Dayton mayor Jeff Mims and The Foodbank also spoke.
Frost said he and Murphy have been traveling in response to the Republican Congressional leadership telling their senators and representatives to stop holding town halls.
“People were showing up, people were getting angry, and people were asking hard questions,” Frost said.
Murphy and Frost discussed Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” critiquing the bill for its cuts to Medicaid and the impact of President Donald Trump’s administration’s choices on the economy, immigration and LGBTQ+ people.
Murphy said the recent budget was one of the most unpopular pieces of legislation that had ever been passed.
Questions were submitted in advance but many questions were also taken from the audience. Audience questions included how the national Democratic Party would recruit people to run against people who had been unopposed, closing ICE detention facilities, energizing young people and those who feel abandoned by the government, and more.
Murphy said the Democratic Party believes they could flip some districts in Ohio.
“I know when you’re in a state with a Republican Senate delegation, a Republican governor, you can feel that you’re powerless,” Murphy said. “You’re not.”
Frost suggested the Democratic Party should be planning legislation now, rather than wait until they take power. Some of his suggestions were increasing the minimum wage and implementing Medicaid for all. Murphy suggested raising the minimum wage alongside capping drug prices and not allowing drug companies to advertise directly to consumers.
Murphy said many people have walked away from politics because they feel disenfranchised.
“We have a chance at the folks who have been out of the game, who have been sitting on the sidelines to reenter,” he said. “But that’s got to be paired with an agenda that has the solutions that are as big as the problems people are facing.”
Tims called on the audience to follow Ohio Dems on social media, pay attention to turnout and register people to vote, and talk to people about the problems they’re facing, such as losing CareSource instead of Medicaid.
“Talk to everyday people using everyday language that they understand,” Tims said.
The Ohio Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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