Stock image from Getty Photos.

A conservative group heavily funded by Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein — who has supported candidates who falsely denied the results of the 2020 election — donated half a million dollars to a PAC with ties to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce over the summer, according to recently published Federal Election Commission data. 

The Fair Courts America PAC gave $500,000 to Ohioans for a Healthy Economy Action Fund back in August, the Super PAC affiliated with Ohioans for a Healthy Economy, Inc which recently started running an attack ad against the three Democratic candidates running for Ohio Supreme Court. 

“Criminals let loose. Destroying lives. Even our children aren’t safe because Melody Stewart, Michael Donnelly and Lisa Forbes put their agenda above our safety,” the voice over says in the ad.  

Incumbent Democratic Donnelly is being challenged by Republican Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan.

Incumbent Democratic Stewart is being challenged by incumbent Republican Justice Joseph Deters, who decided not to run for his current seat and instead chose to go up against Stewart for a full six-year term. 

Democratic Forbes, of the Eighth District Court of Appeals, and Republican candidate Dan Hawkins, of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, are competing for Deters’ open seat, a term that expires on Dec. 31, 2026.

“Fair Courts America is basically just moving its money to this group in Ohio, which is then spending on the ads,” said Evan Vorpahl, a senior researcher at True North Research.

Republicans currently have a 4-3 majority on the Ohio Supreme Court. Depending on the outcome of the election, the Democrats could flip the court or the Republicans could strengthen their hold on the court. 

Fair Courts America and Richard Uihlein

Fair Courts America formed in February 2022 and has spent millions of dollars on various state Supreme Court races — including Alabama, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Illinois. 

Fair Courts America is affiliated with Richard Uihlein’s Restoration of America. Uihlein also donated $333,000 to Fair Courts America on two occasions recently — Aug. 28 and Sept. 19. 

Fair Courts America and Restoration of America did not respond to questions sent by the Capital Journal. 

Uihlein, an Illinois Republican, has been involved in Ohio politics before. 

Last year, he donated more than a million dollars to the failed campaign that was trying to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution. He helped finance the majority of the group “Protect Our Constitution” during last year’s August Special Election. 57% of Ohioans voted against the measure that would have raised the threshold to amend the state’s constitution to 60%. 

Uihlein is a big funder of Club for Growth Action, which has run millions in ads backing Bernie Moreno for Senate and helped fund a Super PAC that supported Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s failed Senate primary campaign earlier this year. 

Uihlein is opposed to abortion and has invested in many anti-abortion causes, Vorpahl said. 

“For someone like Uihlein, Ohio and the Ohio Supreme Court seem right for the picking,” said Jessica Dickinson, the Ohio Fair Courts Alliance’s Outreach and Elections Manager. “I think especially since we’ve had partisan labels to the ballot … even though the abortion amendment passed, they’ve really been making those inroads into Ohio.”

The Ohio Supreme Court will rule on abortion access decisions, so whichever justices are elected this year will help determine what abortion care looks like in Ohio.

“Powerful people have always tried rigging the rules in their favor, and they are targeting state and federal courts,” Vorpahl said. “They’re trying to take America backwards and control who we can be, who we can love, how we can care for our bodies, our families and the world. And they’re ultimately just trying to put their thumbs on the scales of justice with their fortunes.”

Uihlein has contributed to some extreme causes in recent years. The Chicago Tribune reported he was a big contributor to the “March to Save America” rally that took place before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

A Daily Beast report published in November 2022 said Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth have donated almost $2 million to Republicans since the Jan. 6 insurrection and more than 80% of those candidates denied or questioned the 2020 election results. 

Richard and Elizabeth started Uline — a shipping, packaging and industrial supplies company that started in their basement in 1980. Richard is the CEO and their company has more than 9,000 employees. 

Ohioans for a Healthy Economy

COLUMBUS, Ohio — APRIL 20: The Ohio Chamber of Commerce in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal)

Ohioans for a Healthy Economy Action Fund seems to be a shell group for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Dickinson and Vorpahl said. 

The address listed for Ohioans for a Healthy Economy Action Fund is the same as the address for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, according to a Federal Election Commission form. 

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohioans for a Healthy Economy Action Fund also did not respond to questions sent by the Capital Journal. 

Ohioans for a Healthy Economy Action Fund also ran ads during the 2018, 2020 and 2022 Ohio Supreme Court races, Dickinson and Vorpahl said. 

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce endorsed Deters, Shanahan and Hawkins for Ohio Supreme Court. 

“It’s about keeping their preferred judges on the bench,” Dickinson said. “Business entities and billionaires in these corporations want to keep the court’s current majority because it’s good for business.”

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