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Lawsuit against Republican Ohio Senate candidate raises questions about possible wrongdoing

Jonathan Leissler ran unsuccessfully for the 28th Ohio Senate District in November 2024
Jonathan Leissler campaign/Facebook
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Jonathan Leissler ran unsuccessfully for the 28th Ohio Senate District in November 2024

Newly filed court documents contend a Republican who lost his race for Ohio Senate allegedly stole money from his former employer and put some of it in his campaign coffers.

Summit County Common Pleas Court records show Weinstein's opponent, Jonathan Leissler, is accused of taking more than $4 million from his now-former employers. And the documents show some $800,000 of that allegedly went into Leissler's campaign coffers.

Leissler ran against Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) for the seat occupied by Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), who is term limited. Weinstein said near the end of the campaign, Leissler appeared to get a huge infusion of funding. Weinstein said he wondered about where the money was coming from.

“It really worries me. We need more controls. We need more transparency. We need more oversight into the massive amount of money going into our elections because voters deserve to have accountability and facts when they go to the voting booth," Weinstein said.

These records are not criminal charges. Attempts to reach Leissler and his attorney were unsuccessful.

Contact Jo Ingles at jingles@statehousenews.org.