This may be an anti-establishment year in national politics, but the dominant governing party of the state, the Georgia GOP, apparently has been able to rebuild its finances over the past three months.
A flood of filing fees from candidates running in the May 24 primaries and some of the usual special-interest donors have helped the party pay off most of its debt, according to state disclosure reports filed this week.
At the end of 2015, the party reported having only $11,000 in the bank and $231,000 in debt. Three months later, on March 31, Republican officials reported almost no debt and about $170,000 in the bank.
The state Democratic Party, meanwhile, reported having $476,000 left on hand heading into the primary season, the first time it has listed more in state filings than the GOP on March 31 of an election year in at least a decade.
The Democrats were buoyed enough by their success to put out a press release announcing a field program helmed by a pair of veteran staffers from battleground states. It’s financed partly by a $100,000 donation from New York investor Philip Munger, a deep-pocketed backer of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Democrats hope to put the state in play for its presidential nominee.
“With this field program, and the talent we’ve been fortunate enough to assemble, Georgia Democrats have a clear path to ensuring that our state plays a key role in electing another Democrat to the White House,” said the party’s chairman, DuBose Porter.
Georgians have heard that before, but the state hasn’t awarded its electoral votes to a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992.
The state GOP, meanwhile, made up financial ground in part because of the candidate filings (congressional candidates have to pay $5,220) and some big-money donors.
Among those giving in the $5,000 to $15,000 range in the past few months were traditional big-money GOP contributors such as Flowers Foods, Yancey Brothers and nursing home giant United Health Services, along with the Realtors, dentist, nursing home and wine and spirits distributor lobbies.
“The Georgia Republican Party will have the financial resources and grass-roots support necessary to earn victory for Republican candidates up and down the ballot,” GOP spokesman Ryan Mahoney said. “We are thankful for the continued support of conservative activists and donors alike.
“Together, we will protect Georgia’s ‘red state’ status, defend our U.S. Senate seat and win back the White House this fall.”
With the rise of Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on the presidential campaign stage, 2016 has been seen by some as an anti-establishment year in Republican politics.
In Georgia, Republicans hold every statewide office and majorities in the congressional delegation and General Assembly. Getting out of debt is a plus for the party, but it is a long way financially from where it was only a few years ago.
At this time in 2010, the state GOP had $2.18 million in the bank, more than 10 times what it does today. The party was preparing for a high-profile gubernatorial race that year and a sweep of statewide races.
Two years later, in the last presidential election year, the Republican Party had $929,000 on hand on March 31, still more than five times what it has today.
By contrast, the state Democratic Party had little in the bank at this time in 2012, despite having a president on his way to re-election. This year’s figure for March 31 is down slightly from 2014 in terms of cash on hand.
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