WASHINGTON – This month's wide-open race to replace Tom Price in Georgia's 6th congressional district has become one of the most closely-watched in the nation, with outside groups pouring millions into advertising and on-the-ground efforts as the White House looks on.
Now the seat's 18 contenders are beginning to give us a peek into how well they've been able to leverage their support into dollars, all too critical for Atlanta's expensive media market. Campaign finance disclosures are due April 6, but some candidates have begun reveling their fundraising hauls.
Below is a look at the finances of the top candidates who have shared so far. We'll update this page as more details become available.
Karen Handel
The former secretary of state's campaign announced it's raised $463,000 so far and has more than $183,000 in the bank with roughly two weeks until Election Day. Of its reported 831 individual donors. Handel's campaign said nearly 90 percent are from Georgia.
Among other highlights, Handel received $36,000 from political action committees, including several leadership PACs of female members of Congress. Other groups that advocate for Republican women also contributed, as did accounting giant Pricewaterhousecooper and a pharmaceutical PAC.
Handel joined the race to replace Tom Price relatively late compared to other candidates, although she signaled her interest fairly early. Fundraising has long been a challenge for her, but she's received key support from former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Republican mega-donor Fred Cooper in recent weeks.
Judson Hill
The onetime state senator previously disclosed that he's raised $473,000 and that he had $113,000 on hand.
Hill was the first Republican to enter the race -- mere days after Price was announced as Donald Trump's pick for health chief -- so he's had the most time to raise cash than other contenders. He took time to fundraise during the most recent legislative session, technically kosher since he was running for a federal position and not a state one. The filing shows his former colleagues in the General Assembly contributed more than $17,000 to his campaign. That includes money from 18 members of the Senate. State-level lobbyists kicked in another $3,800.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, too, kicked in $500.
But the real news in Hill's report is that special interest groups, specifically political action committees, contributed more than $47,000. While some of those were Georgia PACs, many are DC-based.
Dan Moody
An overview Moody's fundraising shows the former state senator's haul lags significantly behind the other Republican frontrunners. He's raised less than $108,000 so far, a fraction of what Handel and Hill have pulled in. The lion's share of his donors were individuals rather than PACs.
Records show that he's instead run his campaign off a $1.9 million loan he gave himself. He's heading into the final days of the race with about $160,000 in the bank. We'll post more on Moody's fundraising once the full details become available.
Jon Ossoff
The leader in the polls is also the leader in fund raising. Democrat Ossoff will report raising an astonishing $8.3 million, according to a campaign release.
Of that $8.3 million, 95 percent of it came from out of state, a fact Republicans used to bash Ossoff as out of touch.
Still, if just 5 percent of his take came from inside Georgia ($415,000), Ossoff is on par with other top candidates.
Bob Gray
The former Johns Creek councilman raised about $217,000 and loaned his campaign another $500,000. He has roughly $320,000 left for the homestretch.
Others
Republican Mohammad Ali Bhuiyan raised more than $25,000, according to his pre-election report, and loaned himself another $7,700.
Republican Keith Grawert brought in $21,400 this period and raised more than $50,000 for the election, although that includes a $30,000 personal loan.
Republican David Abroms raised only $10,000 and pumped another $250,000 of his own money into the campaign.
Democrat Ron Slotin nabbed about $40,000 in contributions and loaned himself another $37,000. The former state senator has less than $10,000 remaining.
Republican Bruce LeVell raised about $55,000 and has roughly $22,000 left in the tank.
Republican Kurt Wilson raised about $120,000 and loaned himself another $200,000.
Read more 6th District coverage:
About the Author
