Singer John Legend campaigned for Ohio Democrats Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown at a rally in Dayton on Monday, pressing voters to turn out before the midterm elections.
Legend, who grew up in nearby Springfield, Ohio, opened by telling the crowd, “It feels good to be home. I was born and raised just 25 minutes from here.”
He turned his attention to Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who is facing off against former Ohio senator Sherrod Brown. Legend described Husted as “a great customer service representative,” adding, “he gives billionaires and big corporations excellent customer service.”
“He goes to Washington and marches to their orders. Whatever they need, he’ll provide,” Legend said from the podium.
Legend also accused Husted of making “health care more expensive” and “spending years promoting big data centers in Ohio.”
He then shifted to the governor’s race, criticizing Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, claiming Ramaswamy “thinks he can buy a governor’s seat.”
“He has proven he will do anything to win, to get power. He will stoop lower than you thought possible,” Legend said, calling Ramaswamy’s campaign “desperate” and “despicable” for targeting Democratic candidate Amy Acton.
Legend appeared to be referencing a recent Ramaswamy campaign ad that featured his opponent’s estranged mother. President Donald Trump defended that ad last week, posting on social media that Ramaswamy was “hitting pay dirt.”
“Do we want a man with this sort of depraved moral compass to lead our state?” Legend asked the Dayton crowd, before urging them to back Acton, whom he called “a great public servant.”
“And we will send Sherrod Brown back to the U.S. Senate,” Legend added.
Legend has been politically outspoken before. Last year he accused President Trump of creating “one of the dark times in American history” after Trump launched a crime crackdown in Washington, D.C.
