Ohio Political Donations: Searchable Campaign Finance Database

Political candidates in Ohio rely on donations from wealthy individuals to fund their campaigns, and databases are available to search for information on these donors. Cleveland.com, for example, has a database that allows users to search for donors by name, zip code, employer, and more. Similarly, OpenSecrets, a research group that tracks money in U.S. politics, provides data on campaign contributions in Ohio, including individual and PAC donations. The Ohio Secretary of State's office also offers a searchable database for campaign finance data, while the Federal Election Commission maintains records of contributions to federally registered political committees. These tools enable citizens to trace the sources of campaign funding and understand the influence of money in politics.

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Search by donor name, zip code, or employer

There are several ways to search for donors to Ohio political candidates. Cleveland.com's database allows you to search by donor name, zip code, or employer. You can also search by city, state, office, candidate, or contribution amount. This database will tell you the donor's personal information, the amount donated, and basic candidate information, such as political party.

Another option is to search the Ohio Secretary of State's database. This database provides campaign finance data filed with the Secretary of State's office. It offers broad search capabilities based on small amounts of user-provided information. However, it only includes data from the past six years.

You can also search for individual contributors to federally registered political committees through the FEC database. This database allows you to search by an individual contributor's last and/or first name, employer or occupation, city, state, and/or zip code, contribution date, contribution amount, or the committee receiving the contribution.

Additionally, OpenSecrets provides a searchable database for exploring campaign expenditures and tracing donations to politicians and political committees at the federal and state levels. While not specific to Ohio, this database can provide insights into how candidates and political groups are spending donor money.

Find out which politician has raised the most money

As of June 2018, Ohio's top political donors include Richard Rosenthal and his wife, Katherine Strauss Rosenthal, who gave $267,059 to state Democratic candidates and causes, including the Ohio Democratic Party, Steve Dettelbach, and former U.S. Rep. Zack Space. The Boich family has given nearly $792,000 to Republican candidates and causes since 2017. Leslie Wexner, the founder, chairman, and CEO of L Brands, has also donated to incumbent Ohio politicians, including Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

According to records filed with the Ohio Secretary of State, since January 2017, state Republican candidates and committees have received $57.7 million in political contributions, while state Democratic candidates and committees have received $29.5 million.

You can find out which politician has raised the most money by searching through a campaign finance database, such as the one provided by Cleveland.com or the Ohio Secretary of State's office. These databases allow you to search by various criteria, including the donor's name, zip code, state, office, candidate, and employer. By using these databases, you can trace where Ohio politicians are getting their money from to fund their campaigns and determine which politician has raised the most.

How candidates spend donor money

Political campaigns can raise millions, and even billions, of dollars through personal and business donations. This money is used to pay for travel, administration, salaries, and any other campaign-related expenses. Candidates must keep diligent records of where the money comes from and how much is spent.

There are rules in place that dictate how money can be spent during and after a campaign. During the campaign, the money is used for expenses such as travel, printing, and advertising. After the campaign, permitted uses include charitable donations, donations to other candidates, and saving it for a future campaign; personal use is prohibited.

If a candidate receives contributions for a general election but drops out of the race or loses the primary beforehand, contributions must be refunded to individual donors within 60 days. Alternatively, the candidate can redistribute their general election funds with the contributor's permission. Ideally, contributions should be spent as quickly as they come in to maximize the chances of the candidate winning.

Super PACs are independent-expenditure-only political committees that can accept unlimited contributions, including from corporations and labor organizations. There are no regulations on how a super PAC uses funds after a candidate drops out or an election is over. They can continue to use the money to support the same or another federal candidate in future elections, or donate it to other organizations aligned with their political cause.

In Ohio, there are searchable databases that allow users to trace where politicians are getting their money from to fund their campaigns. These databases include information on contributions made to candidates for governor, secretary of state, and other state offices.

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Data on individual contributors

There are several databases that provide information on individual contributors to political campaigns in Ohio. These databases allow users to search for contributions made to specific candidates, political parties, or committees. The databases also provide information on the donor's personal details, the amount donated, and basic candidate information.

For example, the Cleveland.com database allows users to search for contributions made to Ohio political candidates by office and candidate, as well as by donor name, zip code, and employer. This database includes all donations made to Ohio political candidates for state offices, such as governor and secretary of state, but does not include federal offices.

The Ohio Secretary of State's office also provides a searchable database of campaign finance data. This database includes data from the past six years, as well as older data available through the FTP site. Users can search for contributions based on multiple criteria and obtain large sets of pre-sorted data.

OpenSecrets, a research group tracking money in U.S. politics, also provides a database of campaign contributions in Ohio. This database includes individual contributions to candidates, political action committees (PACs), and outside spending groups. It also ranks states based on the percentage of contributions to Democrats and Republicans.

Additionally, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database allows users to search for individual contributors by name, employer, occupation, location, contribution amount, and receiving committee.

These databases provide valuable information on individual contributors to political campaigns in Ohio, allowing users to track the flow of money and its impact on elections and public policy.

Committee information and filings

Cleveland.com's database compiles information on donations made to Ohio political candidates. It includes contributions made in 2017 to candidates for governor, attorney general, and other state offices. While it does not cover federal offices like the U.S. Senate, the database allows users to trace the sources of funding for these state-level candidates.

OpenSecrets, a non-profit research group, provides extensive resources for understanding the flow of money in Ohio politics. They track contributions from political action committees (PACs), individuals, and outside spending groups, including super PACs. OpenSecrets offers industry profiles that reveal the influence of various sectors on political committees and candidates. They also shed light on "dark money" groups, which spend millions on elections without disclosing their sources of funding.

In addition to these sources, the Michigan Campaign Finance Searchable Database provides insights into committee filings. This database includes information on various committee types, such as Candidate, PAC, Ballot Question, and Political Party committees. For these committees, the Statement of Organization information is available, providing details such as address and treasurer. The database also makes available the individual filings and correspondence sent to the committees. For committees filing electronically, specific contributions and expenditures are accessible. It is important to note that committees may file amendments or updates to their campaign statements, which might not be immediately reflected in the database.

The availability of committee information and filings in these databases enhances transparency in the political funding landscape of Ohio. They empower citizens to understand the financial dynamics of elections, identify the sources of funding for candidates, and make informed decisions.

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