Gov. DeWine is sitting on a big war chest for his re‑election campaign
Jul. 31—COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine's campaign coffers dwarf those of any would-be 2022 challenger so far on the horizon, Republican or Democrat.
He is sitting on a war chest of nearly $6.6 million, which his campaign described as the largest balance for an incumbent governor at this stage in Ohio history.
Filings on Friday with the Ohio Secretary of State's office provide a snapshot of the health of both well-established candidates and upstart challengers, demonstrating which are generating enthusiasm among deep-pocketed political action committees and individuals opening their wallets $20 at a time.
Mr. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted are going to have to spend down at least part of their largess to retain the GOP nomination in the May primary. Jim Renacci, a former northeast Ohio congressman, and Joe Blystone, a central Ohio cattle farmer, are both trying to flank him from the right.
The governor reported raising nearly $3.1 million over the last six months. But his committee continues to also sit on $4 million in outstanding personal loans that he made to the committee for his last campaign.
"The significant grassroots backing that the campaign has received is proof that Ohioans support Governor DeWine's leadership," campaign manager Brenton Temple said. "Our campaign is in a strong position heading into next November. We appreciate the groundswell of support from all over Ohio."
He reported spending just $150,866, made possible at least in part by the huge help the committee is getting from the Ohio Republican Party for campaign fundraising, consulting, and other expenses. This is in spite of the fact that the party has not officially endorsed in what could be a busy primary.
The party directly gave his campaign $500,000 on Thursday, just in time to boost the campaign's numbers going into Friday's filing.
The governor has again received big financial help from utilities, including $10,000 from American Electric Power. Other big PAC donors include former central Ohio Congressman Pat Tiberi's committee, $13,704; Anheuser-Busch, $11,204; CTL Engineering, $10,000, and the Ohio Credit Union Legislative Action Committee, $10,000.
The governor's committee recently cut a check for more than $130,000 to the Ohio Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, equivalent to what it said it received in prior contributions from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. But that doesn't appear in reported expenses, which are reported only through June 30 with this filing.
The utility recently agreed to pay a $230 million fine to avoid prosecution for its admitted role in a $61 million Statehouse bribery scandal involving former House Speaker Larry Householder.
Mr. Temple said the expense will appear on the next filing due in January.
Across the aisle in the governor's race, both major Democrats hauled in more than $1 million each.
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley raised $1.64 million from her April launch through Friday and spent $480,000. On top of that, she moved over $200,000 previously raised to her mayoral campaign account. She reported $1.36 million cash on hand.
Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley raised over $1 million in the first half of the year, spent $200,000, and has $1.3 million in his war chest.
Mr. DeWine's GOP challengers ended the six‑month cash race trailing well behind him.
Mr. Renacci collected just $22,000 between his June 9 launch and June 30. Unlike other candidates, he didn't choose to report his contributions through Friday and said they'll be included in his next report.
Mr. Renacci's figure doesn't signal much grassroots excitement for a DeWine challenger nine months before the primary, but the former congressman waved off concerns and said he plans to beef up his fund‑raising in the coming months.
"What did you expect after two weeks?" he said, explaining that he didn't plan to get in the race quite that soon and won't have a finance director on board until August. "Actually, we think we did very well. We had no fundraiser, and we were only in the game with small donors and email fundraising."
He reported about $1 million cash on hand after loaning his campaign $1 million and spending $14,000.
Mr. Blystone, a newcomer on the political scene, raised almost $260,000 for his campaign. He spent roughly half that amount and retained the other half as cash on hand.
Meanwhile, Ohio's entire slate of Republican statewide executive officeholders are well positioned financially with 15 months to go before the 2022 general election. Two already have in excess of $1 million to work with.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
The campaign war chest of Republican incumbent Dave Yost hovers at a robust $1.7 million, cash he can likely bank until next fall given that no primary challenger has emerged against him. Mr. Yost raised nearly $321,000 this reporting period.
No Democratic challenger has yet announced, but speculation includes state Rep. Jeff Crossman (D., Parma). His legislative campaign committee held $30,769.
SECRETARY OF STATE
GOP incumbent Frank LaRose is sitting on a healthy $1.1 million, having raised the most over the last six months. Ohio's top elections officer and business record-keeper raised nearly $440,000.
The only announced Democratic candidate to date, Forest Park City Councilman Chelsea Clark, created her committee after the June cutoff, so she did not file a report Friday.
Among those said to also be considering runs for secretary of state are state Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney (D., Cleveland), who reported $25,809 in cash on hand in her committee, and Rep. Phil Robinson (D., Solon), who reported a balance of $34,242.
AUDITOR
State Auditor Keith Faber raised $215,879 this cycle, pushing his cash on hand to $718,355. There is no Democratic candidate yet.
TREASURER
Ohio's banker and the sole northwest Ohioans holding statewide office, Treasurer Robert Sprague of Findlay, has the smallest campaign war chest of the well-entrenched Republican incumbents. He reported raising $158,125, giving him $624,075 to work with.
No Democrat has announced to date.
First Published July 30, 2021, 4:35pm
