Republican Ohio Sec. of State Frank LaRose speaks during an election night watch party, Nov. 8, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) reportedly has significantly less cash on hand to fuel his U.S. Senate campaign and is being thoroughly outpaced by his wealthy GOP opponents, Bernie Moreno and Matt Dolan.

According to a campaign finance report first shared with and published by the Washington Examiner on Monday, LaRose has $868,000 of cash on hand. LaRose’s money pales in comparison to Moreno’s $5 million and Dolan’s $6.7 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

LaRose has made it a point that he would not fund his campaign with his own money, but he has reportedly injected just $250,000 of personal funds for his bid. LaRose also accepted money from a disgraced real estate tycoon whom former President Donald Trump pardoned in 2020.

LaRose’s primary opponents are notoriously wealthy. Moreno is a former automobile dealership tycoon who sold his businesses for millions in the late 2010’s. And Dolan, a member of the Ohio state Senate, holds a partial stake in the Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball team. Dolan’s father Larry bought the team in 2000, and Matt previously served as a member of the team’s front office for several years.

LaRose’s campaign defended the low number of funds by pointing out how much Moreno and Dolan spent in the 2022 Senate primary, which neither of them won.

“In 2022, Bernie Moreno set millions on fire only to quit before the primary,” LaRose spokesman Ben Kindel told the Columbus Dispatch. “Matt Dolan also set millions on fire to finish third. Neither one of them is a battle tested conservative with a record of winning. 2024 will be the same. The only question is which one will come in second to Frank LaRose.”

LaRose launched his campaign in July, just before voters in Ohio struck down his Issue 1 ballot initiative. Had the measure passed, future measures would have required a 60% threshold to pass instead of the simple majority. Although LaRose publicly denied it, he privately acknowledged that Issue 1 was an attempt to block a future ballot initiative to uphold reproductive rights.