Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost isn’t sure Republicans can succeed without President Donald Trump’s seal of approval.
Just look at Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, Yost said, who lost his May 19 primary race to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein.
Yost never drew the ire of Trump, as Massie did. But he also didn’t get the president’s nod when he ran for Ohio governor. The endorsement instead went to entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP’s nominee to replace Gov. Mike DeWine.
“When I got the trifecta of a billionaire self-funding opponent, a presidential endorsement the other way and then finally, after about three months, the (Ohio Republican Party) backing the president’s endorsement, I just didn’t see a path forward,” Yost said in an interview with the statehouse bureau.
Yost will step down as attorney general on June 7 to join Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy organization. His surprise departure, seven months before the end of his final term, marks the end of a long career in public office that Yost once thought would lead to the governor’s mansion.
Yost sat down with the statehouse bureau on May 20 to discuss his decision and key issues facing the state.
Did Ohio GOP need a robust primary for governor?
Republicans coalesced around Ramaswamy after the Trump endorsement in early 2025, driving Yost out of the race. Ramaswamy easily defeated a lesser-known challenger in the May 5 primary and faces Democratic nominee Dr. Amy Acton this fall.
Yost, who supports Ramaswamy, said the GOP will find out in November whether it benefited from avoiding a contentious primary.
“Vivek and I share many goals,” Yost said. “We have differing views on how to achieve those goals, and I think the debate would have been helpful. But wisdom is vindicated by all of her children, and if things turn out well in November, then I think that the party and the state will have been well served.”
Yost’s new job
Yost said he didn’t expect to resign early but called the job with Alliance Defending Freedom “too intriguing to pass up.” The group defends conservative culture war policies and was instrumental in overturning the landmark abortion decision Roe v. Wade.
“When you argue for a rule of law, rule of law cuts both ways,” Yost said, arguing conservatives and progressives can cite the same court decision when it suits them.
As attorney general, Yost fought for restrictions on abortion access and a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, among other state laws. He publicly cast doubt on the case of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and traveled to Indiana for an abortion.
Ohio’s death penalty impasse
Yost is a staunch critic of Ohio’s moratorium on executions, which began when DeWine took office in 2019. Since then, DeWine has appeared more skeptical of the death penalty and issued reprieves for people on death row. The Legislature, meanwhile, is deadlocked on a path forward.
DeWine said he plans to publicly share his thoughts on the issue, but Yost is skeptical that will move the needle.
“It actually might backfire because the little bit of ground that is being gained among a few Republicans in the General Assembly (in favor of abolition), that coalition may stall given the lack of popularity he has in some quarters of the GOP caucus over there,” Yost said.
Prosecuting the House Bill 6 scandal
Yost’s office brought charges against two former FirstEnergy executives accused of bribing a public official in the House Bill 6 scandal. The case of Michael Dowling and Chuck Jones ended in a mistrial, but Yost said the state is retooling its case to prepare for a second try.
He’s also bringing his successor, Department of Public Safety Director Andy Wilson, up to speed.
“I’ve got a fresh team that’s looking at it with new eyes, and we’re going to have a more simplified approach to showing the conspiracy,” Yost said. “I’m very pleased with where it is at the moment and where I think we’re going to be able to get to.”
But Jones and Dowling might be the final state prosecutions in a public corruption scheme that sent two prominent GOP leaders to prison. Yost said his team pursued several other leads and came up empty.
Yost calls JobsOhio ‘inadequate’ on transparency
JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development arm, came under scrutiny after it sponsored a podcast tied to the resignation of former Ohio State University president Ted Carter. The private nonprofit was formed to help Ohio attract new businesses.
Yost is on a short list of Republicans critical of JobsOhio. The agency operates with little public oversight, and Yost said major deals − such as the agreement with Intel − deserve more scrutiny.
‘They talk about how all the deals are public. That’s only marginally true,” Yost said. “The fact of the deal, the broad outlines of the deal are public. Go try to ask for the actual contract. I have as attorney general and I’ve been told no, that’s private. So it’s a load of baloney that they’re transparent.”
‘A disconnect between rage and reality’
Reflecting on the state of politics, Yost said people are justifiably angry about certain issues. But he believes manufactured rage is now a “default mechanism, rather than a heavy caliber weapon that you use for the largest war.”
“The people that yearn for the 1990s or some magical period when we all got along simply don’t know history very well,” Yost said. “America’s had more times of division and fracture than not. My concern is that we are reaching a place where it’s all war all the time.”
Coming soon: A new episode of Ohio Politics Explained featuring the full interview with outgoing Attorney General Dave Yost. You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
State government reporter Haley BeMiller can be reached at hbemiller@usatodayco.com or @haleybemiller on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump endorsements matter. Just ask Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost
Reporting by Haley BeMiller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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