COLUMBUS, Ohio – U.S. Senate candidates Jane Timken and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan have offered a peek into their third quarter fundraising efforts this week ahead of the formal October 15 filing deadline.
Jane Timken, the former Ohio Republican Party chairwoman, announced raising $1.7 million from about 1,200 donors during the quarter ended September 30, leaving her with $3.1 million cash on hand in the race against six other announced candidates for the GOP nomination to replace outgoing U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH).
In a news release sent to The Ohio Star, Timken emphasized support from Ohio donors that made up 80 percent of her campaign contributions.
“This race is about Ohio and I am grateful to be funded by hard-working, patriotic Ohioans who have invested in me as the candidate that can win, take back our country from the brink of socialism, and return Ohio to the America First policies that were working for families,” Timken said in the press release.
“I’m running FOR Ohio, IN Ohio, supported BY Ohioans.”
The emphasis on “Ohio” in the statement appears to build on criticism Senate candidate opponent and venture capitalist J.D. Vance has received for fundraising outside of Ohio, particularly in California and the Silicon Valley technology region where the investor had made much of his fortune.
The Timken campaign and Vance campaign declined to comment on that point.
The Timken campaign said it counts more than 3,200 individual donors in all 88 Ohio counties since she announced her candidacy in February.
The Timken campaign did not offer details – such as a list of specific contributors and amounts – that will get revealed when the campaign formally files its campaign finance report with the Federal Elections Commission. All candidates for federal office must have those formal reports filed by the end of next week.
At the end of the quarter ended June 30, the Timken campaign reported total receipts of $3.27 million in her first FEC filing , including total contributions of $2.27 million. That report also shows the candidate loaned her campaign a combined $1 million in Feburary and March.
Ryan raises record $2,5M
On the other side of the political spectrum, Ryan (D-OH-13) earlier in the week had reported raising $2.5 million in the third quarter, an amount the campaign told The Hill represented a U.S. Senate fundraising record in Ohio for a third quarter in a non-election year.
That Democrat’s campaign also had boasted nearly 97 percent of the 22,522 donors gave less than $100. Ryan’s campaign also reported cash on hand of $3.6 million at the end of September.
The campaign also has yet to formally file its fundraising report with the FEC.
His  filing with the FEC for contributions and expenditures through June 30 showed he had raised $2 million from late April through the end of the second quarter of the $3.1 million in total receiipts.
The Hill story also reported that progressive Morgan Harper, Ryan’s competitor for the Democratic nomination, had announced raising $530,000 since entering the race in mid-August from 4,117 donors.
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Brian R. Ball is a veteran Columbus journalist writing for The Ohio Star and Star News Network. Email news tips to [email protected].
Photo “J.D. Vance” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 3.0.
