Who's responsible for this ad?

Ohioans for Judicial Integrity is responsible for this ad. Ohioans for Judicial Integrity (OJI) is a Democrat-aligned super PAC that was registered with the FEC on August 9, 2024 by Jeffrey Ruppert. A group going by “Ohioans for Judicial Integrity Action Fund” was first registered in Ohio on August 16, 2019, but terminated in December 2020 and is listed as inactive. On October 18, 2024 the group filed a statement of organization in Ohio, the same day it filed its October quarterly report, noting that it spent over $2 million in ads between August 30 and September 30. 

The super PAC has raised $2,025,000 so far this cycle since it launched:

• Michael Bloomberg contributed $1 million to Ohioans for Judicial Integrity on September 20, 2024. Bloomberg is the majority owner and founder of Bloomberg L.P., and former mayor of New York City. Bloomberg was also a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the United States. A billionaire and one of the richest men in the world, Bloomberg is a major Democratic donor, according to OpenSecrets Bloomberg has contributed over $40 million to federal outside spending groups in the 2024 cycle, mostly backing Democrats. Other mega donors such as Tim Mellon, Richard Uihlein, and Miriam Adelson have contributed over $100 million each to federal outside spenders.
• The Ohio Progressive Collaborative (OPC) contributed $400,000 to OJI on August 29, 2024. OPC is a 501(c)4 that describes its mission as “to convene a high capacity group of donors that strategically leverage resources to achieve political and policy goals advancing the progressive movement in Ohio by strengthening infrastructure.” The Ohio Progressive Collaborative is affiliated with the 501(c)3 Ohio Progressive Collaborative Education Fund. In 2023, the Ohio Progressive Collaborative raised over $3 million and its affiliated 501(c)3 raised $6 million. 
• Educators for Ohio contributed $325,000 to Ohioans for Judicial Integrity on August 22, 2024. Educators for Ohio is a Super PAC backed by the Ohio Education Association.
• The National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) contributed $300,000 to OJI on August 22, 2024.
  • NRAF is the 501(c)4 affiliated of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), an active spender in state supreme court elections. According to NRAF’s website, “The mission of the National Redistricting Action Fund is to harness the power of people and the courts to dismantle unfair electoral maps and create a redistricting system based on democratic values. By helping to create more just and representative electoral districts across the country, we also hope to restore the public’s faith in a true representative democracy.”

Discussion and Analysis

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

The political ad suggests that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. This attack ad points out Deters’ 2004 pay-to-play scandal that led to his departure from his position as Treasure of the State. Deters resigned in 2004 amid a pay-to-play scandal in which his chief of staff Matt Borges pleaded guilty to improper use of a public office. Former stockbroker Frank Gruttadaria pleaded guilty to bribing a public official and admitted that he made a $50,000 contribution to the Hamilton County Republican Party that was intended for Deter’s campaign coffers. Deters was never charged. 

The phrase used in the ad, “A guy in the middle of the biggest corruption scandal in Ohio history? You guessed it, Joe Deters,” is a little misleading. The Deters scandal was definitely juicy, but most Ohioans would highlight the House Bill 6/Householder scheme as the biggest corruption scandal in Ohio’s history. In 2023, Borges was convicted for his role in the Householder/HB6 corruption scheme; Deters was never implicated.