Three elected officials in Columbus are raising a lot of money, despite none of them having competitive elections this year.
Mayor Andrew Ginther is planning a re-election run in 2027. City Council President Shannon Hardin and City Attorney Zach Klein may be waiting in the wings until the three-term mayor eventually leaves office or could possibly challenge Ginther.
Neither Hardin nor Klein have said whether or not they plan to run for higher office, but the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations this year say otherwise. All three are also getting a lot of money from the Columbus development community.
Hardin and Ginther both raised about $250,000 since the start of 2025, according to the latest campaign finance reports that were due July 31. Neither Hardin nor Ginther are on the ballot this year.
All three of the candidates have significant support from the development community in Columbus, but more than 70% of Ginther's donations come from the development, infrastructure and real estate communities.
Ginther's developer money includes $10,000 from development and real estate consultant Alex Fischer; $5,000 from Marker Inc. CEO Alison Marker; $10,000 from Matthew Ferris with EP Ferris; $10,000 from the Pizzuti Companies' PAC and more than $16,000 from Edwards Company CEO Jeffrey Edwards.
Hardin got $5,000 from the Columbus Apartment Association PAC; $5,000 from the Central Ohio Realtors PAC and more than $15,000 from developer Moun Dioun with the Stonehenge Company.
Klein brought in $5,000 from the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio's PAC; $1,000 from Mark Corna with Continental Development Ventures and $10,000 from single-family home builder M/I Homes Inc. and its CEO Robert Schottenstein.
Ginther brought in $248,000 this year through July 31. Ginther still has about $436,000 left in his campaign account.
Of the three, Hardin has the most diversity in donors this year. He's gotten contributions from developers, the arts community, unions, educators, lawyers and non-profit leaders.
Hardin's campaign sent WOSU a statement on Monday about his intentions.
"I want to be prepared for any opportunity I have to continue to serve Columbus. I'm serious about it. I'm excited about Columbus' future. I'll leave it at that," Hardin said.
Hardin currently has $171,000 left in his campaign account.
Klein raised more than $210,000 this year through the May primary. Klein is the most financially secure of the three and is currently running unopposed for re-election. He already had more than $864,000 saved, according to previous campaign reports.
Klein's reports were last updated after the May primary.
Klein told WOSU Monday he is proud of the amount of money he's raised and that he thinks it is a testament to the work his office does in the community. Like Hardin, he didn't rule out a future run for higher office.
Klein said his focus is on being city attorney.
"Being mayor of the city of Columbus would be a fantastic job and would be an honor," Klein said.
Ginther, Hardin and Klein each have a stake in the one competitive race in Columbus on the ballot this fall. All three have either endorsed or given significant amounts of money to the campaign of Columbus City Council candidate Tiara Ross, who is running against Jesse Vogel for the District 7 seat.
