Brian Kemp and other Republicans like to portray Stacey Abrams as a Democrat with Hollywood values who wants to make Georgia more like the Left Coast.
But our numbers-nerd colleague James Salzer, who spends way too much time looking over campaign disclosures, found their attacks should be shifted about 2,800 miles: Specifically to President Donald Trump’s hometown of New York.
Salzer went through thousands of contributions to Abrams - $12.6 million worth as of Sept. 30 where a name and address was listed – and found that if the Democrat has left her heart anywhere, it’s as likely to be the Big Apple as San Fran.
The GOP has repeatedly hit Abrams over the fact that a majority of her donations in which names are attached – donors who have given a cumulative $100 or more – have come from outside of Georgia.
Salzer found that the city that has given Abrams the most as of Sept. 30, is Atlanta, where she lives. As of the most recent reporting period, almost 10,000 named donations had come from Atlanta, worth about $3.2 million.
Outside of Atlanta, the most popular city has been New York City. Salzer found more than 2,000 from New York, worth about $1.2 million. Second was Washington, with about 1,200 contributions worth $581,000, and third was San Francisco, with 802 contributions worth $429,000.
Hollywood – including North and West Hollywoods - has given her far less than, say, Macon – about $14,000. That’s a bit misleading, because Hollywood isn’t that big: she got almost $300,000 from L.A.
The figures don’t include “independent groups” and political action committees that have been spending big on Abrams’ campaign and have been almost solely funded by out-of-state donors.
Republican Washington-based PACs have likewise spent big backing Kemp’s campaign. And there’s no sign of a let-up: Both trends are expected to continue through Election Day.
About the Author
