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A look at the money being spent on the campaigns for and against Ohio Issue 1

The Ohio Capital Journal takes a look at the money being spent on the campaigns for and against Ohio Issue 1.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio Issue 1 seeks to replace politicians on the Ohio Redistricting Commission with a commission made up of citizens. Campaign finance filings detail the many millions being spent in the fight over the proposed anti-gerrymandering reform.

Issue 1 would replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission made up of four lawmakers and three statewide elected officials with a 15 member Citizen’s Commission, made up of five Democrats, Republicans, and independents each.

Elected officials, lobbyists and political consultants would be banned from joining, and four retired judges — two Democrats and two Republicans — would narrow down the list, pick six applicants, and those six would select the remaining nine.

Once chosen, commission members would have to abide by a set of rules, including crafting districts that comply with federal laws, crafting maps that correspond to statewide election results, and keeping communities with shared “ethnic, racial, social, cultural, geographic, environmental, socioeconomic or historic,” identities together. 

The amendment also mandates the commission hold a series of public meetings on redistricting throughout the map drawing process, including five public meetings across the state for initial input on how maps should be drawn, and five public meetings after draft maps are released.

Citizens Not Politicians is the campaign for Issue 1. Since filing their ballot initiative last August, the group has raised $39,476,270.23, with $15 million of that coming from supporters in Washington D.C. and $7 million from Ohioans. 

According to their pre-general election campaign finance filings — covering activity up to Oct. 16 — Citizens Not Politicians has spent $37 million to pass Issue 1, with $25 million going to advertising. 

Comparatively, Ohio Works Inc., the campaign opposing Issue 1, which has received the backing of the Ohio Republican Party and allied organizations, has raised $5.6 million since August, and spent $4.5 million on TV and print advertising. 

Of the money in Ohio Works’s chest, $2.7 million came from Ohio donors, and $2.1 million came from allies in Washington D.C.

“Yes on 1 has the momentum headed into the final stretch of the campaign,” said retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, in an interview with the Columbus Dispatch. “This report shows that Ohioans are ready to place an explicit ban on gerrymandering in the Ohio Constitution and put citizens not politicians in charge of drawing legislative maps, which we will accomplish by voting Yes on Issue 1.”

When asked about their campaign finance totals, Ohio Works spokesman Matt Dole replied, “We knew we were going to be outspent. We’re an Ohio-powered campaign. We still feel confident about Election Day.”

But who are the dark money groups, mega donors, and interest groups supporting these campaigns? The Ohio Capital Journal read their reports, and broke it down. 

The anti-Issue 1 group’s biggest contributors are as follows: 

Multiple campaigns for Republican Congresspeople also donated to Ohio Works, including Jim Jordan ($250,000), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise ($100,000) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer($100,000) among others.

Individual donors to Ohio Works were largely affluent individuals with a history of supporting conservative causes. Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam own the Haslam Sports Group, with Halsam’s personal net worth is estimated at $8.5 billion. The couple each contributed $50,000, bringing their donation to $100,000 total.

Federal Election Commission records show the two have made $2 million in political donations, largely to Republican candidates and efforts, in the 2024 election cycle. 

Out-of-state, Texas-based investment analyst Kenneth Lawrence Fisher also gave $100,000 to Ohio Works. 

The pro-Issue 1 campaign’s biggest contributors are as follows:

The most recognizable individual donor for Citizens Not Politicians is director Steven Spielberg, who, with his wife Kate Capshaw, contributed $100,000 to the campaign. 

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