COLUMBUS, Ohio – Cleveland car dealer Bernie Moreno is the surprise GOP fundraising winner of the most recent federal campaign-finance period, reporting raising more from outside donors than any other candidate in Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senate primary.
Moreno, a first-time political candidate, said he brought in $2.25 million from April through June, according to a federal report his campaign filed on Thursday. That was slightly less than Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who reported a haul of $2.28 million, outraising all Republican candidates. Of the amount Ryan brought in, $2.1 million was for his Senate campaign, with the rest for his congressional account, although he can use the money interchangeably.
And Cleveland investment banker Mike Gibbons, another Republican candidate, reported taking in $6.2 million, far more than the other candidates. But of that, $5.67 million was his own money, meaning he only raised about $532,700 from outside donors.
Two other top Republican candidates, former State Treasurer Josh Mandel and former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken, hadn’t yet made official filings by 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Preannouncing their numbers, Mandel previously said he’d raised $1.5 million, and Timken said she’d raised $1.4 million.
However, both included more restricted funds: Mandel with his joint fundraising committee and Timken with her PAC. In filings nearing the midnight deadline, Timken’s campaign reported raising $1.1 million while Mandel’s collected just less than $976,000.
As has been the case throughout the campaign, Mandel’s fundraising is much more complex than the topline figure on the FEC report. Around $765,000 of his total reported contributions came from prior donations from his joint fundraising committee, with around $210,000 in individual contributions.
Most of Mandel’s fundraising came from that joint fundraising committee, Team Josh, which raised around $1.28 million. However, that money will be split between Mandel’s campaign, his leadership PAC and the Shelby County Republican Party, as per the agreement, meaning Mandel’s campaign itself will take a much lower total.
Gibbons reported he had $5.9 million in his campaign account, significantly more than the other Senate candidates who had reported as of Thursday evening. Moreno in comparison reported $1.6 million in cash on hand after he spent $573,100 on his campaign. Ryan reported $2.57 million in cash on hand, including about $1 million he transferred from his congressional campaign account.
Fundraising on the Republican side of the race is especially important right now, as candidates try to separate from each other in the crowded field and compete for former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Generally, fundraising is a key way for political candidates to demonstrate their viability, since running a winning Senate campaign typically costs tens of millions of dollars. Trump, who continues to hold major sway within the Republican Party despite losing the November election, has valued a candidate’s likelihood of winning in the past as he’s considered which races to get involved in.
The Republican candidates also are tapping into similar networks of Republican donors, meaning they’re competing in many instances for donations from the same people. Notably, Moreno, who is a successful car dealer, has the ability to at least partially self-fund his campaign, but he gave his campaign none of his own money. Among his donors include several car dealers.
Thursday’s numbers do not include fundraising totals for J.D. Vance, the author and venture capitalist who’s attempting to parlay fame from his successful memoir into a Senate seat. That’s because Vance declared his candidacy on July 3, two days after the beginning of the new fundraising period. Vance, however, enters the race with an aligned Super PAC seeded with a $10 million donation from Peter Thiel, a prominent figure in Silicon Valley who founded PayPal.
They also don’t include Chagrin Falls state Sen. Matt Dolan, who announced this week he is considering running for the U.S. Senate. Dolan has not yet formed a campaign committee.
Dayton U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, a Dayton Republican who’s said he’s considering running for Senate, reported raising $119,294, good for $323,247 in cash on hand. The number doesn’t suggest he’s actively fundraising for a statewide race.
This story has been updated with accurate figures from Josh Mandel’s and Jane Timken’s FEC filings.