Every year, millions of Americans give money to political campaigns. Many people, though, do not know where this money goes, what it’s spent on, what happens if the candidate they backed loses and who else is contributing.
Political campaigns are required to keep track of all contributions and expenses during the election and the information must be made public record to ensure fairness, according to Section 3517.10 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Cody Sigmon worked as deputy campaign manager and treasurer for Micah McCarey’s campaign. McCarey challenged incumbent state Rep. Don Jones in November for Ohio House District 95 but lost the election.
Sigmon said during his time with the McCarey campaign he had to upload receipts about what the campaign team was spending money on.
“You have to keep track of all these expenses and report those to the state of Ohio,” Sigmon said. “Who are you giving money to? What are you giving them money for? You have to have a reason.”
Sigmon said the McCarey for Progress campaign spent the largest portion of their funding on printed materials. The McCarey campaign was based in Athens, so it spent a lot of its funding locally. $1,937.46 was spent at MinuteMan Press for things like stickers, postcards and posters. The campaign team also spent another $4,117.44 on yard signs supporting McCarey, according to the Secretary of State website.
The Jones campaign’s biggest expense during this election cycle was $7,700 spent at the Noble County Fair for a livestock donation and advertising at the fair, according to Sigmon. Jones also made similar donations in Morgan County, Belmont County and Athens County.
Sigmon said more localized elections tend to put more of their campaign money toward printed material or signage because they have a smaller audience.
Statewide or national races such as the U.S. Senate race between Moreno and Brown will typically spend more money on more expensive ads like commercials. Statewide candidates receive larger donations and need to reach a wider audience.
Moreno’s campaign spent $11,631,686.94 in media buys, a majority of which went toward buying airtime for commercials, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Brown’s campaign spent $38,427,939.40 in media buys, making the race one of the most expensive Senate races of all time, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Obviously, individual contributions are helpful to a campaign, but candidates receive most of their money from organizations like Political Action Committees and Legislative Campaign Funds.
LCFs are defined by the Ohio Secretary of State as “an entity that is associated with one of the caucuses of the General Assembly and is established as an auxiliary of a state political party.”
One of the four Ohio LCFs is the Ohio House Republican Alliance, which contributed $48,294.94 to Jones's reelection campaign, according to the Secretary of State website. The OHRA contributed to races across the state to ensure Republicans maintain their supermajority in the Ohio House.
Meanwhile, the largest contribution to the McCarey campaign came from a PAC called Blue Ohio. The Ohio Secretary of State defines a PAC as “a combination of two or more persons, the primary or major purpose of which is to support or oppose any candidate, political party, or issue.”
Blue Ohio is an organization committed to electing Democrats to the Ohio statehouse, and it contributed $11,597.23 to McCarey’s campaign for District 95. McCarey also received $1,000 from the Athens County Democratic Executive Committee, according to the Secretary of State website.
The election is over and McCarey lost, but his campaign still has some leftover funds. Sigmon said money contributed to a losing campaign can be used on a few different things like donating it to a political party or group to be given to another campaign. The money can also be saved if McCarey wants to run again, even if it’s for a different office.
“Oftentimes you’ll see the names of these committees are something generic enough that indicates they could run for other stuff,” Sigmon said. “(It’s) McCarey for Progress, it’s not McCarey for District 95; he could use it if he runs for office again.”
