The candidates for Butler County Commissioner have raised nearly $250,000 for their campaigns.

The Butler County Bureau of Elections received campaign finance reports for 12 of the 14 candidates seeking nominations in Tuesday’s primary. The deadline to file reports was Friday.

In total, the dozen candidates who filed raised more than $247,000 since Jan. 1, while more than $211,000 of that money has been spent.

Republican Bob O’Neill was the biggest spender, reporting that his committee spent $38,375 between February and May.

O’Neill’s committee also raised the most money with $86,579 in contributions, of which $40,000 was O’Neill’s own money.

The committees of three other Republican candidates spent more than $20,000 this year.

Jeff Smith spent $30,430 since Jan. 1. He raised $22,665 in 2015, and brought forward $22,645 from the previous reporting period.

Larry Thompson’s committee spent $25,503 after raising $20,955 in 2015 and having $16,240 remaining from the previous reporting period.

Leslie Osche’s committee spent $21,575 of $26,915 raised this year.

The committees for the other Republican candidates also spent more on average than the four Democratic contenders.

Kim Geyer spent $19,487; Jim Kefalas spent $18,675; Lisa Metcalfe spent $12,261; Justin Trainor spent $9,360; and James Butler spent $6,397.

Republican Mark Lux did not file a report because he spent less than $250.

Ed Natali, chairman of the Butler County Republican Committee, said he is not surprised to see the spending totals due to the number of candidates in the race.

“They were going to have to do something to stand out in the crowd,” Natali said.

Natali said he expected some candidates to spend close to $50,000 when the final finance reports are due, which is 30 days after the election.

“This wasn’t unexpected,” he said of the totals so far. “I figured there would be an uptick in spending.”

The highest spenders this year topped what was spent during the 2011 commissioner race, when the highest amount spent was just over $37,000.

Four Republican candidates that year spent more than $30,000 following the final finance report.

The candidates on the Democratic side this year also are spending more money, although not as much as the Republicans.

Dave Johnston and Jerry Johnston have spent $17,612 and $8,056, respectively, while incumbent commissioner Jim Eckstein reported spending $4,033 since March 30.

The county has not received a report from Democrat Kevin Boozel.

The highest spending Democrat in 2011 spent about $6,300 after the final report.

Those figures do not include in-kind contributions or money spent in previous reporting periods.

Much of the money spent by candidates went to multiple forms of advertising, including newspapers, television and radio, and in the form of mailers.

The purchasing of political signs and other campaign materials were another top expense for the candidates.