Democrat Armond Budish has long held a cash advantage in the race -- and he brought in slightly more money than his opponent in this latest fundraising period from June to mid-October.
Budish raised $450,000 to Republican Jack Schron's $428,000. Still, Schron picked up the pace compared with earlier this year.
The two men spent more than half a million dollars each in this period -- including hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV ads that sometimes sound a bit similar.
In his ad, Budish promises to "create jobs, grow our economy, make this community great again," ending with, "I'm Armond Budish. Together, we can make it happen."
In one of Schron's two ads, the Republican candidate pledges to "create big jobs in medicine, manufacturing, arts and entertainment," concluding, "I'm Jack Schron. Together, we can keep building Cuyahoga County."
Budish recieved large contributions from organized labor -- as well as other dollars from law firms, major developers and other businesses.
In addition to business backing, Schron received $50,000 in loans -- plus additional contributions -- from a political action committee connected to former Sen. George Voinovich, one of his biggest supporters.
