WARREN — U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce and Bill Johnson, who represent portions of the Mahoning Valley, have greatly outraised their challengers in the March 17 Republican primary and enjoy financial advantages over the Democrats running for their seats in November.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, who is running unopposed in his primary, raised more than Joyce and Johnson during pre-primary-election reporting period — between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26. Ryan received $139,292.41.

Only two of the seven Republicans running in the March 17 primary to face Ryan in the general election for the 13th Congressional District seat filed pre-primary reports.

Christina M. Hagan of Marlboro Township received $97,406.28 in contributions during the filing period while Robert J. Santos of Austintown collected $1,305.

In the 6th District, Johnson, R-Marietta, raised $32,608.46 while spending $531,428.53 in the pre-primary period while his Republican primary-election challenger and the Democrat in the race didn’t file reports.

In the 14th District, Joyce, R-Bainbridge Township, raised $138,580.96 and spent $183,283.53 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26. His Republican primary-election opponent didn’t file a report, and the Democrat in the race reported $50,894.93 in contributions.

13TH DISTRICT

Ryan rebounded during the pre-primary period, receiving $139,292.41 in less than two months.

It was a little more than the $137,882.90 he raised in the final three months of last year and quite a bit more than the $30,255.83 and $42,883.03 he collected in last year’s second and third quarters, respectively.

Between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26, Ryan, a nine-term incumbent, received $60,250 from political action committees and $79,037.41 from individuals.

In the past, most of Ryan’s money came from PACs.

Among those who gave Ryan maximum contributions of $2,800 were Capri Cafaro of Liberty, the former Ohio Senate minority leader; Denise DeBartolo York of Canfield, head of the DeBartolo Corp.; and Michael Garvey, president of M7 Technologies in Youngstown.

Ryan spent $100,500.75 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26 with his largest expenses being $21,000 to Balodis Group LLC of Westlake for fundraising consulting; $8,677.03 to Fraioli & Associates of Washington, D.C., for fundraising consulting and expenses; and $7,050 to NGP Van Inc. of Pittsburgh for database services.

His campaign is paying $778.35 a month to General Motors to lease a vehicle.

During this campaign, Ryan has raised $426,458.36 and has spent $487,549.

With money he carried over from previous campaigns, Ryan had $137,134 in his fund as of Feb. 26.

Hagan raised $97,406.28 and spent only $17,31.58 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26 with the primary quickly approaching.

With $51.06 she carried over from last year, Hagan was sitting on $80,135.76 as of Feb. 26.

Nearly all of the money she spent — $15,186.47 — went to Logan Circle Group of Huntington Station, N.Y., for campaign materials, mostly for direct mail.

Santos raised $1,305 in the pre-primary period with $700 coming from a loan he gave the campaign. He previously loaned $700 to the campaign.

With $1,248.39 in expenses, he had $56.61 in his campaign fund as of Feb. 26.

None of the five other Republicans running for the nomination filed pre-primary reports, according to the Federal Election Commission.

That includes Louis G. Lyras of Campbell, who gave $90,000 in personal loans to his campaign during the last three months of 2019. In 2018 and 2019, Lyras gave a total of $125,000 in loans to his campaign and was repaid $6,000 of it. The campaign also has $11,630.99 in debt owed to Lyras.

The five-county district includes most of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

14TH DISTRICT

Joyce collected $138,580.96 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26 with $81,530 from PACs, $46,913.48 from individual donors, $10,067.90 transferred from other committees and $69.58 in “other receipts.”

He spent $183,283.53 during the pre-primary period with some of his major expenses being $50,670 to FP1 Strategies of Alexandria, Va., for communications consulting; $13,000 to NK Baur and Associates of Dublin for fundraising consulting and compliance; and $8,018.46 to Evans Printing Co. of Solon for printing and postage.

Joyce, a four-term incumbent, paid $6,968.75 to Jones Day, a Washington, D.C., law firm. He paid $34,480.33 in legal fees to the firm during the final three months of 2019.

Scott Coleman of Cleveland, Joyce’s former campaign treasurer, was sentenced Oct. 3, 2019, to 30 days in jail after being convicted of grand theft for embezzling money from the campaign. In 2019’s third quarter, Coleman gave $341,983.06 to Joyce’s campaign as a “repayment of misappropriated funds and legal/audit fees,” according to Joyce’s FEC report.

Overall during this campaign, Joyce raised $1,817,568.52 and spent $852,291.30.

Including money he carried over from previous campaigns, he had $1,222,456.25 in his fund as of Feb. 26.

Mark Pitrone of Stow, his Republican primary-election opponent, didn’t file a report.

Democrat Hillary O’Connor Mueri of Painesville raised $50,894.93 and spent $36,241.59 in the pre-primary period.

Among her largest expenses were $8,327.53 to Catherine Grech of Painesville, her campaign manager, and $7,500 to Battle Axe Digital of Washington, D.C., for fundraising services.

During this campaign, she’s raised $159,673.80 and spent $78,808.28.

The seven-county district includes communities in northern Trumbull County.

6TH DISTRICT

Johnson, a five-term incumbent, is usually one of the state’s leading House members in terms of raising money.

But he only received $32,608.46 during the pre-primary reporting period with $21,500 from PACs and $11,108.20 from individual donors and 26 cents in “other receipts.”

Also atypical of Johnson, he spent significantly more — $531,428.53 — than he collected. Almost $500,000 went to Communications Counsel of Columbus to purchase television time and for media consulting.

Overall during this campaign, Johnson has raised $1,004,743.36 and has spent $1,151,029.57.

Including money from previous campaigns, Johnson had $799,345.11 in his fund as of Feb. 26.

Kenneth Morgan of Chesapeake, his Republican challenger, didn’t file a campaign finance report.

Shawna Roberts of Belmont, the Democratic nominee who lost to Johnson in 2018, also didn’t file a report.

The 18-county district includes all of Columbiana County and southern Mahoning County.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com