Last weekend’s showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana University Hoosiers was arguably the biggest college football game of the season so far.
It was hard to miss that the groups backing politicians from both parties were quite interested in calling their own plays in between TV timeouts.
Based on Signal Statewide’s viewing, public records for the local Fox affiliates – which broadcast the game – and help from the ad firm Medium Buying, Signal Statewide tallied the score.
Republicans aired seven ads and Democrats aired one.
Signal Statewide picked this game to watch the political players because it was a rematch of last year’s Big Ten championship, making it likely Ohio’s biggest live TV event before Nov. 3. Signal Statewide watched the Columbus broadcast – which carries different ads than other TV markets – because that’s the news team lives.
The spending disparity reflects a major story line of this midterm election in Ohio: GOP backers are far outspending groups favoring Democrats. Republicans are on track to outspend Democrats $246.1 million to $176.1 million in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, according to an Oct. 12 report from AdImpact. That race features two prominent political names – Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Much of the Republican spending is coming from outside groups. That trend held true in last Saturday’s game.
In the 2026 governor’s race, $204.2 million is set to be spent on Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s behalf, compared to $44 million for Democrat Amy Acton, according to AdImpact numbers reported by NBC 4-WCMH-TV.
On that note, Ramaswamy was the only candidate to air an ad during the OSU-Indiana game. The rest of the ads came from groups, known as super political action committees, whose often generic and opaque names obscure what the groups really stand for.
The political playbook
Here are the groups, what their ads loosely said and who’s financially behind them. We’ll also link to their Federal Election Commission reports so you can pick through their roster of donors for yourself.
1st Quarter
WinSenate
- What is it? A super PAC affiliate of Senate Majority PAC, the main outside campaign arm for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
- Who’s funding it? The group’s biggest funder is Majority Forward, a dark-money group supporting congressional Democrats that doesn’t disclose its donors. Other major donors include Chicago entrepreneur Fred Eychaner; the Greater New York Hospital Association Management Corp., a trade group representing New York hospitals; Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings; and Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange. Major backing from labor unions came from unions representing plumbers and pipefitters, government employees and teachers.
WinSenate had the first game-time political ad, booking a national advertising slot, which costs far more than running ads in the market-specific slots local stations are allowed to fill. It’s definitely seen by more people, but the downside for campaigns is that many of those people may not live in Ohio.
The ad bashes Husted for supporting data center development in Ohio during his previous job as Ohio’s lieutenant governor.
Click here to see how SMP’s money was transferred to WinSenate, and click here for Senate Majority PAC’s full list of donors.
2nd quarter
SLF PAC
- What is it? A super PAC that’s the main outside campaign arm for Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune. It’s also known as the Senate Leadership Fund.
- Who’s funding it? Major donors include some of Republicans’ largest donors: Miriam Adelson, a Republican megadonor and gambling magnate; casino developer Steve Wynn; Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman; hedge fund manager Paul Singer; and Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
SLF ran an ad seen by national audiences attacking Democrat Sherrod Brown, who’s challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
The ad features three elderly men identified as military veterans criticizing Brown for past votes on illegal immigration and veterans issues.
Click here to see SLF’s full list of donors.
Halftime
Ramaswamy’s campaign ran an ad attacking Acton over her spending plans. Ohio candidate campaigns have much stricter campaign finance limits than national PACs, so Ramaswamy has many donors who gave the maximum $16,615.67 donation. The largest contributor to Ramaswamy’s campaign, though, is Ramaswamy himself. He loaned himself $41.3 million through Oct. 14, the most recent date for which numbers are available.
You can click here to download a spreadsheet showing all of Ramaswamy’s donors.
RGA Right Direction
- What is it? A super PAC operated by the Republican Governors Association
- Who’s funding it? The RGA, whose biggest donors include Miriam Adelson, the wife of the late gambling mogul Sheldon Adelson, and hedge fund managers Ken Griffin and Paul Singer.
The RGA Right Direction PAC ran another anti-Acton ad during halftime. This one attacks Acton’s judgment in a style that resembles a mock news broadcast.
Click here to see how the Republican Governors Association transferred money to the RGA Right Direction PAC. Click here for a tool from ProPublica that lists the donors to the RGA, which is a different kind of group called a 527.
3rd Quarter
Once again airing in a national slot, the SLF ran its same ad featuring the senior citizen veterans.
4th Quarter
MAGA Inc.
- What is it? President Donald Trump’s super PAC run by Trump allies. It is legally required to be independent, although Trump has said he personally controls it.
- Who’s funding it? Major donors include Foris DAX, the U.S. operating company for Crypto.com; Miriam Adelson and Diane Hendricks, the co-founders of a roofing supply company; Pennsylvania investor and GOP megadonor Jeff Yass; OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna; cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; and Elon Musk.
In the fourth quarter, the MAGA Inc. ad criticizes Democrats – none from Ohio – for voting against Trump’s signature spending bill in 2025, specifically naming the tax cuts it contains.
Click here to see a full list of MAGA Inc.’s donors.
Postgame
Many folks probably stopped watching after Ohio State won the game, 19-15. But Signal Statewide stuck around and saw another similar anti-Brown ad from the SLF PAC and another anti-Acton ad from Ramaswamy’s campaign attacking her for her personal investments in tech companies. (The Acton campaign has said she liquidated all her individual stocks earlier this year.)
