Ohio Senate Republican candidate and Secretary of State Frank LaRose took more than $1 million in funding from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s election nonprofit to help run the November 2020 election.
LaRose announced his Senate bid on Monday, making him the third prominent Republican hoping to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
LaRose actively sought more than a million dollars in funding from Zuckerberg’s Center for Election Innovation and Research as some Republican officials questioned whether or not to take the grants. A local outlet reported in September 2020:
But Ohio lawmakers on Monday without debate approved accepting $1.1 million from the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a Washington D.C. nonprofit. That money will pay for radio, TV and digital ads describing absentee voting procedures, combatting misinformation, poll worker recruitment and other items, according to a request submitted by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican.
Ray Weber, a local Republican, said, “I just have a real problem with private organizations getting involved with funding and dictating what we’re supposed to do.”
Hellbound and Down 