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 Catherine Turcer, Executive Director, Common Cause Ohio

This ad is very straightforward and focuses on the candidate’s name and plays around with the alliteration of “Justice Joe.” That’s because Joe Deters was appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court by Governor Mike DeWine in January 2023.  Deters hasn’t held statewide office for more than two decades and many voters simply aren’t familiar with him. This “tough on crime” political ad is similar to other ads this year. And this approach by the Frecka PAC was likely necessary because Deters has no prior judicial experience.  Of course, this ad rings hollow because the Ohio Supreme Court only rarely directly deals with law and order issues. These are routinely dealt with in the lower courts.