Ohio redistricting initiative campaign sets fundraising record with $26.95 million raised

Welcome to the Thursday, Aug. 8, Brew.

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Ohio redistricting initiative campaign raises a record $26.95 million
2. Here’s what happened in Aug. 6 battleground primaries in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington
3. Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Reformer J. Patrick Coolican and Ballotpedia Staff Writer Ellen Morrissey join On the Ballot to discuss vice presidential candidate Tim Walz

Ohio redistricting initiative campaign raises a record $26.95 million

Voters in Ohio will decide on a citizen initiative on Nov. 5 to establish the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC), a 15-member non-politician commission responsible for adopting state legislative and congressional redistricting plans. This type of commission is also known as an independent redistricting commission.

According to campaign finance reports filed on July 31, the group Citizens Not Politicians, which is backing the initiative, raised $26.95 million.

That’s a record amount raised for a ballot measure to create an independent redistricting commission. In 2018, for example, Michigan Proposal 2 raised $17 million, $16.6 million of which was for the support campaign. Colorado Amendment Y and Amendment Z, a pair of ballot measures to create an independent redistricting commission, raised $5.81 million. In Utah, where voters decided on Proposition 4, $2.8 million was raised.

Before this year, the most money raised during an independent redistricting commission initiative was in 2010 with California Proposition 20, which transferred congressional redistricting from the legislature to the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Proposition 20 saw $20.84 million raised, with supporters raising $15.29 million and opponents raising $5.55 million.

Since 2000, there have been two other citizen initiatives to create independent redistricting commissions in Ohio. In 2012, voters rejected Issue 2, for which $16.41 million was raised. Supporters raised $8.2 million and opponents raised $8.21 million. In 2005, voters rejected Issue 4, which saw $10.75 million raised. Supporters raised $5.04 million and opponents raised $5.71 million.

As of July 31, there was no organized opposition to the Ohio initiative. That’s not uncommon at this stage of the election cycle because the initiative was only certified on July 23. Historically, the campaigns supporting these types of initiatives have raised significantly more money than opponents, except in Ohio. In 2012, opponents raised $11,997 more than supporters. In 2005, opponents raised $673,456 more.

There is opposition to the initiative. Ohio Senate Majority Caucus representative Garth Kant said, “The proposal is actually a Trojan Horse plan to ‘fix’ our redistricting laws for drawing Congressional and Statehouse maps by replacing an amendment voters overwhelmingly approved in 2015 with an exceedingly complex, harebrained, and radical scheme. … Radical progressives are using the same tactic around the country: falsely claiming Republicans are gerrymandering and promoting a ‘bipartisan’ fix that would actually favor real gerrymandering by Democrats.”

Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-7), a supporter of the initiative, said, “This is an extraordinary step in returning power to the people and putting citizens in charge of the redistricting process in Ohio. With fair districts, we can fund our schools properly, create good paying jobs, and stop pushing through divisive legislation that does nothing to help Ohio’s hardworking families get ahead.”

Through July 31, the largest donors to Citizens Not Politicians were the Sixteen Thirty Fund ($6.67 million), the American Civil Liberties Union ($3.58 million), Article IV ($3.5 million), Our American Future Foundation ($2.45 million), and the Ohio Progressive Collaborative and TIDES Foundation, both contributing $2 million.

On June 2, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed Ohio House Bill 1, which prohibited foreign nationals, including foreign permanent residents, from making direct or indirect contributions to support a statewide ballot measure. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), who supported the bill, highlighted the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which receives funding from Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss national based in Wyoming. In 2023, the Sixteen Thirty Fund was the largest donor, contributing $6.97 million, to the campaign behind a successful ballot initiative to provide a state constitutional right to abortion in Ohio. Sixteen Thirty Fund contributed $6 million to Citizens Not Politicians on May 23, 10 days before the bill was signed. HB 1 goes into effect on Sept. 1.

Outside of California and Florida, the initiative is the most expensive of 2024 thus far. It is the only statewide measure on the ballot for Ohio’s 2024 general election. The next campaign finance reporting deadline in Ohio is Oct. 24.

Here’s what happened in Aug. 6 battleground primaries in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington

Note: Vote percentages below may change as more votes are counted.

ICYMI, here’s a quick recap of what happened in Tuesday’s primaries. The following five states held elections on Tuesday, Aug. 6: Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. We covered 11 races as battlegrounds. Three things to know about Tuesday’s elections:

1. Mike Rogers defeats three candidates in Michigan’s Republican U.S. Senate primary. He faces Elissa Slotkin (D) in November.
2. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) becomes the fourth U.S. House incumbent to lose in a primary this year.
3. Pete Serrano (R) and Nick Brown (D) advance from the top-two primary for Washington Attorney General. The office is open for the first time since 2012.

Here are the highlights.

Michigan

Mike Rogers (R) defeated three other candidates with 62.8% of the vote. Justin Amash, the second-place finisher, had 16.1%. Rogers and Elissa Slotkin (D) will be on the ballot in November. Incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) did not seek re-election.

AP’s Joey Cappelletti wrote, “Michigan’s open Senate seat is one of a handful of races nationwide that will determine control of the upper chamber in November. With a later congressional primary, Slotkin and Rogers will have a short period to transition from competing against their own party members to appealing to a broader base of voters for the Nov. 5 general election, which may explain why they have campaigned with their eyes on the general election.”

Missouri

Wesley Bell (D) defeated three other candidates with 51.2% of the vote. Incumbent Cori Bush, the second-place finisher, had 45.6%. Bell will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. As of this writing, the Republican primary had not been called.

Bush is the fourth incumbent to lose a primary this year. From 2014 to Aug. 2024, an average of eight incumbents lost per year.

Politico’s Nicholas Wu, Madison Fernandez, and Ally Mutnick wrote: “Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) became the fourth member of Congress — and the second member of the progressive Squad — to lose a primary election this year. Her race drew millions of dollars in spending, largely driven by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has targeted candidates it doesn’t deem as sufficiently pro-Israel.”

Bob Onder (R) defeated six other candidates with 47.4% of the vote. Kurt Schaefer, the second-place finisher, had 37.2%. Onder and Bethany Mann (D) will be on the ballot in November. Incumbent Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) did not seek re-election.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Mark Schlinkmann wrote, “Onder got a boost in recent weeks when he was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who easily carried Missouri in the past two presidential elections and is the party’s nominee again.”

Washington

A quick note on Washington’s top-two primary system: A top-two primary is a type of primary where all candidates are listed on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliations.

Washington is a state that holds all-mail elections. That means voting is conducted primarily, although not necessarily exclusively, by mail. Because of this, results may not be available as quickly as in other states. Votes are still being counted in many races.

Jerrod Sessler (R) leads incumbent Dan Newhouse (R) 29.8%-25% as of this writing. The next closest candidate was Tiffany Smiley (R), with 19.5%.

Trump endorsed Sessler and Smiley. According to Politico’s David Cohen, “Newhouse was one of 10 Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, and he is one of only two remaining in the House after the 2022 midterms, along with Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif).”

Pete Serrano (R) and Nick Brown (D) advanced from the top-two primary with 41.9% and 35.9%, respectively. Manka Dhingra (D), the next closest candidate, had 22.2%. Incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) ran for governor.

The Washington State Standard’s Laurel Demkovich wrote, “The possibility of Donald Trump getting reelected as president is casting a shadow over the race. Ferguson is known for suing the Trump administration nearly 100 times when the former president was last in office. Brown and Dhingra both signaled that they are prepared to take a similar posture if Trump reclaims the White House. Serrano, meanwhile, argues that Ferguson has overstepped the constitutional authority of the office and has said he’d be less active in pressing the Legislature to pass new laws.”

To view other election results from Tuesday, click below.

Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Reformer J. Patrick Coolican and Ballotpedia Staff Writer Ellen Morrissey join On the Ballot to discuss vice presidential candidate Tim Walz

On yesterday’s special two-part episode of On the Ballot, Ballotpedia’s weekly podcast, Ballotpedia Podcast Producer Frank Festa interviews Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Reformer J. Patrick Coolican about Kamala Harris’ (D) vice presidential selection: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D). In the second part of the episode, Ellen Morrissey, Ballotpedia’s expert on all things presidential, gives us some further insight into Harris’ selection.

Coolican and Festa discuss the evolution of Walz’s political career, his reputation and record as governor of Minnesota, and how his political philosophy has changed over time. They also explore what separated Walz from the other vice presidential finalists—Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)—as well as reactions from those in Minnesota.

Morrissey and Festa then dive deep into Walz’s own election history, who would become governor if he and Harris win in November—hint, it’s Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D)—what to expect at the Democratic National Convention this month, and details on the money the Harris-Walz campaign has raised.

Subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app to learn more about vice presidential candidate Walz! This episode is available now.