Jim Renacci raised a paltry $22,000 during the first three weeks of his gubernatorial campaign, leading Ohio Republicans to question his chances of ousting Gov. Mike DeWine in next April’s GOP primary.
Renacci, a wealthy businessman, loaned his campaign $1 million, ensuring his effort to block DeWine from a second term can get off the ground. But the former congressman’s failure to raise much from grassroots online donors in the opening weeks of his bid has cast doubts about his viability and recalls his fundraising difficulties in 2018 when he came up short against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The Renacci campaign claims its fundraising accelerated in July and rejects suggestions that its candidate’s bid to dethrone DeWine is falling flat with Republican voters.
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“The campaign has been adding thousands of unique donors and grassroots supporters every week since the campaign launched,” a Renacci campaign spokesman said Monday in an email. “We will be fully funded to take on Mike DeWine and his special interest friends in Columbus. We just hired a national and statewide fundraiser, which will tap into the deep Ohio and national support Renacci has built throughout the years.”
Candidates for governor in Ohio were required to file a midyear report with the secretary of state’s office showing fundraising activity from Jan. 1 through June 30.
Renacci, who is being advised by Brad Parscale, the onetime top strategist for former President Donald Trump, announced his run for governor in early June, toward the end of the reporting period, and proceeded to raise just under $22,000, according to his fundraising disclosure. The report also showed a $1 million loan of personal funds, leaving with him cash on hand of just over $1 million to spend on his 2022 primary campaign.
DeWine, a former senator and ex-state attorney general, reported $3.1 million raised during the first six months of the year and $6.6 million in the bank. The governor clearly had more time to raise money than Renacci. But the former congressman’s debut looked weak considering the lack of initial backing from grassroots donors and the fact that he has framed his campaign as a voter uprising against DeWine and his handling of the coronavirus.
“He isn’t going to be the darling of the low dollar Right anytime soon because he doesn’t really have any street cred,” a Republican strategist in Ohio said, requesting anonymity in order to speak candidly.
What can strong grassroots fundraising do for a campaign, even an underdog campaign?
In neighboring Michigan, Republican gubernatorial contender Garrett Soldano, a chiropractor, raised more than $600,000 from 10,000 donors through June 30 after starting his campaign in late April. That is despite the Republican establishment in Michigan coalescing behind former Detroit Police Chief James Craig and the fact that Tudor Dixon is viewed as the “Trump candidate,” in part because the former president’s top adviser, Susie Wiles, is working for her campaign.
The Renacci campaign insists that its midyear report is not an accurate gauge of the Republican’s support and made clear that its effort will be fully funded.
“This campaign will be powered by those who are tired of politics as usual from DeWine who has contributed to a culture of corruption that had made Ohio the most corrupt state in the country,” the Renacci campaign spokesman said.
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Renacci is expressing confidence that the FirstEnergy bribery scandal involving Republicans in the Ohio Legislature, which is still rocking Columbus, will eventually catch DeWine. Some Republicans unaffiliated with the Renacci campaign agree — or at least believe that it is possible. Such a development could dampen DeWine’s fundraising, cause voters to flee, or even motivate the governor to drop his reelection bid, Republican insiders in Ohio say.
Meanwhile, Trump has vowed to oppose DeWine’s 2022 reelection bid. But, so far, the former president has not endorsed Renacci.
