Many Northeast Ohio candidates for Congress spending their own cash on campaigns, reports

On Apr 16, 2022

WASHINGTON, D. C — If you’re not already a well-known politician and you want to run for Congress in Ohio, you’d better be prepared to put your own money where your mouth is.

Quarterly campaign finance reports that show spending on northeast Ohio congressional races indicate most first-time candidates put thousands of their own dollars towards their goal of serving in Congress, while more established politicians didn’t need to reach into their own pockets to fund campaigns.

Someone like former Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes doesn’t have to self-fund. Since her January announcement that she’s running for Congress in the newly reconfigured Democrat-leaning 13th district that includes most of Summit County and parts of Stark County, donors kicked in $350,212 for her campaign. Sykes, who does not have primary opposition, spent $108,452 and had $241,760 in her account at the end of March.

Her $1,000 donors included former Massachusetts congress member Chet Atkins, Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce, former national Democratic party chair David Wilhelm, and Summit County Council member John Schmidt. Her parents, longtime Democratic politicians Barbara and Vernon Sykes, each gave $5,000. Forest City Enterprises executive Ronald Ratner gave $5,800. Former U.S. Congress member Zack Space of Dover gave $500, and former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton of Copley Township gave $250.

North Canton attorney Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a conservative commentator and co-chair of the Women for Trump advisory board who is endorsed by the ex-president, had more money in the bank at the end of March than Sykes, and the other Republicans seeking the seat. To do that, she went $200,000 in debt.

Her filing shows she collected $238,385 during the quarter and spent $82,281. Her campaign had $506,245 in the bank, along with $200,000 loan to herself on its books.

Political action committees associated with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik each gave $10,000 to Gilbert’s campaign. Her other contributors included restauranteur Robert T. George, who gave $5,800 and J.M. Smucker Company CEO Tim Smucker, who gave $2,900.

Former congressional aide Shay Hawkins of Broadview Heights raised $94,533 during the quarter, including $3,000 he loaned his campaign and more than $8,000 in campaign expenses he paid out of his own pocket. His campaign had $91,174 in the bank at the end of the reporting period, and $18,000 in debt to campaign consultants.

Hawkins’ campaign contributors included former Cuyahoga County GOP Chair Rob Frost, who gave $2,900, and the campaign committee of former U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers of Columbus, which gave $4,000. A political action committee associated with Hawkins’ former boss, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, contributed $5,000. The parents of U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Rocky River, who decided to retire after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, gave Hawkins $2,500.

Attorney and accountant Greg Wheeler of Barberton collected $83,338 during the quarter and spent $61,003. He had $104,334 in the bank at the end of the reporting period, and an $82,000 campaign debt to himself.

Anti-abortion activist Janet Folger Porter of Hinckley raised $29,337, spent $730, and had $28,607 in the bank at the end of March. Her campaign had no debt.

Stow construction project engineer Ryan Saylor raised $12,460, spent $8,690 and had $3,770 left. He gave $2,200 to his own campaign and did not indicate it was a loan..

7th District:

The debt scenario is similar in the redrawn 7th congressional district, which includes Medina and Wayne counties, western Cuyahoga County, and northern Holmes County. The top fundraiser there is former Trump aide Max Miller, who is spending more than a half million dollars of his own money on the race.

Miller collected $146,567 during the year’s first quarter, and spent $514,276. He ended the quarter with $601,268 in the bank, and $550,000 in debts to himself. His donors included Crawford Group CEO Ed Crawford, who contributed $2,500, $2,900 from Jacobs Engineering Group CEO Steve Demetriou, $2,900 from Rocky River realtor Kimberly Crane. He got $2,900 from George Group CEO Thomas T. George., and 5,500 from Thogus owner Matthew Hlavin.

Small business owner Charlie Gaddis of Medina reported raising $1,250 during the quarter, spending $3,174 and loaning $19,356 to his campaign. He finished the quarter with $35,327 in the bank.

Non-profit founder Jonah Schulz raised $10,224 in the quarter, spent $6,931 and had $12,061 in the bank. His report showed a $2,500 loan from a relative in Chardon.

The only Democrat in the race, Bay Village podcast producer Matthew Diemer, reported raising $6,411 during the year’s first quarter and spending $13,148. His campaign had $2,218 in the bank and debts of more than $38,000 to Diemer himself.

11th District

Although she was outspent when she won last year’s special election for the congressional seat vacated by Marcia Fudge’s departure to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown of Warrensville Heights raised more than challenger Nina Turner during the year’s first quarter for their upcoming Democratic primary rematch.

Brown raised $745,260, spent $186,851 and had $891,782 in the bank. Blackstone Group chief operating officer Jon Gray gave $5,800 to her campaign, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave $2,900, while Cleveland Browns owners James and Susan Haslam each gave her $500. A big slice of Brown’s individual donations were channeled to her campaign from pro-Israel organizations like American Israel Public Affairs Committee and NORPAC, repeating a dynamic that played out in last year’s contest.

More than $200,000 of Brown’s contributions came from political committees. The Congressional Black Caucus gave her $5,000, and political committees for House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer and Democratic Whip James Clyburn each gave $2,000.

Turner, a former Ohio state senator who co-chaired Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, raised $609,323 in the quarter. After spending $464,204, her campaign had $259,131 in the bank and owed $138,827 to vendors. Turner gave $660 of her own money during the reporting period.

Ben & Jerry’s executive Ben Cohen gave $2,900, and his co-founder, Jerry Greenfield, donated $1,000. The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur gave $2,900, Arab American Institute president James Zogby gave $1,000, and former Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann gave $100.

The seat they’re seeking encompasses much of Cuyahoga County. None of the district’s Republican candidates had filed a report by Friday’s deadline.

14th District

Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce of South Russell reported raising $361,014 in the quarter and spending $84,910. He had $1.6 million in the bank and no debt. The bulk of the money he collected — $219,160 — came from political action committees.

Republican Patrick Eugene Awtrey, a Parma Heights businessman who wants to represent the district that includes Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula and Trumbull counties and most of Portage County, reported raising $100 during the quarter and spending $406. He had $5,045 at the end of the quarter.

The only Democrat in the race, small business owner Matt Kilboy of Deerfield in Portage County, reported collecting $19,813 during the quarter — much of it from the candidate himself — and spending $11,382. His campaign had $15,497 in the bank, and $15,000 in loans from Kilboy.

5th District

In the reshaped 5th congressional district that includes Lorain County, incumbent Republican Rep. Bob Latta of Bowling Green collected $172,421 in the quarter, spent $62,957 and had $945,049 in the bank. More than $120,000 of his donations came from political action committees. The district was drawn to favor the GOP.

A Democratic candidate for the seat, Amherst council member and public school teacher Martin Heberling III, reported raising $6,188 and spending $195. He ended the quarter with $5,994 in the bank and $1,173 in self-funded loans.

Craig Stephen Swartz, a former Upper Sandusky council member and realtor who serves as Wyandot Democratic Party Chairman, informed the FEC his fundraising was beneath the $5,000 threshold that would require him to file a report.

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