ATHENS, Ohio — Representatives of the regionally-based lobbying firm Sunday Creek Horizons spent over $160,000 on state and federal candidates and partisan committees in the run-up to the 2026 midterms, mainly backing Republicans.
The lobbying and consulting firm works with governments, nonprofits, healthcare and educational organizations across eastern and southeastern Ohio. Among the firm’s clients is the city of Athens, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars working with the firm. In May, the city council approved its most recent contract with Sunday Creek Horizons, for up to $120,000.
The lobbying firm works toward “breaking down silos, building coalitions, and elevating our region’s voices in Columbus and Washington,” according to its website.
Sunday Creek Horizons was co-founded in 2019 by former state representative Zack Space, a Democrat. Space is the firm’s president, and former Ohio House and Senate representative Jay Hottinger, a Republican, is the firm’s executive vice president.
Space told the Independent on Oct. 30 that the firm’s political giving is strategic, not “politically ideological.”
Since the 2024 election, representatives of Sunday Creek Horizons donated just over $147,000 to Republicans or affiliated committees and $17,000 to Democrats, according to pre-general election campaign finance reports available through the Ohio Secretary of State and Federal Election Commission.
In an election that provided wins for many Democrats, the three candidates in whom Sunday Creek Horizons representatives invested the most were Republicans who lost: Vivek Ramaswamy in the state level gubernatorial race, and at the federal level, incumbents Rep. Mike Carey and Sen. John Husted.
Asked about the possibility of the firm’s favored candidates losing their elections in an Oct. 30 interview, Space said, “I think you have to factor everything in.”
Representatives from the firm invested smaller amounts in many candidates who won their elections, including Ohio House District 94 Representative Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta), former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, and U.S. House Representative Dave Taylor (R-Ohio-2).
Some of the gifts from Sunday Creek Horizons representatives also went to candidates who were not on the ballot in November. For example, $12,500 went to office-holders who were not up for election this year, and another $10,000 went to candidates who lost their primary elections.
Space told the Independent that the firm chooses to support candidates who can help advance regional and client interests.
“When we give as a company, we look at what these [candidates] have done, or we think they will do, first and foremost for our region,” Space said. “I don’t look at the company giving through an ideological or politically ideological lens. I look at it like, ‘Who’s showing up, who cares, who’s done some good things, who has the potential to do good things?’ And those are the people that we tend to support as a company.”
He added, “If we were to ignore the political means by which you can develop relationships and evangelize the region … we’d have a big giant hole.”
“We’re doing a lot of different things in the region, and political engagement is a necessary evil associated with the work that we do,” Space said.
Space distinguished between personal giving and political giving on behalf of the company, directed through its representatives and paid for by the company.
Campaign finance reports reviewed by the Independent show no distinction between gifts made strategically by the company and gifts made personally by individuals affiliated with Sunday Creek.
Space said most company gifts were directed through the firm’s Co-Founder & Senior Vice President Will Drabold, whereas most of the gifts made by Space himself were personal.
Most gifts Space made in the past two years went to Democrats or affiliated committees. Every gift Drabold made in the past two years went to Republicans or affiliated committees. He declined to comment for this story, deferring to Space.
State giving
Sunday Creek Horizons representatives gave over $100,000 to state-level candidates or office-holders between the 2024 elections and Oct. 14, the final date included in 2026 pre-general election campaign finance reports.
The most significant backing from Sunday Creek Horizons went to Ramaswamy, the Republican gubernatorial candidate defeated Tuesday by Amy Acton. Drabold donated a total of $35,000 to the Ramaswamy campaign.
“Ramaswamy came to southern Ohio several times, and members of my team were convinced that he would be an asset for our region, he cared about our region, and that he would understand our challenges as well as our opportunities and act on them,” Space said.
Space added that the firm mainly gave to the Ramaswamy campaign “some time ago,” and that elections “evolve, and the perceptions and actions of candidates change.”
Drabold most recently donated $5,000 to the campaign Oct. 8, after two $15,000 gifts in May and June last year. Regarding his giving to the Ramaswamy campaign, Space said, “Sometimes we do have internal disagreements, and we don’t always agree as a team. Let me just put it that way.”
In its final weeks, the Ramaswamy campaign generated fierce bipartisan backlash with an advertisement featuring Acton’s estranged mother, which began circulating online Oct. 19.
Drabold and Space also gave $10,000 to Ohio House District 94 Representative Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta) across multiple gifts in 2025. Ritter comfortably won re-election on Tuesday.
Additionally, in 2025, Drabold gave $10,000 to Ohio Senate District 30 Sen. Brian Chavez (R-Marietta), who was not up for re-election in this cycle.
The candidate who received the second-most backing from Sunday Creek Horizons representatives was Larry Kidd, a Republican who lost the primary election for the 93rd District in May. Drabold contributed about $7,600 to his campaign.
Space described Kidd as a “smart businessman” who the firm felt “would represent our region well.”
Representatives from Sunday Creek Horizons invested anywhere from $100 to $5,000 in an additional 24 state-level races.
In addition to support for candidates, Drabold gave $5,000 to the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee and another $5,000 to the Ohio Republican Party State Central Committee, which governs the Ohio Republican Party.
“Both the Democratic and Republican caucuses have been willing to listen to us. And as a result, we support them,” Space said.
Federal giving
Sunday Creek Horizons representatives invested over $50,000 in candidates in federal elections. Across multiple gifts to different committees, Drabold donated $17,000 to Rep. Mike Carey, a Republican who lost re-election to competitor Don Leonard, a Democrat.
Drabold also donated another combined $17,000 to the reelection campaign for Sen. John Husted, a Republican who lost to former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. Space donated a total of $7,000 to Brown’s campaign and affiliated committees.
Asked about giving at the federal level, Space said, “We don’t give Elon Musk kind of money. But having said that, it’s a similar analysis. … These are people that have been listening to us or have expressed concern or interest in helping the region. So it’s a matter of — again and again — this is a constitutional right that we all have to express our support for those who support our region.”
Post-election campaign finance reports are due in Ohio by Dec. 11, covering the final weeks of giving during the election season. Federal post-election campaign finance reports are due by Dec. 3.
