FEC fines ex-Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) more than $15,000 for misreporting contributions during his 2022 primary campaign in the Ohio Senate race. 

In a filing last week, the FEC said that Mandel’s campaign did not properly report $147,601 worth of contributions from 74 donors ahead of the May 3 primary contest. 

Specifically, his campaign did not disclose all donations of at least $1,000 in the final 12 days ahead of the primary within the requisite 48 hours, according to the FEC. He owes the FEC a $15,080 fine by March 2.

Mandel lost the primary to Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

According to Cleveland.com, Mandel’s campaign has laid blame for the FEC woes with Thomas Datwyler, the former treasurer for the Senate bid. Elizabeth Curtis, who replaced Datwyler in the role, wrote to the FEC in December that she discovered the errors. 

“Due to the stunning number of inexplicable reporting errors made by Mr. Datwyler, including errors in reattributions, errors in reporting correct elections, late filed 48-hour reports, handling of contributions that may or may not be permissible, and incorrect distribution of [joint fundraising committee] funds, ignoring the FEC and potentially incurring significant fines without notifying the Committee, the Committee expects it will take some time to unravel Mr. Datwyler’s mess,” Curtis said.

Mandel told NBC News in November that he does not plan to run for Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) seat in 2024 and does not expect to return to politics.