110320...R ELEX 1...Niles...11-03-20...U.S. Rep Tim Ryan, D-Howland, is thrilled when he received a call telling him he was the winner...by R. Michael Semple

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, raised $2.28 million in the second quarter — more than any candidate for the 2022 race in Ohio raised between April and June from donors.

It’s also the most money any Democratic challenger for Senate in the state has ever raised in the second quarter in a non-election year.

Ryan’s $2.28 million is among the largest amounts raised in the second quarter among nonincumbent candidates for the Senate in the nation.

“Tim Ryan’s historic fundraising is just one way that he’s shown he’s ready to flip Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat and give Ohio the most pro-worker Senate delegation in the country,” said Izzi Levy, campaign spokeswoman. “From now through next November, Tim will continue to unify Ohioans and build grassroots with his relentless focus on the working people of this state.”

Ryan also had nearly $2.6 million in his campaign fund as of June 30, according to his campaign. The fund had $1,033,645.50 in it as of March 31.

Of the money Ryan, D-Howland, received in the second quarter, 96 percent of contributions were less than $100 and the average online contribution was just under $27, according to his campaign. The contributions came from people in all of the state’s 88 counties.

As the only declared Democratic candidate for the Senate seat — and highly unlikely to face a well-known challenger — Ryan has received more than 200 endorsements from elected Democratic officials and activists across the state as well as from 11 labor unions, including the Ohio AFL-CIO.

The money raised by Ryan between April and June is almost twice the $1,216,187.04 he raised in the first quarter, and that was more than two times as much money as he ever raised in a quarter in his 18-plus years in the House.

It’s also more than the $1,991,087.32 he raised during the entirety of his last House campaign, which was a record for him.

In a Thursday fundraising email, Ryan wrote that his report “will send a powerful message to Donald Trump, (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell and all of their dark money allies that we have the support we need to flip this seat and expand our Democratic majority in the Senate. But we can’t take our foot off the gas. As soon a national Republicans see the strength of our numbers, they’ll get their ultra-wealthy donors and ramp up their efforts to take us down.”

The seat will be open next year because U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Terrace Park, decided not to seek a third six-year term, citing “partisan gridlock.”

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES

Among the Republican candidates seeking to get that party’s nomination for the Senate seat, Josh Mandel, a former two-time state treasurer, said he raised more than $1.5 million in the second quarter. However, that money was likely raised by his Team Josh 2022 PAC, as it was during the first quarter.

Of the $1,355,549.89 in contributions between January and March to the Mandel PAC, his Senate campaign can use about $700,000 of it as it’s restricted.

Mandel’s campaign raised only $32,910.81 from donors in the first quarter and reported a $130,202.29 loss for a “decrease in investment portfolio balance.”

But the fund had $4,238,339.24 in it as of March 31, carried over from his failed 2012 Senate race and from money he raised for an abandoned 2018 race.

Former Ohio Republican Party Chairwoman Jane Timken’s campaign said she raised $1.4 million in the second quarter, all from donors. In the first quarter, Timken raised $1,130,395.07 from donors and loaned $1 million to her campaign.

Businessman Mike Gibbons’ campaign said the Republican raised $6 million in the second quarter with more than $5 million coming from the candidate.

Businessman Bernie Moreno hasn’t said how much he raised in the second quarter. Back on May 6, he said he raised more than $1 million in the first 30 days of his campaign. He has said he’ll use as much of his own money as needed for this campaign.

Senate candidates don’t have to file second-quarter campaign finance reports until next Thursday.

Gibbons and Moreno became Senate candidates in April so they didn’t file first-quarter campaign finance reports.

J.D. Vance, author and venture capitalist, joined the Republican race for Senate on July 1, the first day of the third quarter, so he won’t file a report for the second quarter. His campaign said Tuesday that he raised $100,000 in online contributions since his announcement.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has given $10 million to Protect Ohio Values, a super political action committee that is backing Vance.

dskolnick@vindy.com