But West Chester Twp. Trustee Lee Wong only spent money with his available cash on hand, according to campaign finance reports. Two of his four expenses went to four-figure donations — $2,000 to the Crestview Presbyterian Church and $1,200 to the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Wong's campaign finance report filed with the Ohio Secretary of State shows a negative balance. However, as of the 2018 annual report filed in Butler County he reported more than $36,600 cash on hand in his West Chester Twp. trustee finance report.
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Keller, R-Middletown, raised $6,500 in the first six months of the year, with nearly half of that raised at a June 22 fundraiser in Germantown. Outside the fundraiser, and a $500 Ohio Dental Association PAC donation, she raised $2,800 from a dozen donors.
Keller’s campaign had largely been financed by her husband, Kent Keller Sr. Before Keller’s $90,000 self loan on June 28 to her campaign, she loaned her campaign $500 in 2016. Her husband loaned nearly a collective $34,400. The campaign repaid a $3,000 loan to Keller Sr. in March.
"As the most conservative candidate running, we want to get the message out early that voters have a candidate that voted against raising the gas tax, against the HB6 bail-out, and supported the firefighters against a hostile (Emergency Management Association) takeover," she said.
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Ohio Secretary of State spokeswoman Maggie Sheehan said there are no monetary restrictions on candidates giving themselves a loan, nor is there a time frame when they must repay their self-loan. But she said, “a loan must be reported as a loan/debt … until it is repaid or forgiven.”
The biggest expense for Keller in the first half of 2019 was a $3,250 expenditure for billboards supporting the heartbeat bill that was signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this year.
With the help of her self-loan, Keller has $106,700 cash on hand.
The West Chester Twp. state lawmaker raised $10,450, and nearly three-fourths of that came from political action committees, including two law firm PACs and four insurance PACs.
Lang’s largest expense was $5,000 to the Butler County Republican Party. He also gave more than a collective $2,500 in donations to the Boys and Girls Club of West Chester/Liberty, U.C. Foundation, Miami University College Republicans and Butler County’s Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF).
Lang has $35,750 cash on hand as of the end of June and has no campaign loans.
Other state lawmaker campaign finance reports include:
• Ohio Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, raised more than $8,200 through June 30 and has nearly $11,800 cash on hand. But she still has $300,000 in self loans to her committee, most of which came during her primary race for the 51st Ohio House District in 2018.
• Ohio Sen. Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp., who represents the 4th Senate District, is term-limited but is seeking the 12th District Court of Appeals in 2020. He raised $4,950 through June and spent more than $20,000, more than $6,400 of which was for travel to various conferences, including the ICE Conference — a gaming technology event for business growth, development and networking — in London.
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