Matt Borges
Matt Borges | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the Ohio Republican Party | |
| In office May 31, 2012 – January 6, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin DeWine |
| Succeeded by | Jane Timken |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Ohio State University (BA) |
Mathew "Matt" Borges is an American politician who was the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party from 2012 to 2017. He was replaced when President-elect Donald Trump supported his opposition.[1] In 2020, he joined other former Trump and Bush administration officials in launching the Right Side PAC, a super PAC encouraging Republicans to vote for Joe Biden over Trump in 2020.
In June 2023, he was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in the Ohio nuclear bribery scandal, where he accepted part of $60 million in bribes to pass a $1.3 billion bailout bill benefiting FirstEnergy, the corporate owner of Ohio's Perry and Davis–Besse nuclear plants. It was called the largest corruption scandal in Ohio's history.
Early life and education
[edit]Of Portuguese descent,[2] Borges grew up in Barrington, Rhode Island,[3] and earned a B.A. in political science from The Ohio State University in 1994. He and his wife, Kate, live in Bexley, Ohio.
Politics
[edit]Borges spent most of his early career working on state and local political campaigns in Ohio. He ran local campaigns before running Joe Deters' successful campaigns for Ohio Treasurer of State in 1998 and 2002.
Borges has worked on several presidential campaigns, and traveled the world as an Advance Representative for the George W. Bush White House from 2001 to 2008. He worked on John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008. In 2010, Borges ran the successful statewide campaign of Dave Yost, who now serves as Ohio Attorney General. Borges served as Executive Director for the Kasich-Taylor Inaugural Committee in 2011.
Borges was elected chairman of the Ohio Republican Party in 2012 and served two two-year terms.[4] He was replaced by Jane Timken in 2017, after Timken received support from President-elect Trump.[5]
In 2019 was appointed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to the Board of Trustees at Columbus State University.[6]
In February 2020, he backed Joe Biden's presidential campaign to undermine the campaign of Bernie Sanders.[7] In June 2020, Borges joined with Anthony Scaramucci and other former Trump and Bush administration officials to launch Right Side PAC, a super PAC encouraging Republicans to vote for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.[8]
Controversies and arrest
[edit]Unauthorized use of public office
[edit]In 2004, Borges pleaded to one count of unauthorized use of a public office, paid a $1,000 fine, and was later granted an expungement.[9]
Unpaid taxes and liens
[edit]Between 2005 and 2019, Borges was – according to the Dayton Daily News – "embroiled in a dispute over unpaid taxes and liens".[10] According to Borges, he had started to repay approximately $150,000 in state and federal tax arrears by 2013, with the matter being ultimately settled in 2019.[11][10]
Ohio nuclear bribery scandal
[edit]In July 2020, Borges, along with Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives Larry Householder, and three others were arrested by Federal authorities in the largest corruption scandal in Ohio's history.[12] They were accused of accepting $60 million in bribes from FirstEnergy in exchange for $1.3 billion of benefits to FirstEnergy. The benefits came through Ohio House Bill 6, which increased electricity rates and provided the $1.3 billion as a bailout of $150 million per year for two nuclear plants owned by FirstEnergy—Davis–Besse and Perry.[13][14]
In March 2023, Borges was found guilty of racketeering, and in June 2023, he was sentenced to five years in federal prison (Householder was sentenced to 20 years).[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Isenstadt, Alex (January 5, 2017). "Trump calls Ohio Republicans in effort to oust state GOP chairman". POLITICO. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Lourenço, Ricardo (March 20, 2016). "O lusodescendente que ainda pode tramar Trump" [The Portuguese descendant that can still stop Trump]. Expresso.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ Gomez, Henry J. (May 31, 2016). "Here's the book on Matt Borges". cleveland.com.
- ^ "Ohio Republican Party Re-Elects State Party Chairman". WOSU Public Media. January 13, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ "Ohio GOP votes out chairman in favor of Trump-backed candidate". NBC News. January 6, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ "Columbus State Community College". cscc.edu.
- ^ Rowland, Darrel (February 16, 2020). "Capitol Insider | Former Ohio GOP chief: I'm backing Biden to sink Bernie, not Trump". The Columbus Dispatch.
- ^ Gstalter, Morgan (June 17, 2020). "Republican operatives pushing GOP turnout for Biden with new super PAC". TheHill. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- ^ "New lobbyists in Ohio have strong Republican ties | cleveland.com". cleveland.com. July 5, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Bischoff, Laura A. (July 21, 2020). "Who is Matt Borges? Charged in racketeering case". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "Aspiring Ohio GOP chair using own funds to pay thousands in tax liens". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. July 22, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "Ex-Ohio GOP chair, lobbyist Matt Borges shows remorse, gets 5 years for role in $60M bribery scheme". AP News. June 30, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Wamsley, Laura (July 21, 2020). "Ohio House Speaker Arrested In Connection With $60 Million Bribery Scheme". NPR. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
Last year's nuclear bailout law tacked on a charge to residents' power bills, sending $150 million a year to the nuclear power plants. They are owned by the company Energy Harbor, which was previously known as FirstEnergy Solutions.
- ^ Hughes, Clyde (July 21, 2020). "Ohio House speaker, 4 others arrested in bribery case". UPI. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.