After having ignored strategists’ advice and stupidly said the now-failed Issue 1 effort to make participatory democracy more difficult for Ohio voters was specifically about blocking the expansion of abortion rights in the state, GOP Secretary of State and declared US Senate candidate Frank LaRose omitted it from his statement on the crushing defeat of his flagship campaign initiative.

“I’m grateful that nearly 1.3 million Ohioans stood with us in this fight, but this is only one battle in a long war. Unfortunately, we were dramatically outspent by dark money billionaires from California to New York, and the giant ‘for sale’ sign still hangs on Ohio’s constitution. Ohioans will see the devastating impact of this vote soon enough. The radical activists that opposed Issue 1 are already planning amendments to shut parents out of a child’s life-altering medical procedure, force job killing wage mandates on small businesses, prevent law abiding citizens from protecting their families and remove critical protections for our first responders. I’ve said for months now that there’s an assault coming on our constitution, and that hasn’t changed. I’m just getting started in the fight to protect Ohio’s values,” said LaRose in the statement after Issue 1 went down in flames Tuesday night.

“This is 100% about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution,” LaRose told reporters in June after GOP polling firm OnMessage had specifically told him not to do it.