Ethics Concerns Surround Frank LaRose’s “Shadow Campaign” for Ohio’s Senate Seat
May 31, 2023
Today, reporting from The Columbus Dispatch is raising additional ethics concerns around Frank LaRose’s “shadow campaign” for Ohio’s Senate seat. Previous reporting from The Daily Beast found that LaRose had “possibly trigger[ed] campaign finance regulations” by admitting he was raising money into a super PAC.
“Ohioans deserve complete transparency and answers to the serious ethical questions around Frank LaRose’s ‘shadow campaign’ for Ohio’s Senate seat and how it is being bankrolled,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Reeves Oyster.
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The Columbus Dispatch: Secretary of State Frank LaRose uses election integrity group to aid US Senate ambitions
Haley BeMiller
May 31, 2023
- But some campaign finance experts say the arrangement allows the secretary of state to raise limitless funds in the dark while promoting a potential U.S. Senate bid.
- LaRose told a Republican donor in April that he was raising money for a super PAC, according to a voicemail obtained by the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau. In the same breath, he laid out his intention to run in the GOP Senate primary and pitched the donor on why he’d be the best choice.
- “As you know, there are two other candidates. Both are nice guys, but clearly neither of them have the strength to beat a guy like Brown,” LaRose said in the voicemail. “All the metrics show that I’m the guy that can do that.”
- Still, critics believe LaRose, as the state’s chief election official, should be held to a higher standard. And Catherine Turcer, executive director for Common Cause Ohio, worries Ohio politicians haven’t learned from the racketeering conviction of former House Speaker Larry Householder.