And no county political party gave more than the Hamilton County GOP.

In a trio of contested court races, the Republican Supreme Court candidates have raised four times more money then their Democratic opponents since November 2003 - $4.4 million to $1.1 million.

Jesse Rutledge, spokesman for Justice at Stake, a nonpartisan national coalition advocating impartial court systems, said the Ohio Supreme Court campaigns have spent about $7.6 million, including independent groups.

"What is perhaps most disturbing is the pressure on these candidates to raise this kind of money," he said.

Industries with an interest in how the court decides issues such as insurance claims and caps on jury award have stuck to specific candidates.

Ohio Citizen Action reported 99.5 percent of the $712,000 donated by insurance PACs and employees went to Republicans.

More than 99 percent of the $573,000 given by the health care industry also went to those GOP candidates: Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Terrence O'Donnell and Judge Judith Lanzinger.

On the flip side, more than 83 percent of the $885,000 contributed by personal injury attorneys went to Democratic judges C. Ellen Connally, Nancy Fuerst and William O'Neill.

Catherine Turcer, legislative director of Ohio Citizen Action, said the giving, particularly by insurance and health-care groups, is more concentrated on Republicans this year than in the past.

"There continues to be big money spending, but now it is so clearly focused on special interests," she said.

Employees of Cincinnati Insurance Companies, which includes several subsidiaries of Cincinnati Financial Corp. of Fairfield, gave $82,634, split among the three Republican candidates: Moyer got $27,895; Lanzinger got $27,351; and O'Donnell received $27,388.

Campaign finance records show 498 separate contributions from Cincinnati Insurance employees. The vast majority of people gave three times - once to each candidate.

The person behind the fund-raising was Timothy Timmel, senior vice president of operations for Cincinnati Insurance. He said he takes vacation time, leaves the facility and makes fund-raising calls to employees.

"As insurance professionals, we've seen the effects of destabilizing court decisions over the years," he said, pointing to a 1999 case where the court ruled that businesses must insure drivers even if they are not driving on company time.

More recently, court decisions have started to favor insurance companies. That 1999 insurance case has been all but reversed.

Timmel said his company backs court candidates that interpret law, but do not legislate from the bench.

The Hamilton County Republican Party gave $40,000: $15,000 each to Moyer and O'Donnell, and $10,000 to Lanzinger.

E-mail jsiegel@enquirer.com