J.D. Vance bet the farm to win the Republican nomination, loaning his campaign $700,000. He also bent a knee for Trump to get his endorsement over the other Republican candidates. Now normally, when a candidate makes a loan to his campaign, he waits until after the General election to recoup the money or in many cases, it's a donation and becomes a tax write-off later. J.D. Vance wants his money back now, however. His campaign has come up with a sly way to get him his money back, paying himself upfront from any political donations. Given these facts, it's probably not too surprising then that Tim Ryan raised $9.1 million last quarter, Vance only $2.3mil. Say what you will about Republicans, but they know a grifter when they see one.
If Vance won't bet on himself, why should they?
The other issue for Vance is that many wealthy donors feel that Vance's "sugar daddy," Peter Thiel, will rescue him later if need be.
It also is possible wealthy Republican financiers presume GOP megadonor Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist who pumped more than $10 million into the pro-Vance Protect Ohio Values super PAC in the primary, will rescue the candidate if money becomes a pressing problem for his campaign.
Source: Rollcall
As Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance fell far short of his Democratic opponent Tim Ryan in recent campaign donations, one of the Republican’s chief fundraising vehicles says it prioritizes paying off the campaign’s debt from the May 3 primary he won.
The campaign’s biggest creditor: Vance himself.
Vance Victory, a joint fundraising committee that splits donations between Vance’s Senate campaign and two other committees, states in its formula for dishing out donor funds that the first $2,900 of an individual contribution would be “designated for 2022 Primary Election debt retirement.” The next $2,900 would go to Vance’s campaign for the general election, with the next $10,000 to the Ohio Republican Party and the following $5,000 to Working for Ohio, Vance’s leadership political action committee.
Vance’s campaign declined comment.
I bet they did.
