While the Trump-Clinton presidential race heated up this summer, the two major state political parties raked in about $1.3 million over the last three months, with much of the big money for Republicans coming from GOP groups and Democrats scoring big with key out-of-state donors.
The state’s dominant Republican Party took in more than $775,000 in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. A large part of that, about $300,000 came from Republican legislative PACs, national GOP committees and the Skidaway Island Republican Club.
Other big checks included ones for $15,000 from the National Rifle Association and $25,000 from Waffle House.
The Georgia GOP reported about $520,000 in cash on hand. While that's a big improvement from earlier this year, it's a far cry from the millions the state's dominant political party once commanded, and it's even more paltry considering the roughly $228,000 in debt the party reported.
Democrats reported raising more than $517,000 during the quarter and have $325,000 on hand heading into the home stretch of the 2016 elections.
The party received big money from unions, the trial lawyers lobby, and liberal groups like Georgia Next. It also collected a $25,000 check from MGM, which wants lawmakers to pass gambling legislation so it can build a casino in Atlanta. The company gave big to Republican legislative PACs last fall.
The biggest single donor was Philip Munger, a deep-pocketed backer of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton from New York who is the son of Berkshire Hathaway billionaire Charlie Munger.
Munger donated $100,000 in July and another $85,000 in September. He has contributed $312,000 to the Georgia Democratic Party this year.
You can track campaign contributions on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's money tracker at http://elections.myajc.com/campaign-finance/
About the Author
