Dave Yost
51st Attorney General of Ohio
Assumed office
January 14, 2019
GovernorMike DeWine
Preceded byMike DeWine
32nd Auditor of Ohio
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 12, 2019
GovernorJohn Kasich
Preceded byMary Taylor
Succeeded byKeith Faber
Personal details
Born
David Anthony Yost

(1956-12-22) December 22, 1956
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDarlene
Children3
EducationOhio State University (BA)
Capital University (JD)

David Anthony Yost (born December 22, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who currently serves as the 51st Attorney General of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, Yost previously served as Ohio State Auditor.

Education and career

Yost graduated from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Capital University Law School.[1]

After earning his bachelor's degree, Yost became a journalist with the Columbus Citizen-Journal.[2] He later served in senior positions within the administration of Columbus Mayor Buck Rinehart and Ohio Governor George Voinovich.[3] Yost was appointed Delaware County Auditor in 1999.[4] In 2003, he became the Delaware County Prosecutor.[5]

In September 2019, Yost was one out of nine state attorneys general that launched an antitrust investigation into Facebook and Google, to investigate whether or not they were stifling competition in their respective fields.[6][7]

In mid-March 2023, about five weeks after the Feb. 3 East Palestine train derailment, Republican AG Yost made the news with his announcement of Ohio's 58-count civil damages lawsuit against Norfolk Southern for its "glaring negligence" and prioritizing profits over communities' safety.[8][9]

Abortion

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, Yost filed a successful motion to dissolve the injunction on Ohio's six-week abortion ban.[10] On June 24, 2022, Yost tweeted that "The Heartbeat Bill is now the law." He released a video statement on YouTube the same day in which he said, "This decision returns abortion policy to the place it has always belonged: to the elected policies branches of the governments."[11]

Yost's son and daughter-in-law publicly criticized his actions in messages on Facebook on June 24 and 25, the former saying, "[T]he lack of pro choice is blatantly against what this country says it is on its banners and documents. The land of the free doesn't seem so free right now."[12]

On June 30, 2022, shortly after the ban became effective, a 10-year-old rape victim who was "six weeks and three days" pregnant traveled from the Columbus area to Indianapolis, Indiana, to get an abortion to avoid carrying her rapist's child.[13][14][15] The incident was widely reported, beginning with an article in the Indianapolis Star newspaper on July 1, and was mentioned by President Joe Biden on July 8, 2022, in comments at the White House.[16] On July 11, Yost disputed the report, saying that neither his office or the state crime lab had any information on the matter, and that his staff had heard "not a whisper" about it; in an interview on July 12, Yost said it was "more likely that this is a fabrication".[17] That day, the report was confirmed by the Columbus Division of Police and a rape suspect was arrested.[18]

On July 14, Yost's office shared a backgrounder with media and on Twitter[19] which listed specific exceptions contained in Ohio's "Heartbeat Law", and suggested, as had Yost in interviews on July 11, that the 10-year-old girl would have been able to obtain a legal abortion under those exceptions. The Ohio Legislative Commission said that nothing in the language of the law explicitly includes the age of the person seeking an abortion as a qualification for exception, and that it was unclear whether the girl would have qualified for a legal abortion.[20][21] The following week, Yost rejected calls from the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and others for his resignation.[22]

Attempt to invalidate 2020 presidential election results

After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, Yost filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief in support of the Trump campaign's attempt to invalidate ballots cast in Pennsylvania.[23][24] However, in December 2020, Yost opposed a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton which sought to subvert the presidential election results and prevent Biden from being certified as the winner.[25]

Personal life

Yost and his wife Darlene live in Franklin County, Ohio. They have three children and four grandchildren.[26]

Swatting

On December 28, 2023, Yost was swatted, along with other Ohio Republican politicians, during the 2023 swatting of American politicians.[27]

Electoral history

Yost was elected Ohio's 32nd state auditor in November 2010.[28] In January 2017 he announced he was running for Ohio Attorney General in 2018.[29]

Ohio Auditor Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Yost 457,820 64.88
Republican Seth Morgan 247,848 35.12
Ohio Auditor Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Yost 1,882,010 50.22
Democratic David Pepper 1,683,330 44.91
Libertarian Michael Howard 182,534 4.87
Ohio Auditor Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Yost (inc.) 1,711,927 56.98
Democratic John Patrick Carney 1,149,305 38.25
Libertarian Bob Bridges 143,363 4.77
Ohio Attorney General Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Yost 2,272,440 52.16
Democratic Steve Dettelbach 2,084,593 47.84
Ohio Attorney General Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Dave Yost 2,484,753 60.1
Democratic Jeffrey Crossman 1,647,644 39.9

References

  1. ↑ "StackPath". fedsoc.org. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "About". Dave Yost. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Editorial: For Ohio attorney general: Dave Yost is the better choice". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Ohio Auditor Dave Yost Lincoln Day Dinner Speaker in Cambridge". Toledoblade.com. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Naymik, Mark (January 25, 2010). "Delaware County Prosecutor David Yost leaves Ohio attorney general race for auditor's race". Cleveland "Plain Dealer".
  6. ↑ Ingles, Jo (September 18, 2019). "Ohio Lawmakers Support Yost in Investigation of Facebook and Google". Wksu.org. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  7. ↑ "State Attorneys General Want To Know If Facebook And Google Are Too Big". NPR.org. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Ohio Attorney General Yost sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine train derailment". Ohio Capital Journal. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sues Norfolk Southern over all the damage from the derailment: Today in Ohio". MSN. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Ohio's six-week abortion ban becomes law hours after Supreme Court's Dobbs decision". Dispatch.com.
  11. ↑ "Ohio AG says 'heartbeat bill' is now law". News5cleveland.com. June 24, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ Hancock, Laura (June 27, 2022). "Ohio GOP Attorney General's son, daughter-in-law publicly split with Dave Yost on abortion rights". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  13. ↑ Rudavsky, Shari; Fradette, Rachel (July 1, 2022). "Patients head to Indiana for abortion services as other states restrict care". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  14. ↑ ""She's 10": Child rape victim's abortion denial sparks outrage on Twitter". Newsweek. July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ Glenn Kessler (July 9, 2022). "A one-source story about a 10-year-old and an abortion goes viral". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  16. ↑ Mariana Alfaro (July 9, 2022) [2022-07-08]. "Biden decries case of 10-year-old rape victim forced to travel for abortion". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  17. ↑ Richardson, Valerie (July 11, 2022). "Ohio AG casts doubt on report of 10-year-old rape victim seeking abortion". The Washington Times.
  18. ↑ Timothy Bella (July 14, 2022) [2022-07-13]. "Man charged in rape of 10-year-old girl who had to travel for abortion". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  19. ↑ "The Ohio Attorney General's Office issued the following legal explainer regarding exemptions to Ohio's Heartbeat Law". Twitter.com. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  20. ↑ Aaron Blake (July 15, 2022) [2022-07-14]. "What Ohio abortion law says about a 10-year-old rape victim". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  21. ↑ Staver, Anna; BeMiller (July 14, 2022). "Do 10-year-olds meet 'life of mother' abortion exemptions? Ohio lawmakers, doctors divided". The Columbus Dispatch.
  22. ↑ Bischoff, Laura (July 19, 2022). "Ohio AG Dave Yost should resign over comments about 10-year-old rape victim, Democrats say". The Columbus Dispatch.
  23. ↑ "GOP-led states back Trump's legal drive to challenge election". POLITICO. November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  24. ↑ Richardson, Seth A. (November 10, 2020). "Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost signs off on Trump lawsuit that Pennsylvania should invalidate some votes: Capitol Letter". Cleveland.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  25. ↑ Pelzer, Jeremy; clevel; .com (December 10, 2020). "Ohio AG Dave Yost files brief criticizing Texas' lawsuit challenging Biden win". cleveland. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Dave Yost - Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost". Ohioattorneygeneral.gov. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ Jordan, Felicia (December 29, 2023). "'Swatting' call reporting shooting draws police to homes of Ohio lawmaker, AG Dave Yost". WCPO 9 Cincinnati. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Republican David Yost defeats Pepper for Ohio auditor". Toledoblade.com. Toledo Blade. March 11, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  29. ↑ Gomez, Henry J. (January 24, 2017). "Ohio Auditor Dave Yost launches attorney general bid". Cleveland.com.
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