COLUMBUS — Republican candidates for a pair of Ohio Supreme Court seats have moved well ahead of their Democratic competitors in fund-raising.
Campaign finance reports filed Friday with the Ohio Secretary of State’s office show Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer, both Republican judges on Cincinnati’s First District Court of Appeals, have raised more than Democrats Cynthia Rice and John O’Donnell.
Judge DeWine, son of Attorney General Mike DeWine, bankrolled a whopping $538,603 as of April 15, seven times what Warren-based appellate Judge Cynthia Rice raised. Judge DeWine raised $74,780 over the last few weeks, receiving heavy support from the insurance industry, records show.
Judge Rice had a balance of just $76,310 on hand after raising $26,850 in the latest period. Her latest contributions were largely from individuals giving less than $1,000.
Judge Fischer, the only high court candidate who faced a primary challenge last month, reported raising $64,625 during the latest period. But as the only high court candidate with a primary challenge, he spent $121,579. Like Judge DeWine, he received large donations from the insurance industry.
He was left with a bank balance of $29,220. That’s less than the $60,945 Judge O’Donnell of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court still had on hand.
Of the $30,070 Judge O’Donnell raised during the latest reporting period, three contributions of $2,500 or more came from Cleveland and Canton law firms. Otherwise, the bulk came from smaller individual contributions.
In the 47th Ohio House District race, Republican Derek Merrin had just $267 in cash on hand compared with Democratic opponent Michael Sarantou’s $5,396.
Mr. Merrin, who said he thought he had until midnight Friday night to file the report, missed the actual 4 p.m. reporting deadline by just under an hour. “It’s my understanding I haven’t missed the deadline,” he said when contacted by The Blade.
He reported raising $7,725 in the latest reporting round and spending a total of $32,447 in his primary victory over two other Republicans.
Mr. Sarantou, meanwhile, reported raising $2,725 since the primary and spent $769 of that.
In the Lucas County commissioner race, incumbent Democrat Commissioner Pete Gerken reported fund-raising of $8,650 since Feb. 20 while Republican challenger Mike Bell reported no new contributions. In total funds available, Mr. Gerken had $69,367, while Mr. Bell had $28,331.
Staff writer Tom Troy contributed to this report.
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
First Published April 23, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
