Grassroots Launches "Fire Matt Huffman" Website Ahead of Vote
BY JEFF SKINNER
STATEWIDE - The website, FireMattHuffman.com, represents a grassroots push to remove what organizers describe as a barrier to good legislation, calling on Republican voters to pressure their state representatives to vote against Huffman when the caucus meets on Nov. 17 to select its speaker.
Framed as a "Notice of Termination" from Ohio Republicans, the site's front page argues that Huffman's tenure since taking the gavel in January 2025 has stalled conservative priorities and hurt the party's electoral standing.
At the center of the criticism is the Nov. 3 general election, in which Democrats flipped swing seats and ended the Republicans' veto-proof supermajority in the House. The website attributes the losses in part to campaign spending decisions, alleging that Huffman directed millions of dollars in House caucus funds toward attacking sitting Republican representatives during the May primary rather than defending vulnerable swing districts in November.
The site also criticizes caucus financial management, claiming Huffman's longtime fundraising firm has been paid $20,000 a month in caucus money since he became speaker, alongside $125,000 spent on resort fundraising events in Florida and South Carolina and $3 million spent on digital advertisements in the final four weeks of the election.
On policy, the grassroots effort highlights several legislative grievances against Huffman's leadership, beginning with a House-backed plan that used $600 million from Ohio's unclaimed funds to help finance a new domed stadium for the Cleveland Browns in Brook Park. The campaign also faults Huffman for not calling a floor vote to override the governor's veto of a measure that would have ended a sales tax exemption for data centers, which the site claims cost the state $1.6 billion in 2025.
Additionally, the website alleges that Huffman acted as a roadblock to conservative bills by allowing them to die without a vote, specifically pointing to medical freedom legislation and a bill requiring photo identification for mail-in ballots. It also argues that a House-passed ban on intoxicating hemp products outside of licensed marijuana dispensaries shut out independent, family-owned hemp businesses in favor of large marijuana operators. The Ohio Register spoke with a local hemp product provider just after the state ban to discuss how it impacted their livlihood.
To mobilize opposition ahead of Tuesday's caucus vote, the website features several digital advocacy tools designed for constituent outreach. Visitors can use an interactive map and address lookup tool to identify their state representative, access a phone script, or send a pre-written email urging a "no" vote on Huffman directly to a list of 48 House Republican email addresses.
The site also provides downloadable social media graphics, pre-written posts for X and Facebook, and a one-page fact sheet that organizers state is sourced to the public record.
Citizens can view more on the website, https://firematthuffman.com/, as well as complete the easily accessible email function which will automatically fill in local representatives to notify them of citizen desire to remove Huffman from his position.
