Who's responsible for this ad?

Frecka PAC is a federal super PAC that was registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) on August 19, 2024 and registered in Ohio on October 1, 2024. According to its FEC filings, David Frecka contributed $2 million to the Super PAC on September 12, 2024.

On September 20, 2024, Frecka PAC spent $460,700 on ads backing Bernie Moreno for U.S. Senate. On September 18, 2024, the super PAC contributed $75,000 to House Freedom Action, a super PAC that is the political arm of the far-right House Freedom caucus. The group’s registered treasurer is Brittney Gonzalez, an accountant with Crosby Ottenhoff Group, a consulting firm that has registered numerous Republican groups. 

David Frecka was the longtime owner and CEO of Next Generations Films, a plastics manufacturer, which he sold in 2019 for more than $1 billion. The company’s annual sales were estimated at the time to be about $422 million.

Frecka now operates with his family “The Triple F Collection” through which they claim to be “focused on sharing their experiences with high end performance vehicles to the community through philanthropy and social media.” The website notes that Frecka is also known as “BDD – Big Daddy Dave.”

According to the Columbus Dispatch, in 2020, Frecka built the third largest home in central Ohio. The Dispatch article describes the house as “Like a castle, the home being built on Route 315 in Delaware County seems to lord over its surroundings.”

David Frecka has become a major donor to right-wing candidates and committees, contributing large sums in particular to Club for Growth, Trump’s campaigns in 2020 and 2024, and the House Freedom Caucus. David Frecka’s late spouse, Brenda Frecka, was also a major donor to far-right campaigns. 

Frecka is a major donor to the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), according to the group’s 2021 annual report, which recognized Dave and Brenda Frecka as a few of a handful of “heroes of 2021.” CPI is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2017 by former Heritage Foundation president Jim DeMint. The New York Times described CPI as “the nerve center for the right-wing,” that “has become a breeding ground for the next generation of Trump loyalists and an incubator for policies he might pursue.” 

Dave Frecka’s 2023-2024 campaign cycle funding, per FEC filings:

• $999,999 to Make America Great Again, Inc.
• $300,000 to Club for Growth Action
• $250,000 to Protect the House 2024
• $238,400 to NRCC
• $150,000 to House Freedom Action
• $6,600 to Bernie Moreno for Senate
• $6,600 to Kevin McCarthy for Congress
• $5,000 to Majority Committee PAC

Discussion and Analysis

Context provided by Jessica Dickinson, Outreach and Engagement Manager, Ohio Fair Courts Alliance

This is one of several Frecka PAC ads supporting the Republican candidates for Ohio Supreme Court. This ad focuses on Dan Hawkins’s tenure as a prosecutor “protecting us” and says that he “delivers justice.” This is another ad in the Ohio Supreme Court race that focuses on criminal justice. The state’s highest court rarely directly deals with law and order issues. These are routinely dealt with in the lower courts. The Frecka PAC’s conservative agenda is much broader than the criminal justice system.

Analysis provided by Evan Vorpahl, Senior Researcher at True North Research

The ad by Frecka PAC portrays Dan Hawkins as tough-on-crime, a regular talking point made by right-wing special interests groups, noting in particular Hawkins’ experience as a prosecutor. However, it is likely that Frecka PACs primary interest in backing certain candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court is more economic and ideological. The PAC’s sole funder, David Frecka, is affiliated with and funds some of the most fringe elements of the Republican Party and his close affiliation with Conservative Partnership Institute is evidence of how closely aligned Frecka is with the MAGA agenda. As the CEO of the plastics manufacturing company he founded, Frecka has a key stake in how the Ohio Supreme Court rules. With an estimated net worth of $60 million, a 22,000 square foot mansion, and collection of luxury super cars, David Frecka’s economic interests are likely very different from the typical Ohioan.

This positive ad includes various shots of Hawkins sitting from the bench and in meetings with other attorneys.

Special interests groups routinely run ads painting their preferred candidate as tough on crime, while smearing their opponents with misleading ads that claim they are soft on crime. Another special interest group running ads in the Ohio Supreme Court election, Republican State Leadership Committee, released a polling memo earlier this year noting that Republican messaging on crime continued to be powerful in swaying voters and indicated in its “Republican Roadmap” series that it would be running ads across numerous states “highlighting how state Republicans are committed to promoting law and order while their Democrat counterparts stand by out-of-touch policies that protect dangerous criminals and encourage crime.”

The reality is the Ohio Supreme Court rarely deals directly with law and order issues which are routinely dealt with at the lower court level.