EARLY VOTING
Early voting so far has netted more than 2,100 voters casting a ballot at the Butler County Board of Elections and around 1,200 at the Warren County Board of Elections. More than 14,100 absentee ballots were returned by mail from Butler County voters and more than 13,400 in Warren County. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, here are the early voting hours for the remainder of this campaign season:
Saturday, Oct. 25: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Oct. 27-31: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Nov. 1: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Nov. 2: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Nov. 3: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Voting by mail
If you want to vote by mail, you can get an absentee ballot by contacting your county board of elections for more information, or by downloading an absentee ballot request form at MyOhioVote.com. Vote by mail applications need to be submitted to your county board of elections office by noon on Nov. 1.
Online election guide
Learn more about the candidates and issues on your ballot in our interactive voter guide. You can compare candidates on the issues that matter to you at vote.journal-news.com.
Butler County Republicans have dominated Democrats in the fund-raising battle this election season, with five GOP candidates raking in more than $160,000 in donations, according to campaign finance reports filed this week with the county board of elections.
Candidates seeking local and state offices had to file campaign finance reports with their local board of elections office or secretary of state by 4 p.m. Thursday, detailing how much money they raised and spent. If a candidate raised or spent a total of $1,000 by Oct. 15, that person was required to file a report.
State Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp., took in one of the single-biggest donations of any local candidate. Derickson received a $10,000 donation from Ginni Ragan, a Westerville retiree who is an elderly care advocate.
Over the past three years, Ragan has given $32,155 to Derickson’s campaign. She has donated nearly $75,000 to Ohio Republicans this year, and nearly $1 million to Republican candidates since 2008.
For his re-election bid to the 53rd Ohio House District, Derickson has raised nearly $40,000 after bringing forward $6,000 from his last campaign. He has spent just more than $11,000.
“I think when you’ve been doing this a while and doing your job, there are those who appreciate your work,” said Derickson. “And those who do appreciate your work have the means to support your causes. I think this is reflective in this (recent) report.”
Meanwhile, the five Butler County Democratic candidates have been bringing in smaller donations and have collectively raised several thousand dollars in their bids for office.
Derickson’s opponent, Suzi Rubin, a Monroe City Councilwoman, had about $6,400 in her war chest before raising nearly $1,500. Rubin could not be reached for comment Friday.
Incumbent Butler County Auditor Roger Reynolds had more than $70,000 heading into the general election, while his Democratic opponent Nancy Powell started out with $740, according to campaign finance reports.
Even though Reynolds’ campaign raised more money than Powell’s by a nearly 7-to-1 ratio, the two camps were neck-in-neck in money spent. Reynolds has spent nearly $9,900, while Powell has spent $9,558.
But going into the final week of the campaign season, the Reynolds campaign has a sizable monetary advantage, according to campaign finance reports. Reynolds had a balance of more than $123,500 as of Oct. 15, while Powell had just more than $1,000.
Reynolds is keeping his plans for how his campaign will spend his available money close to the vest, but he’s not surprised by his significant fund-raising advantage.
“It’s a result of what I believe is a lot of folks happy with the job that we’ve done over the last six years in improving the operations of this office,” he said. “And as such, there have been a lot of folks willing to help us in our campaign efforts in both financial contributions and volunteers.”
Powell, a first-time office-seeker, said having an infrastructure already in place is an advantage for Reynolds.
“I have had to start from scratch,” she said. “Everything I spent is out there. That’s why (my supporters) gave it to me — to spend it, which is what I’m doing.”
Powell said she believes Reynolds doesn’t “perceive me as a threat,” and doesn’t think he’ll be spending much of his cash on hand for this race.
“I don’t know why he’s raising so much money, other than he can,” she said.
Most of Reynolds’ money came from a Sept. 12 fundraiser, which generated more than $60,000, according to the reports. While most of the donations he received were $500 and under, 25 of his 72 donations were for at least $1,000.
A lot of Reynolds’ money has been spent on literature. His campaign spent more than $900 on postcards and another $150 for printing, and spent nearly $700 for postage.
Less than a third of Powell’s funding came from fundraisers. She held three, but most of her funds came from an Aug. 23 event where she raised more than $2,400. No one at any of her three fundraisers gave more than $250. However, 14 of her 57 contributions were at least $100. The most came from the United Steel Workers union in Columbus, which gave Powell $1,000 on two occasions.
In other races
All of Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter’s fund-raising for her re-election bid came from a Sept. 26 fundraiser. Of the 85 donations, two were $500 and the remaining 83 were $250 or less. The fundraiser cost $1,129 and Carpenter’s campaign received the fundraiser’s food and drinks, valued at a collective $1,614, as an in-kind donation.
Carpenter’s opponent, Middletown resident Brenda Williams, had received $714, the largest of which was a $250 donation from the Butler County Progressive Political Action Commission. She only had two expenses, a $60 payment to the Ethics Committee Board in Columbus and a $314 reimbursement to herself for campaign materials.
In the 51st Ohio House District race, incumbent Rep. Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton, brought forward nearly $5,000 from his last campaign finance report. He has received more than $27,600 and spent more than $16,700. However, his opponent, Lucinda Greene, of Hamilton, did not file a pre-election report.
In the 52nd Ohio House District race, incumbent Rep. Margy Conditt, R-Liberty Twp., brought forward more than $14,000 and received more than $25,800 in donations. She spent more than $17,800. Her opponent, Democrat Cathina Hourani, of Liberty Twp., brought forward nearly $7,800 from her last report and raised $3,400 by Oct. 15. She’s spent practically all of her funds, leaving her a cash-on-hand balance of $410.
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