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).
Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. The hearing is titled “Tightening the Screws on Russia: Smart Sanctions, Economic Statecraft and Next Steps.” Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
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.”
Facebook cofounder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Capitol Hill. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
LaRose said in a press release announcing the funding, “In a time when so much is changing around us, Americans need to know now more than ever how to make their voice heard in this fall’s election. That requires getting them the information they need from trusted sources, and these dollars are going to go a long way to making that happen.”
LaRose also accepted more than $1 million from the Center for Election and Research.
Scrutiny of LaRose reached a fever pitch when John Adams, a former state lawmaker, sought to primary LaRose in 2021, specifically citing LaRose’s accepting donations from Zuckerberg.
The Daily Caller also reported that LaRose has praised No Labels, a nonpartisan political group that backs gun control and amnesty for illegal aliens.
People with the group No Labels hold signs during a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
LaRose wrote in an op-ed recalling that he thanked God when he discovered the group.
“We can’t let the tribalism of hyper-partisanship stop us from working together to make a positive difference. I’ve worked with [CEO] Nancy [Jacobson], [Co-Executive Director] Margaret [White] and the terrific No Labels team for years, and I’m proud of their commitment to making government work again,” LaRose wrote on Facebook in 2019.
He has spoken at No Labels events many times, including as a keynote speaker at a No Labels conference and spoke at a panel with former moderate Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
John Kasich (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“It’s no secret that Frank LaRose has always been an anti-Trump guy, having previously refused to endorse him in his runs for President, but what many people may not realize is that Frank isn’t just anti-Trump, he’s anti-conservative,” a GOP operative told the Daily Caller.
“Frank is doing everything possible to hide his long history of working with establishment moderates who hate and oppose the conservative movement because he knows the moment Ohioans learn that he is a genuine No Labels RINO, his Senate campaign will be dead in the water,” the GOP operative added.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect more accurately the amount of money Frank LaRose accepted in “Zuck Bucks.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.