Sen, OH-1 and OH-2 Campaign Expenditures

An interesting story in the Cincinnati Enquirer today looks at campaign spending in the U.S. Senate race and area Congressional campaigns. The DSCC has spent $8 helping Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Avon). The NRSC spent $7.5 million helping Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville) before pulling out of the race. So, Brown wound up receiving the larger amount of national party aid, something that would have seemed impossible early in the year. DeWine's largest soft money contributor was the National Right to Life PAC at $276,000. Among the big donors to Brown was the Sierra Club at $25,500, including more than $2,500 last weekend for mailers and door-hangers.

In the 1st District, the NRCC has spent $1.45 million helping Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati) against John Cranley (D-Cincinnati), while Cranley got assistance from the DCCC worth $897,000. In a surprise to me, the article says that "environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Environmental Alliance spent almost $43,000 to help Chabot." The article said that environmental groups gave money to Chabot, but that must have been a mistake. I am informed that they money was spent against Chabot. AFSCME also spent $621,000 against him.

In the lower-budget 2nd District race, Rep. Mean Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) got $355,000 worth of help from the NRCC and Victoria Wulsin (D-Indian Hill) got $252,000 from the DCCC. However, Wulsin also benefitted from $225,000 spent by Emily's List. The National Rifle Association spent about $15,000 helping Schmidt.