MVP Ohio Partners Launch “#OHnoYouDont” Campaign to Galvanize Voters Against Hate and Scapegoating

In Ohio, where Sherrod Brown’s re-election campaign could decide control of the U.S. Senate, MVP is working with Ohio Progressive Collaborative and Red Wine & Blue to launch “#OHnoYouDont,” a campaign to galvanize voters to speak out against hatred in their community spurred by Senator JD Vance.

What led to the #OHnoYouDont campaign?

Following Vance’s lies and dangerous scapegoating of legal Haitian residents of Springfield, moms in Springfield organically began to speak out. Seeing the moral imperative to support these efforts — and the strategic opportunity to mobilize progressive voters in this must-win U.S. Senate state — MVP quickly moved $200,000 to convene, coordinate, and amplify their message, in coordination with Anat Shenker-Osorio, founder of the renowned progressive communications agency ASO Communications.

The result of this effort: A powerful, unified narrative that presents Ohio as a state that rejects the lies and hate spewed by politicians seeking to divide us and distract us from their radical, unpopular agenda.

A Drumbeat that is Only Growing Louder

Check out the growing drumbeat of #OHnoYouDont on X/Twitter, Threads, Facebook, and YouTube, and watch Red Wine & Blue’s powerful “Unite for Springfield” Zoom event, which brought together over 2,000 people and raised over $100,000 in support of the Haitian community.

A Story of Collaboration Across States and Election Cycles

The story of this campaign is also the story of cross-state collaboration. Leading into the 2018 elections, MVP partner Faith in Minnesota convened statewide partners to launch Greater Than Fear, “a campaign that puts people back at the center of politics and cuts through the noise and division of typical electoral messaging.”

Javier Morillo, MVP’s Senior State Strategy Director in charge of grantmaking and strategy across the Midwest, participated in these efforts — and so, as soon as Trump and Vance began their scapegoating of Springfield, he was able to connect Ohio organizers with their Minnesota counterparts, in order to share best practices, lessons learned, and key resources needed to launch the #OHnoYouDont campaign quickly and effectively.

Now, based on our experience in Minnesota in 2018, MVP’s theory of the case for Ohio 2024 is that this narrative campaign will help create the political conditions to re-elect Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown — and pass a fair redistricting ballot measure that could finally end Ohio’s history of extreme GOP gerrymandering.

The MVP Special Sauce: Strategic, Nimble, Synergistic Interventions

In short, this campaign is a shining example of the MVP model:

• Maintain intimate, on-the-ground knowledge of the political environment;
• Move money quickly to seize pivotal opportunities and fill critical voids;
• Support local organizing where it can make the most impact; and
• Cross-pollinate knowledge and resources to strengthen our progressive movement for the long haul.

As Trump pledges to revoke Haitian residents’ protected status and deport them from Springfield — and with control of the U.S. Senate hanging in the balance — this work could not be more urgent.