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Local candidates vying for an open Statehouse seat last month spent more than $200,000 combined on their campaigns this year and received $294,000 in in-kind contributions, according to campaign finance reports released last week.
Springfield Republican Kyle Koehler, who won the race to represent the Ohio House of Representatives 79th District with 61 percent of the vote, spent about $93,000 and also received about $228,000 in in-kind contributions.
Springfield Democrat Darrell Jackson, Koehler’s opponent, spent more than $106,000 on his campaign and also received about $66,000 in in-kind contributions.
Most of the of in-kind contributions came from the state parties buying advertising or campaign materials for the two candidates.
Koehler, 53, will replace incumbent state Rep. Ross McGregor, a Springfield Republican who served the maximum four terms in office. The district consists of Springfield and the southwestern half of Clark County.
Koehler finished last year with about $15,000 cash on hand and raised about $77,000 this year. He finished the campaign with about $1,700 cash on hand, meaning he spent nearly all the money on allotted to his campaign from donors.
“I wasn’t going to spend it frivolously,” Koehler said. “We’re proud that a majority of our money came from people within the district.”
Koehler was narrowly defeated by incumbent Clark County Commissioner David Hartley for a seat on that board in 2012. This year, he stepped back into the political arena, beating both Argeri Lagos and Rick Chimento in a heated primary in May to win the Republican nomination for the Statehouse seat. In the general election, he beat Jackson, a retired Clark County Sheriff’s deputy with more than 26 years of service in law enforcement.
Koehler will be sworn in on Jan. 5 and will serve through 2017, making an annual salary of about $60,500. The first task, Koehler said, will be working on the upcoming budget bill.
“We’re excited to get started,” Koehler said. “We’re excited to represent everyone in the district. We’re not just going to represent the Republicans or the Independents or the Democrats. We’re going to represent everybody.”
Jackson has about $9,300 cash on hand, according to the report, but bills are still coming in, he said. Jackson currently doesn’t intend to run for any other office in the future, but said he’s been asked by residents about his plans nearly every day since the election.
“It’s too early to tell,” Jackson said.
Springfield Republicans for county offices outspent their opponents by more than double, according to reports filed to the Clark County Board of Elections.
Incumbent Clark County Auditor Republican John Federer, who beat Democratic challenger Nikki Crawford, spent about $24,000 on his campaign, while Crawford spent about $11,000.
Republican Rick Lohnes, an incumbent Clark County commissioner who beat David Herier to retain his seat, spent about $21,000 on his campaign. Herier, a Democrat, spent about $9,100 on his campaign.
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