Democrats crowed in July when fundraising reports showed their gubernatorial nominee Jason Carter was outraising Republican Gov. Nathan Deal on the campaign money circuit.
But then the Republican’s political cavalry arrived, loaded with cash and ready for a fight, shifting the financial advantage to the incumbent running his final campaign.
Deal lobbied lawmakers and other Georgians with statehouse interests to come through with big checks. Groups like the Republican Governors Association, the state GOP and the National Rifle Association cranked up their media advertising, mailings and phone banks.
By Tuesday’s election, Deal’s campaign and supporting organizations had spent more than $20 million to beat Carter, who spent about half as much but has been close to the governor in polling for months.
As of Oct. 25, Deal’s incumbency and hard work allowed him to raise more money than Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue had in 2006, the previous gold standard for GOP gubernatorial fundraising.
He and his supporters used the money to paint the two-term state senator as an inexperienced, untrustworthy do-nothing lawmaker who would raise taxes to make his promises come true.
In the end, Deal wound up beating Carter about 53 percent to 45 percent, with Libertarian Andrew Hunt attracting 2 percent.
Steve Anthony, a Georgia State University political science teacher and former top Democratic legislative aide, said the GOP money steamroller “has made all the difference in the world.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not been a competitive race, it has been. But the extra money has made a difference,” he said. “The Democrats have a finite amount of money to spend. The Republicans never seem to have a finite amount of money. If they run out, if it gets low, they just go get more.”
Jerry Keen, a former Republican majority leader in the state House, said Carter’s early ability to raise money from places like Hollywood and Washington, D.C., inevitably convinced both Georgia Republicans and national GOP groups to get more involved.
“Obviously, that was not going to go unanswered,” said Keen, now a statehouse lobbyist. “The people who wrote checks to Jason Carter couldn’t pick him out of a lineup. They (Republicans) were not going to let an incumbent governor go underfunded. They came in and they came in big.”
Keen said Georgia’s costly gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races were part of a record wave of big money off-election year contests across the country.
The Center for Public Integrity estimated that as of Oct. 27, more than $676 million had been spent on TV advertising in state races nationally, including $19 million in Georgia.
Deal, like all Georgia governors of either the party, had long been able to raise big money from statehouse lobbyists, state contractors, business associations and board members he appointed to top posts. For example, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that just 43 members of three key state boards contributed $1.3 million to his campaigns. The nursing home industry, which gets more than $1 billion a year in state funding, contributed more than $900,000.
But Carter, helped by his connections to his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, had the Midas touch with California, New York and Washington, D.C., Democratic donors, and for two reporting periods earlier this year, he outraised the incumbent.
That advantage didn’t last.
Deal rallied state lawmakers from the majority Republican Party, telling them he'd return the favor over the next four years if they donated to his campaign. GOP legislators played a huge role in Perdue's re-election in 2006, and they gave more than $550,000 to Deal in the third quarter of the year.
The Republican Governors Association, which had a record stockpile this year under the leadership of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, poured more than $4 million into ads, many of them ripping Carter on issues ranging from education to jobs. Even though Carter voted for gun legislation the NRA supported, it endorsed Deal and spent more than $600,000 on ads, mailings and phone banks for the governor.
As of Oct. 25, Deal’s campaign had spent about $14.2 million, and Carter’s $7.8 million, excluding the outside money.
Both got help from their state parties, which received a last-minute shot in the arm from big donors. The Democratic Party got $1.7 million from 14 donors in October, including $500,000 from former President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. Republicans got $1.4 million from 15 donors, including $250,000 from California school choice group StudentsFirst and about $640,000 from national Republican U.S. Senate and House committees.
Polls had the race neck-and-neck for months, and Deal’s campaign began preparing financially for a runoff if the third-party Libertarian candidate’s votes prevented anyone from receiving a majority. While Carter had raised only about $16,000 for a potential runoff, Deal’s forces took in $150,000, with much of it coming from an assortment lobbyists, nursing homes, board members, state contractors and lawmakers who had already given all they could legally give for the general election campaign.
Deal was ready for a runoff. But he won’t need that money anymore.
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