Dem
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GOP
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New campaign financing records show that one billionaire Republican megadonor, Richard Uihlein, is having a huge influence on the abortion issue in Ohio. And he doesn't even live in Ohio, he lives in Illinois. Uihlein is a major donor to the Issue 1 initiative, which is on the ballot on Aug. 8 in Ohio. If it passes, which Uihlein strongly wants, future initiatives will have to get 60% + 1 votes to pass. The group supporting Issue 1 raised $4.85 million to advertise "Yes on Issue 1." Of that money, $4 million came from Uihlein. If Uihlein had not joined in, the campaign to pass Issue 1 would have been dead in the water.
Uihlein also played a big role in getting Issue 1 on the ballot in the first place. He gave over $1 million to a lobbying group that pressured the state legislature to put Issue 1 on the ballot. He has given a total of $18 million to a Florida group he controls that is dedicated to putting similar measures on the ballot in other states. This whole episode shows what a single Republican billionaire can do to try to overturn the will of the people if he puts his mind (and his checkbook) to it. (V)