Correction appended.
State Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, recently took office for his third term as the state representative of Ohio’s 94th House District, which is made up of Athens, Meigs, Washington and Vinton counties.
He’s claimed since the beginning that he knows what’s best for Southeast Ohio. Recently, Edwards announced a capital budget bill allocating nearly $2.2 million to his counties.
With his second term underway, there’s difficulty when trying to oppose Edwards in a candidate race and actually beat him. Despite Athens’ Democratic leanings, the Democrats have yet to field a successful challenger against Edwards. His opposition to right-to-work legislation has gained him union support, an endorsement crucial for anyone hoping to win House District 94.
However, behind a screen, Edwards' presence on social media has been questionable.
One of President Joe Biden’s first actions in office was an executive order that students who attend schools that receive federal funding may join the sports team that best conforms with their gender. The order aims to provide equal opportunity to transgender collegiate athletes. This action has been called the “anti-science executive order” by right-wing extremists. Other more moderate voices, like former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), disagreed on the grounds of protecting women’s sports.
Edwards had to have his two cents known when it came to this order. Claiming in one of his Facebook posts that “Of all the issues facing America right now, President Biden’s top priority is the bathroom choice for children and allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports.”
Biden’s executive order was one of many that he initiated in his first moments in office, so why does Edwards find the need to post about it if he’s focusing on the state of Ohio and openly being transphobic?
Biden’s executive order regarding Title IX was one of many he made in his first moments in office. Many of these will have a much more direct effect on Edwards’ constituents. It seems Edwards was more concerned with taking an opportunity to spout transphobia than he was with taking into account the ways Biden’s orders could affect Ohio’s economy.
After the raid on the Capitol, Edwards had to make his presence known yet again. This time he took the opportunity to spread baseless conspiracy theories in a Facebook post reading, “Some of the rioters and looters were seeing on TV weren’t even Republicans or Trump supporters. Some were Antifa.”
After he received backlash for calling right-wing insurrectionists “Antifa,” he responded with yet another Facebook post that said: “It seems a few people are so caught up by me saying some of the rioters and looters were Antifa, they completely missed the point of the post. It is obvious, based on their take of the rioting and looting that took place last summer versus their take on what took place two days ago, they are latching on to anything they can to divert attention away from their lack of consistency.”
Edwards failed to consider that the attack on the United States’ Capitol was completely unprecedented and fueled by dangerous conspiracy. Not once did Edwards let Trump, or his supporters, take full blame. His “double standard” stems from his lack of wanting to fully understand that there’s a clear difference between Black Lives Matter to the attack on the Capitol. People were outraged in the comment section.
During the summer, Edwards attended a local rally in order to support police officers. He made a Facebook post after the video was considered a “call for sympathy.” Edwards, not wearing a mask amidst a pandemic, talked about how he would be the first Republican people voted for.
The controversy doesn’t stop there. Edwards has said some questionable things in comments as well.
In a Facebook comment, Edwards claimed that, although the statue of a man being torn down during a Black Lives Matter protest was of a slave owner, his slave was “treated well.” This post was, again, posted by his personal account rather than his professional account.
However, amid all the backlash, surprisingly, there have also been commenters in support of the statements made by Edwards.
He sometimes can be seen shifting from his professional account to his personal Facebook account to continue arguments.
Two things can be learned from Edwards’ Facebook posts: If you’re an Ohio University student, this is not the man you want representing you, and it’s always best to think before you post.
Kayla Bennett is a freshman studying journalism. Please note that the views and ideas of columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Kayla? Tweet her @kkayyben.
Correction appended: A previous version of this article stated Jay Edwards began his second term as state representative. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
