Georgia 2018: A closer look at Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans gov race fundraising
Democrat Stacey Evans kept pace with her top rival in the race for governor thanks partly to a $1.25 million cash infusion from her personal bank account.
The former state legislator reported Wednesday collecting nearly $2.3 million since she jumped in the race, including $800,000 over the last seven months, putting her on par with ex-House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.
But the two differed greatly in how they raised their money and how much cash they had in their coffers.
Abrams doubled Evans’ take this reporting period, raising $1.7 million since July. Evans closed the gap with a $1 million loan and another $250,000 check. That helped her build a sizable campaign warchest advantage.
Evans reported she had about $1.5 million cash on hand at the end of January, and nearly all of it was available to spend in the May primary.
Abrams has burned through about 80 percent of her campaign funds, which were largely spent to build a get-out-the-vote operation. She had roughly $460,000 in cash, but only about $180,000 could be spent on the primary; the rest was earmarked for the general election or a runoff.
“We are prepared to go the distance not only in the primary, but also against who we know will be a very well-financed Republican candidate,” said Evans. “We’ve showed the financial ability to make it all the way through the finish line.”
The Abrams’ campaign said her voting outreach network is already paying dividends, and has reached out to about 600,000 Georgians.
"We've done the hard work of building a grassroots network that has allowed us to run the strongest campaign in the state, and we will continue to build on that support,” said Abrams spokeswoman Priyanka Mantha. “That is why we out raised our opponent by more than 2 to 1."
Both will rely on their campaign coffers to test competing visions of their party’s future.
Abrams, who also raised about $2.3 million, is running as an “unapologetic progressive” with hopes of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of minorities and left-leaning voters who rarely cast ballots.
Evans, whose contributors include former Gov. Roy Barnes and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, is banking on swaying suburbanites and independents who have bolted in recent years to the GOP. And she's sticking to traditional strategy of stockpiling cash for a coordinated wave of broadcast ads and voter mobilization closer to the vote.
The race could wind up being the most expensive gubernatorial contest in Georgia history, and it's already outpacing the last contest for an open governor's seat.
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
