Candidates use own funds

The 14th District incumbent has $685,062 in his campaign war chest.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Capri Cafaro of Liberty, the winner of the 14th Congressional District's Democratic primary, put her money where her mouth is.
Cafaro poured $211,560 of her own money into her campaign, or 90 percent of the $235,850 she raised to defeat four other Democrats in last month's primary.
Cafaro is the daughter of J.J. Cafaro, an executive with the Cafaro Co. and a prominent political donor. Although a number of Cafaros contributed to her campaign, her father was not one of them.
Cafaro lists her occupation on Federal Election Commission documents as a self-employed public relations consultant.
Cafaro spent $230,525 on her campaign, including $182,678 between Feb. 12 and March 31. Most of that money went to political consultants, and to air radio and television commercials.
Cafaro wasn't the only Democratic candidate in that primary to spend a significant amount of her own money.
Chagrin Falls candidate
Herb Hammer of Chagrin Falls, a business owner, contributed $200,000 of his own money to his campaign, or 83 percent of the $240,938 he raised.
Hammer, who finished a distant third in the primary, spent all of the money he raised. Like Cafaro, Hammer spent most of his money on political consultants and to air radio and TV commercials.
In comparison, state Rep. Ed Jerse of Euclid, who finished second in the primary, spent $61,251 on the race, including $42,896 between Feb. 12 and March 31, and contributed only $306 of his own money to his campaign.
The primary left Cafaro with only $5,325 left in her campaign bank account.
She has a long way to go to catch up to her November general election opponent, U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Concord Township, R-14th, who is sitting on a campaign fund of $685,062 as of March 31. His fund balance as of Feb. 11 was $500,874.
LaTourette, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, did well with political action committees between Feb. 12 and March 31, picking up $153,122 from them.
The 14th District includes seven northern townships in Trumbull County as well as Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties, and portions of Cuyahoga, Summit and Portage counties.
FEC reports
Candidates who ran in Ohio's March 2 primary, even those who ran unopposed, had to file campaign finance reports by Thursday with the FEC for the time between Feb. 12 and March 31.
In the 17th District, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, increased his campaign fund from $105,961 on Feb. 11 to $130,864 on March 31. Most of the money Ryan raised during that time frame came from PACs.
Among his prominent individual donors were Thomas M. Humphries, the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber president, who gave $1,000; Mahoning County Sheriff Randall Wellington, who gave $500; and Mahoning County Commissioner Ed Reese, who gave $300.
Among his major expenditures was about $9,000 to Fraioli and Associates of Washington, D.C., operated by Michael Fraioli, his campaign treasurer.
Frank V. Cusimano of Howland, his Republican opponent, and Randy Walter of Canfield, who is running as an independent, didn't file campaign finance reports.
In the 6th District, U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat, is sitting on a cash balance of $312,332 after an easy primary victory. He faces a write-in candidate in the general election.
He spent $32,077 between Feb. 12 and March 31, including $25,000 in dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and $4,000 to Tactical Edge, a Columbus firm, to serve as a fund-raising consultant.
Diane DiCarlo Murphy of Beaver Township, Strickland's Democratic primary challenger, didn't file a report.
skolnick@vindy.com