Issue 1 Ohio seeks to replace the politicians on the Ohio Redistricting Commission with a commission made up of citizens. Campaign finance records detail the many millions spent fighting proposed anti-gerrymandering reform.
Release 1 would replace the current one Ohio Redistricting Commission consists of four lawmakers and three statewide elected officials With 15-person Citizens’ Commissionconsisting of five Democrats, Republicans and independents each.
Elected officials, lobbyists and political consultants would be barred from entering, and four retired judges – two Democrats and two Republicans – would narrow down the list, choose six candidates, and those six would choose the remaining nine.
Once elected, commission members will have to follow a set of rules, including creating districts consistent with federal law, creating maps that match statewide election results, and maintaining communities with common “ethnic, racial, social, cultural, geographic and environmental, socioeconomic or historical ”, identities together.
The amendment also requires the commission to be withheld AND a series of public meetings on redistricting throughout the map-drawing process, including five statewide public meetings to obtain initial information on how maps are drawn and five public meetings after the draft maps are published.
Citizens, not politicians this is a campaign for number 1. From submitted their ballot initiative last Augustthe group raised $39,476,270.23, of which $15 million came from supporters in Washington, D.C. and $7 million from Ohioans.
According to their general election campaign finance documents: covering activities until October 16 — Citizens Not Politicians spent $37 million to publish the first issue, of which $25 million was spent on advertising.
Relatively, Ohio Works Inc., the campaign opposing No. 1, which has received support from the Ohio Republican Party and related organizations, has raised $5.6 million since August and has spent $4.5 million on TV and print ads.
Of the money in the Ohio Works chest, $2.7 million came from Ohio donors and $2.1 million from Washington allies
“Yes, on 1, momentum has reached the final stretch of the campaign,” retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said in an interview with Sending Columbus. “This report shows that Ohioans are ready to place an explicit prohibition on gerry landscaping 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 the campaign’s fundraising total, Ohio Works spokesman Matt Dole replied: “We knew we would overspend. We are a campaign powered by Ohio. We still have confidence in Election Day.”
But who are the dim money groups, mega-donors and interest groups supporting these campaigns? The Ohio Capital Journal read their reports and shared them.
Operates in Ohio
The biggest contributors to the group opposing problem 1 are:
- American Jobs and Growth: $1,750,000
- Washington, D.C.-based American Jobs and Growth is a 501(c)(4) dim money group. Tax returns for 2022 for the group shows revenues of $4,775,959 and is currently spending $700,000 regarding an ad opposing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The same entity gave $50,000 to oppose marijuana legalization in OhioAND spent more than $1 million supporting 2022 Republican candidates in Ohio. The American labor market and economic growth received $225,000 from The Leadership Action Fund Inca Delaware tax-exempt corporation listed in the complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center for violating campaign finance law. Revitalization Project – another dim money group – he gave $100,000and according to them Filing your tax return for 2022grant of $690,000.
- Ohioans for a Healthy Economy: $1,000,000
- American Action Network: $400,000
- Operates from Washington American Action Network is an organization supporting Republicans running for Congress. Founded in 2010 by Republican strategists To support conservative ideals, the network achieves total revenues of $46,157,056according to the latest filing, the IRS is spending millions on “television advertising, direct mail, robocalls, digital support, public opinion polls and grants to related organizations.”
- Ohio Manufacturers Association: $300,000
- 55 green meadows: $250,000
- Ohio Oil and Gas Association: $200,000
Ohio Works has also made multiple campaign donations to Republican congressmen, 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 are mostly wealthy individuals who have a history of supporting conservative causes. Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam are the owners Haslam Sports Groupand Halsam’s fortune is estimated at $8.5 billion. Each pair donated $50,000, bringing the total to $100,000.
Federal Election Commission records show that two made $2 million in political donationslargely due to the candidates and efforts of the Republican Party, in the 2024 election cycle.
Kenneth Lawrence Fisher, an out-of-state investment analyst based in Texas, also donated $100,000 to Ohio Works.
Citizens, not politicians
The largest donors to the Issue 1 campaign are:
- Article IV: $9.95 million
- Sixteen Thirty Fund: $6.7 million
- AND a liberal dim money group based in Washington, DCThe Sixteen Thirty Fund previously donated $5.3 million to the campaign to change reproductive rights in Ohio. Founded in 2009, the fund is one of the most influential left-wing dim money operations in the United States. Organization spent $196 million in 2022 supporting causes ranging from sponsoring state elections to support Democratic campaigns, and he donated over $400 million in the 2020 election cycle. The latest data shows that the total income of the Sixteen Thirty fund is $191,659,154although their donors are not disclosed. The fund is part of a network of liberal dim money groups — such as the Hopewell Fund and the New Venture Fund – overseen by Arabella Advisors, a nonprofit consulting organization founded by former Clinton appointee Eric Kessler. Documented donors are billionaires George Soros, Pierre Omidyar and Hansjorg Wyss.
- Our American Future Foundation: $2.45 million
- Ohio Education Association: $2.07 million
- Progressive Cooperation in Ohio: $2 million
- Tides Foundation: $2 million
The most recognizable individual donor to the Citizens Not Politicians foundation is director Steven Spielberg, who, along with his wife Kate Capshaw, donated $100,000 to the campaign.
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