Documents show multimillion-dollar disparity among GOP Senate candidates

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Financial disclosure forms reveal a vast difference in the wealth of Ohio's three main Republican Senate candidates in 2024.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who had been criticized by opponents for his delay in submitting his personal financial disclosure with the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee, filed on Sunday, making him the last of the Republican party candidates to submit these forms.

LaRose, among with businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, are campaigning to unseat Democrat Sherrod Brown, who has held office since 2007, next year. On Jan. 22, the three will be on the same stage in a debate in Cleveland hosted by Nexstar, parent company of NBC4.

When combining the total joint and self held assets with the candidates' salaries, a large discrepancy is found. These calculations highlight one area where LaRose has tried to set himself apart. While Moreno and Dolan are both multimillionaires, LaRose has touted himself as the only "thousandaire" in the election.

"Frank's the only candidate in the race without a golden nest egg, a trust fund, or a sweetheart loan from a major bank," Communications Director Ben Kindel said. "The Biden economy, championed by Senator (Sherrod) Brown, doesn't make a difference to millionaires in the race but it does to Frank and the vast majority of Ohioans."

In these forms, LaRose discloses that he was paid a salary of $199,123.04 from the state. The candidate for Senate also listed a variety of assets. While the total numbers show that LaRose has much less wealth than his opponents, they dispute his claims of being a "thousandaire." Even using the lowest possible estimate for LaRose's assets and salary, he is worth more than $1 million.

Still, LaRose's pointing at the gap between his and his primary opponents' wealth holds weight when comparing raw dollar amounts. Even estimating conservatively, Dolan sits on at least $14 million in salaries and assets, and Moreno more than doubled that with $33 million.

Moreno's salary in 2023 was listed at just $92,000, but listed assets reveal vast holdings such as real estate and stocks. Four of Moreno's assets are listed with a valued range of $5,000,0001 to $25,000,000. Dolan's salary from the state is listed at $123,516, with multiple other salaries from the Cleveland Guardians and more adding up to $53,776 in additional salary. Dolan's documents include more than 40 pages' worth of stocks, mutual funds and more.

The Ohio Democratic Party has continued to raise concerns about a $250,000 personal loan that LaRose contributed to his campaign. They have also criticized LaRose for being late on filing the financial disclosure forms, which his team said was within the rules laid out. LaRose's extended deadline was Nov. 14.

"Frank LaRose has made clear that he doesn't think the rules apply to him and this report raises even more questions about how he could cut himself a six-figure check after claiming he couldn't afford to self-fund his campaign," Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Reeves Oyster said.

Before LaRose's financial disclosure filing, Moreno's team commented on the delay.

“Gotta love the irony of a guy elected to enforce election rules not following election rules," spokesman for the Moreno campaign Conor McGuinness said.

View LaRose's financial disclosure documents below:

To see the financial disclosure documents of LaRose's opponents, follow this link to previous reporting.