Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (left) and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton (right). (Photos: Morgan Trau, WEWS.)
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and his supporting political action committee spent nearly $9 million on ads during the six weeks of the Ohio governor’s race. His opponent, Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton, spent just $100,000.
The Republican campaign and V-PAC: Victors, Not Victims, a super PAC dedicated to his election, spent $9 million on ads from May 15 to the end of June.
“We have our work ahead of us,” Ramaswamy said at Tuesday’s event, referring to how he plans to revive the “American Dream” once he is elected. “We’re starting from a great position.”
Together, Ramaswamy and the PAC spent more than $5 million on established television, $1.9 million on streaming, nearly $1 million on cable television, more than $260,000 on digital television, about $130,000 on satellite television and more than $14,000 on radio advertising.
By May, Ramaswamy had raised about $50 million, half of which came from himself.
Billionaires have begun donating to V-PACs, according to federal campaign finance reports.
Elon Musk, a Texas tech mogul who would co-chair the Department of Government Efficiency with Ramaswamy, donated $5 million.
Philadelphia businessman Jeff Yass donated $10 million; Russian-born entrepreneur Ratmir Timashev donated $5 million; New York hedge fund manager Bill Ackman contributed $1 million, as did New York real estate developer Stephen Ross.
“No gubernatorial campaign in Ohio history has produced numbers like this, which sends a clear message: Ohioans are excited about Vivek, our campaign is growing, and we will have big wins in November,” Jonathan Ewing, Ramaswamy’s campaign manager, said of previous fundraising numbers.
Ramaswamy, after gaining the endorsement of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, explained how he felt receiving overwhelming support from business entities.
“This is a signal that diverse stakeholder groups across the state are coming together and united behind an economic vision for success,” Ramaswamy said.
But on-screen ads don’t work for everyone.
“You can’t buy Ohio and you can’t buy us,” Acton said in an interview.
By comparison, during the same period, AdImpact reported that Acton and its supporting PAC spent nearly $100,000 on digital ads alone.
A PAC called 314 Action, which aims to ensure health care workers are elected, spent nearly $11,000, while its campaign used $87,000.
“Everyone feels that the pressures of everyday life are not affordable, and unlike my self-funded billionaire opponent, I have been working in public service my entire career,” Acton said.
In early July, she announced she had raised nearly $18.5 million, a record number for Democrats, but was nonetheless eclipsed by Ramaswamy.
“We set fundraising records in this race every quarter, and I started with nothing, no war chests and no self-funding,” she said.
We asked her team why they weren’t spending money on advertising considering she had raised a lot of money. They neglected to answer this question.
“Ramaswamy has spent millions of dollars trying to salvage his dismal campaign without moving the needle,” Acton spokeswoman Addie Bullock said in part of the statement.
Strategists explain that campaigns involve many other costs, and for her, money is not a disposable item.
Given how much each side is raising in this race, advertising won’t sluggish down.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
