all kinds of new food and all kinds of new stuff. And it's like, it's kind of a slap in the face if you don't try their stuff. And so some it's like milkshakes. And I was at Wayne County Fair in Worcester last week. They're known for Lurch's Donuts. Lurch's Donuts are like famous at the fair. And I happened to be there on the day where the special donut was birthday cake. I wasn't complaining. It was delicious. But it's really, really bad for your diet, all the county fairs. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Mine is belly busters at Lorain County. Shout out. Oh, yes. So gross, but so good. So, corndog or funnel cake? Elephant ear or funnel cake or corndog and funnel cake? Corndog or funnel cake. Probably a funnel cake. Really? I have a sweet tooth. I have a sweet tooth. Best fair you've been to. Oh, go ahead. Oh, best fair I've been to. You know, this year, I've always heard about it. And this year I got to experience it. The Canfield Fair is absolutely nuts. If you've ever been, never been. Where? I'm sorry. It's in Canfield. It's kind of like the Mahoning County Fair. They call it the Canfield Fair. They have their own police force at the fair. I think it's bigger than the state fair. It is unbelievable how big it is. The county just completely shuts down. People come from all over the place to the Canfield Fair. If you haven't been to the Canfield Fair, the only problem is you really are going to struggle at figuring out what you want to eat because there are so many vendors there. I mean, it is absolutely massive. I am going to actually write that in my notes. Cause like I was saying before we got on that, Ohio was like, no, I feel like it's the fair state, but I just, I feel that, you know but so with fair season that means it's like spray tan season because it's going to go into the fall and then we're going to winter and then we're going to miss sun for nine months. So I kind of want to pick your brain. So how do you, when you're chilling, like what is your favorite thing to just Mine's coffee and tanning, but what is like yours? Yeah. So, you know, I can't, I gotta say I've never gotten a spray tan. I love coffee. I love coffee. I love working out, exercise, working out. I've got a cold plunge that I actually built myself in my basement. I jump in the cold plunge every morning. But I can tell you right now, it's really tough for me. I'm campaigning every day of the week, 24 seven. I'm trying to show up everywhere on all corners of the state. It's really tough for me on Saturday. I would love a Saturday where I just got to get up, maybe cold tub, slight workout, and just kind of be lazy for the day and watch college football. I absolutely could spend the entire day on the couch watching great college football games. Right now I'm watching some in the car on my phone. You know, the Ole Miss LSU game was great last week. I don't root for, you know, I root for Ohio State. Obviously I root for OU. I played football at Ohio University. But I'm not like a diehard for anyone. So I kind of just love good college football. And I'm looking forward to after November 3rd, that first Saturday of sitting around. Hopefully there's some good games that weekend and just sitting around watching college game day and ordering food and hanging out with the family and just sitting around watching college football day. That would be my dream Saturday for me. Oh my, yeah. We have a local pub up here and when it's college, season i like going there just because the vibe is so yes it's like it it does something you know it's like oh yeah we're here we're here we're playing we're playing even if you don't like the team like i don't really follow college much but it's definitely a vibe it's. Cool to hear the roars it's cool to you know it's great to have a beer and pizza and wings and It's definitely college football is such a vibe, especially in Ohio with Ohio State and how people are maniacal about their fandom of them, including me. I definitely root for them. But it's such a vibe. And college football is just great. We've had some great games already this year. And so, yeah, I'm really looking forward to that for Saturday after November 3rd. I love that. So we talked about who keeps you grounded when everything is like, going crazy, going crazy? Like who is, what do you, or who do you? So I have a daughter, I have a daughter, um, you know, and, and she's in school and playing basketball and I left on stuff right now. She definitely keeps me grounded. I'm, I'm very fortunate that my family all lives close to me. Um, so, you know, very close to my family. I've got a great mom and dad and a sports system. I'm blessed that way. And, and so, you know, my dad is somebody I, rely on heavily. He gets more nervous than I do. I'm constantly like, calm down, dad, calm down. And he's like, you'd understand if you, when you have a kid one day, if they run for office, but, um, you know, he's just a nervous wreck about it. And, and, uh, that makes me feel good. I'm definitely not complaining about it, but I also have to calm him down all the time. So yes, yes. So it's, uh, you know, I can tell you when I first ran for office in 2016 for a state rep, My dad is well known in the area. He would literally give the shirt off his back to help people. He always finds himself in some someone else's problem. You know, they need a new waterline to go have a back over their house and digging up their waterline like he just does stuff for people. And so, you know, people are Democrats. And so he really struggled with, you know, people that he knew his whole life that had yard signs for my opponent. He was like, you know, why would this person do that? I'm like, Dad, it's politics. That's just the way it is. And it's actually one of the bigger concerns that I have, I guess, for the future, not people supporting me or whatever. It's mostly that politics is just a rough sport. I mean, it is really rough. People dive into your past. They go to great lengths. They say things on social media that are just. Send postcards to your house. Send postcards to your house. They say things on social media. My biggest fear moving forward is you know, especially at the local level, but even state rep and statewide office holders and all this sort of stuff is we're just not going to get any good people that want to run for office because they're worried that they tweeted something out when they were 12 years old, that it's going to be held against them. And, you know, so, you know, the quality of people that we're going to get to run for office, I worry is going to go downhill. I can tell you crazy stories of things that have happened to me during the campaign trail. I'll tell you one. So I just thought of one, if you're okay with it. Oh, yeah. Go ahead. Yeah. So when I was a state rep, there was a guy, I got a phone call, or I think I got a Facebook message from a woman, a local woman that I've. Known my whole life, where I live, everyone knows everybody. And she's like, am I messaging you? Are you texting me right now? And I was like, no, I'm not texting you right now. What's going on? So I call her. I still remember where I was. Believe it or not, I was at the Athens County Fair. So she's like, call me. So I call her. And she's like, hey, for like four months, I've been talking to someone on text message that I thought was you. And they had a associated Snapchat. So I'm like, well, this is a problem. So I go down to the local, I'm like, what do I do? I've never had this happen. So I go to the local sheriff's office and they're able to get in contact with this person as well as four or five other women that this was also happening to. This person was tracking my Facebook page. Oh my. And in the conversation would drop hints about, you know, hey, I just walked in this parade today or in the conversation, they'd be like, how are you? And he'd say, well, I'm really sorry. I'm really tired because I just walked in this parade today. Keep in mind, he was looking at my Facebook page. So it was accurate information that he was sharing. And I go to the sheriff's office. They're able to track it. They do all I don't know how they do it, but they find this IP address and they find the person. It's somebody I've actually known my whole life, a younger kid. And, uh, they, you know, they. Press charges on them and all these women are now victims. I'm now a victim. And, uh, you know, it was kind of crazy. I kind of felt as odd as it is to say this, I kind of felt bad. I still do this day, get like victim statements from the Athens County prosecutor, because technically I'm a victim in this case. Um, and I just, I just like, that's the kind of stuff you deal with in politics. And so it's like, why would anybody voluntarily sign up for this? And, you know, it's you got to be kind of nuts to run for office. I'm just here to tell you, I've never had a Snapchat. If anybody thinks they're Snapchatting me, it's not me. But it's it's just a really like weird, wild world that we live in when you're dealing with things like this. And it happens every day with people tweeting something out. And there's really no recourse or no action you can take when you are an elected official or you're a public figure. And so you just got to deal with it. They say you deserve this because you put yourself... That's what I have literally been told. Like, you deserve it because you put yourself... I was like, what? If you can see my screen, that's what I was getting. Postcards like that. Oh, yeah, yeah. In my house. And I think I know who he was, but. Nowadays with AI and the stuff that they're going to be able to make you say, like put a picture and make you say, it's like. It's all fake. And so it's like, you know, what do you how do you know what's going to happen? So I think, Allie, the next question should be for you. Like, when are we getting the yard signs ready for your run for office? I ran for city council and that was intense. A good friend of mine said, are you crazy? Why would you do that to yourself? But I genuinely care about and that friend told me, but people like they don't care if you care. They care like they don't care if you care. People go, you know, some people go in for ABCDE, but like, I would love to. I just, you know, after these. Postcards, I was alone. I'm thinking state rep. I'm thinking state rep. The problem you have is like for a statewide race, it could be the worst person in the world, absolutely terrible. Knows nothing, low IQ. I know that's a Trump term, but it's like seriously low IQ, doesn't know anything. And if they, both sides. If they put an R next to their name or a D next to their name, they automatically start with 40 percent of the vote. That's just like the world we live in. And it's really scary when you can't think independently of like, you know, here I am calling out Republicans in Ohio because I. Disagreed with them. You know, some people would get offended by that. I think it's we got to get back to a time of of, you know, yeah, identify as this and that's fine. But that doesn't mean I'm beholden to the party. It's it's more about my independent way of thinking. And I'm dealing with this right now on a local race down here in Athens County, an Athens County commissioner. Athens County is super liberal, super Democrat because of the university. When it comes to county commissioner races, you're not dealing with abortion. You're not dealing with guns. So can we just take a step back and look at this as who's the best person for the job? And so I'm trying to help a candidate get across the finish line who's getting beat up pretty bad right now. But it's just a wild world that we live in. And again, I'm afraid that we're just not going to have good people that want to run for office in the next decade. Maybe that's the plan. That's my conspiracy going. So I see we're getting the countdown. I want to just reiterate one thing that I haven't talked about here. We're going to keep Ohio's money in Ohio. No more of this national bank taking state money, giving it. To Bank of America and U.S. Bank. We're going to give it to our community banks right here in Ohio. They're going to be able to leverage those funds. All of a sudden, they're going to be able to take a risk on giving that loan to the local coffee shop or the local manufacturer at 30 or 20 or 30 new jobs. We're going to keep. Ohio's money in Ohio. We're going to run the Ohio checkbook and make sure we're taking care of that. We're going to have great returns to the state. And we're going to be a voice for common sense, aggressive common sense. Ohio to make sure that whether it's Republicans or Democrats, we're going to call balls and strikes and try to try to lobby to make sure that the next stadium deal or whatever the case might be, we're not going to let we're not going to let the state continue to waste taxpayer money. Love it. Love it. But before we go, where can people follow the campaign, learn more and meet you next? Yes. So I'm very, I actually run my social media pages. So if you want to connect with me on social media, you can contact me there. Um, Edwards for Ohio is my website. You can email me on there. Um, you know, tag me and stuff. Come find me at a fair. Um, we're going to keep running, being, being at County fairs all the time. If you see me out in public, come up and talk to me, ask questions, whatever. The case might be, but also follow me on social media, follow my journey and see the things that we're working on and how hard we're working. I think we've got some of the hardest working, I believe we're the hardest working campaign in the state of Ohio right now. We're showing up everywhere, every day. Literally. And we are working our tail off and we're trying to earn votes. We don't think anything's given to us. We're not entitled. We want to earn votes. And, you know, give us a fair shot. Whether you're a Democrat or Republican, give us a fair shot. We've gotten endorsements from both Democrat groups. and Republican groups across the state. We think we're the best person for the job. And I don't care, you know, you might vote for somebody else for some other position. You might vote a straight Democrat ticket or Republican ticket or whatever. I want you to look at me independently on the job that I want to do as your next state treasurer. I love that. Well, thank you so much for coming on again. I love having you here and hopefully we talk soon. Yes. I'll see you guys sometime soon. Next time I'm in Cleveland. Yeah. All right. All right. Thank you guys. Thank you for listening to pillow talk with Allie Michelle. Again, huge shout out to Jay Edwards for joining me today. If you haven't subscribed to the podcast, subscribe now. If you haven't sent it to your haters, your lovers, your family, your friends do it now. I would really appreciate it. And with that, I will talk to you guys on the next one.
