Eighteen of 25 Ohio House committee chairs raised more money than the average member this cycle

By

Kalyn Stralow

Elections for all 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Republicans held a 64-35 majority heading into the election.

Committee chair fundraising

State legislative committee chairs set a committee’s legislative agenda. Some committee chairs raise significantly more money than their non-chair counterparts in the state legislature. The average amount raised by delegates who did not serve as a committee chair was $155,355. The funds raised by each of the House’s 25 committee chairs are shown below.

  • Agriculture and Conservation Committee – Kyle Koehler – $20,600
  • Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee – Haraz Ghanbari – $293,839
  • Behavioral Health and Recovery Supports Committee – Sara Carruthers – $175,916
  • Civil Justice Committee – Brett Hudson Hillyer – $179,246
  • Commerce and Labor Committee – Dick Stein – $136,388
  • Criminal Justice Committee – Jeff LaRe – $208,458
  • Economic and Workforce Development Committee – Jay Edwards – $1,126,036
  • Energy and Public Utilities Committee – Bob Peterson – $126,419
  • Families, Aging, and Human Services Committee – Susan Manchester – $420,104
  • Financial Institutions Committee – Kris Jordan – $27,178
  • Government Oversight Committee – Shane Wilkin – $444,030
  • Higher Education and Career Readiness Committee – Laura Lanese – $61,546
  • House Energy and Natural Resources Committee – Jason Stephens – $597,405
  • House Finance Committee – Scott Oelslager – $215,186
  • House Health Committee – Scott Lipps – $200,537
  • House Insurance Committee – Tom Brinkman Jr. – $25,910
  • House Primary and Secondary Education Committee – Gayle L. Manning – $316,084
  • House Public Utilities Committee – James Hoops – $173,236
  • House Rules and Reference Committee – Bob Cupp – $492,059
  • House Ways and Means Committee – Derek Merrin – $531,285
  • Infrastructure and Rural Development Committee – Reggie Stoltzfus – $54,250
  • Joint Legislative Ethics Committee – Bob Cupp – $492,059
  • Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee – Thomas Patton – $840,773
  • Legislative Service Commission Committee – Bob Cupp – $492,059
  • State and Local Government Committee – Scott Wiggam – $155,733
  • Technology and Innovation Committee – Mark Fraizer – $228,932
  • Transportation and Public Safety Committee – Brian Baldridge – $490,917

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Ohio PACs submitted to the Ohio Secretary of State. Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines.

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.