Who funds Ginther and Hardin? A look at their biggest donors

As Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin launched his campaign for mayor in 2027, he acknowledged that incumbent and fellow Democrat Mayor Andrew Ginther has a fundraising advantage. Ginther has already built up a war chest with $1.7 million in campaign cash on hand compared to Hardin's $42

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What is the story about?

As Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin launched his campaign for mayor in 2027, he acknowledged that incumbent and fellow Democrat Mayor Andrew Ginther has a fundraising advantage.

Ginther has already built up a war chest with $1.7 million in campaign cash on hand compared to Hardin's $425,000.

"I’m sure I’ll be outspent, but I promise you I will not be outworked," Hardin said.

Hardin also vowed in his campaign launch speech on Aug. 20 to work with the city's largest corporations, but not for them.

While Hardin is billing himself as a change agent who's less beholden to business interests than his opponent, the two men have previously gotten large campaign contributions from some of the same influential donors. That includes some major

real estate developers in particular.

A Dispatch analysis of available campaign finance records dating back to 2017 shows who has provided the largest financial support to each candidate.

Ginther's largest donors

Ginther's largest donors are also his most controversial: Leslie and Abigail Wexner and James and Dee Haslam.

When numerous Democratic and Republican politicians, including Hardin, gave away past campaign contributions over Leslie Wexner's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein earlier this year, Ginther was not one of them. Ginther told The Dispatch at the time that Epstein and his associates' crimes are reprehensible, but investigations into Wexner have not yielded criminal charges.

Mayor Andrew Ginther (left) and Council President Shannon Hardin (right) shake hands at the Shellabarger Illuminator Award Ceremony and Pride Illumination at City Hall, June 1, 2026.

The Haslams, the majority owners of the Columbus Crew and Cleveland Browns, got a $50 million deal Ginther pushed this year with city and county governments to support bringing a National Women's Soccer League expansion franchise to Columbus. Some residents, and Hardin, pushed back against giving public money to billionaires. Ultimately, Hardin voted for a deal that will use a new ticket tax to help fund the team's training facility at the city's McCoy Park with the guarantee that parkland and the special equipment that was to be erected there will be replaced.

Ginther has said the team will be an economic boon and help the city become the national capital for women's sports.

Here are Ginther's top 10 largest donors since 2017, according to a Dispatch analysis of campaign finance records:

$156,800: Leslie and Abigail Wexner
$155,142: James and Dee Haslam
$100,129: George McCue, a Columbus attorney
$95,936: Mark Wood, president of The Wood Companies, a real estate development firm
$87,978.41: Thrive Companies PAC, representing a real estate development firm
$81,615: Don Casto, a partner at CASTO, a real estate development firm
$80,930: Pizzuti PAC, representing the Pizzuti Companies, a real estate development firm
$78,814: Brad DeHays, founder and president of Connect Real Estate and Connect Construction
$75,499: Mo Dioun, CEO and president of The Stonehenge Company, a real estate builder and developer
$63,115: Adam Flatto, president of the Georgetown Company, a partner on Easton Town Center

Ginther's median campaign contribution size over the years has been $500. Hardin's has been $150.

Hardin's largest donors

Hardin's top 10 donors include three repeats, all representing real estate developers, from Ginther's top 10 list.

Here are Hardin's top 10 largest donors since 2017:

$101,629.93: Peter Scantland, founder and CEO of Orange Barrel Media, a Columbus advertising firm
$81,845: Yaromir Steiner, founder and CEO of Steiner + Associates, a commercial real estate development firm
$69,750: Don Casto, a partner at CASTO, a real estate development firm
$59,615.36: Matthew Scantland, a tech entrepreneur who co-founded CoverMyMeds and is Peter's twin brother.
$52,666.67: Jeffrey Edwards, a prominent developer and CEO of The Edwards Companies
$49,000: Mark Wood, president of The Wood Companies, a real estate development firm
$45,749: OAPSE AFSCME Turnaround Ohio PAC, representing unionized workers with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
$43,700: Pizzuti PAC, representing the Pizzuti Companies, a real estate development firm
$34,000: Central Ohio Realtors PAC
$33,500: George McCue, a Columbus attorney