Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy is flexing his considerable financial advantage by loaning his Ohio gubernatorial campaign $25 million.
While the sum is staggering for an Ohio election, wealthy candidates spending their own money on political races is nothing new.
In the 2024 election cycle, 65 candidates spent more than $1 million of their own money on political races, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit tracking political spending. Among those were Ramaswamy, who loaned and contributed $30.7 million to his presidential bid; Ohio Senate contender Matt Dolan, who self-funded $10 million; and sitting Sen. Bernie Moreno, who loaned his campaign $4.5 million.
Republican Congressman Dave Taylor and his primary challenger, Larry Kidd, each loaned more than $1.5 million to their campaigns for an open Southwest Ohio seat, according to campaign finance records.
The number of self-funded candidates has increased over the past decade, especially at the federal level, OpenSecrets Director of Insights Brendan Glavin said.
The self-funding record-holder is still Democratic billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who shelled out an eye-popping $5.9 million a day to fund his unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid. The total bill was more than $1 billion, Politico reported.
At the state level, the poster child is Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat whose family ties to the Hyatt hotel chain have helped him spend hundreds of millions on his own race.
Ramaswamy is, so far, nowhere near those numbers. Ramaswamy’s campaign says the $25 million investment matches what donors have given since he launched last year. And his bid is getting help elsewhere: Jeff Yass, a billionaire and school choice proponent, has donated $20 million to a super PAC backing Ramaswamy.
“No gubernatorial campaign in Ohio history has ever put up numbers like this, and it sends a clear message: Ohioans are fired up for Vivek, our campaign is growing, and we will win big in November,” campaign manager Jonathan Ewing said in a statement.
A loan or a contribution?
Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, is the clear frontrunner in a three-way GOP primary to replace Gov. Mike DeWine. The winner faces Democratic candidate Dr. Amy Acton, the state’s former health director, in a race that’s shaping up to be the state’s most expensive ever.
Ramaswamy is loaning the money to his campaign rather than donating it.
Loans can raise ethical concerns if candidates win the job and then repay themselves with money from donors seeking to influence state policy and decisions, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio. “There are ethical challenges about the repayment process.”
But Ramaswamy expects to handle the $25 million loan similarly to how he handled his presidential bid, where the loan was forgiven, according to someone close to the campaign.
In contrast, DeWine loaned his campaign $4 million during a competitive 2018 race against Democrat Rich Cordray. The Republican governor repaid himself with campaign contributions when he closed out the account in 2023, Cleveland.com reported. DeWine’s personal wealth, while substantial, pales in comparison to Ramaswamy’s.
How a candidate repays a loan might raise some ethical eyebrows, but the candidate is still not making any money off the transaction, said Bradley Smith, a Capital University Law School professor and former Federal Election Commission chairman.
“In the best-case scenario, the candidate is breaking even, and a winning candidate is probably going to be able to raise that money anyway,” Smith said.
The pros and cons of self-funding
There are plenty of advantages for candidates spending money on their own races. They don’t face strict campaign finance limits. They can spend less time on fundraising calls. They can respond quickly to an opponent’s flub with a well-timed and well-funded ad.
“The cons are people can accuse you of trying to buy the election,” Smith said.
That’s effectively how Acton’s campaign responded. Her running mate, David Pepper, wrote on X: “We won’t be bought.” Campaign manager Phil Stein said in a statement: “(Ramaswamy) can continue throwing money at his campaign from the seat of his private jet, but Ohioans see right through his false promises.”
Will Ramaswamy’s investment pay off? The results for candidates who can spend big on their own races remain mixed. For every successful Pritzker, there’s a failed Bloomberg.
“It allows you entryway into the race, but the money does not guarantee that you’re going to be successful,” Glavin said.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Vivek Ramaswamy loans $25M to Ohio governor bid amid self‑funding surge
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch / Cincinnati Enquirer
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