COLUMBUS, Ohio—Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign accepted nearly $31 million in contributions between July and the end of September, an eye-popping amount that easily breaks Ohio’s record for quarterly fundraising in an Ohio U.S. Senate race.
However, Republican challenger Bernie Moreno’s joint fundraising committee raised a still-impressive $10 million during that same time. And thanks to outside GOP groups looking to influence one of the nation’s most-watched Senate races, more money is still being spent to help Moreno with political ads – which is what almost all this money is needed for in the first place, according to Medium Buying, a Columbus-based ad tracking firm.
Brown’s bank
Between July 1 and Sept. 30, Brown’s campaign accepted $30,741,709.01 in contributions, according to data filed Tuesday with the Federal Elections Commission.
Until now, the most any U.S. Senate candidate in Ohio had raised in a three-month period was Democrat Tim Ryan, who raised $17.2 million in the third quarter of 2022, according to Brown’s campaign.
It’s also more than the $28.7 million Brown raised in total during his last run for the Senate in 2018, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.
More than $23 million of Brown’s haul came via contributions made through ActBlue, a pro-Democratic online political fundraising platform, according to the report. Brown’s campaign, which began July with about $10.7 million already in the bank, spent about $36.3 million in the third quarter, leaving it with about $4.5 million as of Sept. 30, records show.
Among the contributors to Brown’s campaign was Cleveland native and game-show host Drew Carey, who contributed $3,300.
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“Sherrod has a proven track record fighting for Ohioans, whether it‘s fighting for a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions or saving the pensions of over 100,000 Ohio workers – and that’s why he has unprecedented momentum going into the final month of this campaign,” said Rachel Petri, Brown’s campaign manager, in a statement. “Sherrod and (his wife) Connie are grateful to every supporter and volunteer working to make sure Sherrod can keep fighting for all Ohioans.”
Moreno’s money
Meanwhile, Moreno’s joint fundraising committee – which includes Moreno’s campaign, the U.S. Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, and several other affiliated groups – reported collecting $10,080,008.66 in July, August, and September. The joint fundraising committee and Moreno’s campaign spent more than $8.7 million combined during those three months and ended September with a combined $3.9 million cash on hand, according to FEC records.
Moreno, a former Cleveland area car dealer, accepted more than $1.1 million in total during the third quarter of 2024 from more than 70 car dealerships and industry figures, according to an analysis of campaign-finance records.
Those donors included the owners of many of Ohio‘s most well-known auto dealerships, such as Brunswick Auto Mart, Great Lakes Auto Group, and Montrose Ford in Northeast Ohio; the Mark Williams Auto Group in Cincinnati; and Columbus-area dealerships Ricart, Lindsay and Germain.
Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam gave $50,000 apiece to Moreno’s campaign in mid-August, and other members of their family kicked in an additional $45,000 in total, records show.
“Bernie is grateful for the overwhelming support of Ohioans who are ready to fire Sherrod Brown after 50 years in political office,” said campaign spokeswoman Reagan McCarthy in a statement. “In the final stretch, Bernie will continue to outwork Sherrod and barnstorm Ohio.”
Outside impact
Despite Brown’s fundraising prowess, he’s still being outspent on the airwaves. As of Wednesday, pro-Moreno groups have spent just over $150 million on TV ads, compared to about $128 million spent on ads in support of Brown, according to Medium Buying.
In particular, the cryptocurrency industry has purchased about $38 million in ads as of late September to help defeat Brown, who as chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee has resisted attempts to loosen regulations on the crypto industry. That spending figure comes from the Washington Post.
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WinSenate, a political action committee linked to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, has spent nearly $50 million on ads to help Brown, according to Open Secrets.
Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
