It’s not hard to know it’s an election year. Commercials about politicians are on seemingly every channel, candidates’ faces are plastered on billboards and your neighbor’s lawn might be peppered with signs with various names. But who pays for all of it?
Election season is full of ad campaigns, yard signs and rallies, and none of it is free. The 2024 election cycle is no different with congressional races totaling more than $10 billion in spending across the 468 seats up for election, while the presidential race alone has cost more than $5.5 billion.
Campaigns are financed through various avenues including a candidate’s personal funds, political action committees (PACs) that collect campaign funds and individual contributions to a candidate.
While no notable Miami University administrators donated to campaigns this election cycle, multiple donations have come from members of Miami’s Board of Trustees.
None of the members donated to a presidential campaign, but three donated to multiple campaigns or PACs in Ohio and across the country.
Deborah Feldman
Board of Trustees Vice Chair Deborah Feldman donated a total of $3,000 to three different campaigns. Feldman donated $2,000 to U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown (Democrat).
Feldman also donated $500 to both Friends of Andrea White and Citizens to Elect Willis Blackshear Jr.
White is a Republican seeking reelection as a member of Ohio’s House of Representatives. She holds the seat in the 36th district representing Kettering, Ohio. Blackshear Jr. is a Democrat who currently serves as a state representative in Ohio’s 38th district in Dayton, Ohio.
Zachary Haines
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Board of Trustees member Zachary Haines contributed to four individual campaigns and the Republican party.
Haines contributed $1,000 each to George Lang (Republican), Orlando Sonza (Republican) and the Republican Party of Ohio. Sonza is running in Ohio’s 1st congressional district in Cincinnati against Democrat Greg Landsman. Lang is seeking reelection in Butler County as an Ohio representative, a position he has held since 2021.
Haines also contributed to Ohio’s U.S. Senate race with a $250 donation to Bernie Moreno (Republican).
Dinesh Paliwal
Dinesh Paliwal contributed the highest amount, with a total of $13,300. The sum was spread between two PACs and one candidate running for the Illinois House of Representatives.
Paliwal sent $5,000 to both the House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC that spends funds helping Democratic candidates get elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and the American Investment Council which contributes to candidates who support the private equity industry.
Paliwal’s other contribution went to Raja Krishnamoorthi (Democrat) who is running for Illinois House of Representatives. Paliwal donated to the campaign from an address in Connecticut.
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