CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are among the largest contributors to a political action committee working to defeat Ohio Issue 1, newly-released campaign finance reports show.
The proposed Ohio constitutional amendment would change the state's current political mapmaking system to allow boundaries to be drawn by a citizen-led redistricting commission, rather than the current process where the power rests in the state legislature as well as a commission including the governor and secretary of state. The group Ohio Works refers to Issue 1 as "a Democrat power grab that will cost taxpayers MILLIONS and take away their input."
Records filed with Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office show the Haslams have donated a total of $100,000 to Ohio Works, with a $50,000 donation coming from Jimmy Haslam and another of the same amount from Dee Haslam. Both are listed on the finance report as owners of the Haslam Sports Group, with a P.O. Box address from Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Haslams have long been donors to Republican-aligned political candidates and causes, and Jimmy's brother Bill Haslam served as governor of Tennessee from 2011-19. In 2022, the couple along with fellow Columbus Crew co-owner Dr. Pete Edwards helped host a campaign fundraiser for Ohio U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance, who went on to win the election and is now the GOP nominee for vice president.
A search of public records from both the state and the Federal Elections Commission shows Jimmy and Dee Haslam have combined for more than $2 million in political donations during this election cycle alone, with the largest beneficiary being the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its aligned groups (over $270,000). When it comes to candidates, Dee Haslam has donated more than $100,000 to U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's campaign and PACs, while U.S. Rep. Max Miller has received the largest amount in Ohio with $46,400 combined from the couple.
Notably, the Haslams have not waded into the general elections for either U.S. president or U.S. Senate in Ohio, only donating to the campaigns of GOP presidential candidate and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and as well as Senate candidate and state Sen. Matt Dolan during their respective primaries. However, they have contributed more than $30,000 each to Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens and State Senate President Matt Huffman, both of whom could have top control over Ohio's budget as the Haslams prepare to ask for state funding for a potential new domed Browns stadium in Brook Park. Huffman is term-limited in the Senate, but is seeking a House seat with the intention of challenging Stephens for the speakership.
When it comes to Ohio Works, its largest donors are the Washington, D.C.-based American Jobs and Growth PAC at $1.75 million, followed by the Columbus-based Ohioans for a Healthy Economy at $1 million. Additionally, Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan's campaign has emerged as a high-profile contributor, giving a total of $250,000.
Ohio Works has raised more than $5 million during this cycle and currently reports just over $1 million in cash on hand, according to the filings. By contrast, the pro-Issue 1 PAC Citizens Not Politicians has raised well over $30 million overall and nearly $11 million during the current reporting period that began in August, although it currently does not have any cash on hand.
Like Ohio Works, Citizens Not Politicians' largest donor is an advocacy group, with the nonpartisan Article IV donating more than $10 million as part of its self-stated mission to "provide hands-on support to local, state-led campaigns and policy initiatives to pass policies that inject healthy competition and give citizens more choice and agency in how their government is run." Among the most well-known donors of Citizens Not Politicians? Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw, who matched the Haslams with their own $100,000 contribution back in February.
Since 2023, Citizens Not Politicians says it has received nearly 3,000 individual donations, the vast majority of which are $100 or less. On the other side, Ohio Works has seen only 59 individual donations, most of which are at least $2,500.