First-quarter fundraising for key U.S. Senate candidates
Name / cash raised / left on hand
Michelle Nunn (D) / $2.4 million / $3.9 million
Jack Kingston (R) / $1.1 million / $2.1 million
David Perdue (R) / $567,000 / $700,000
Paul Broun (R) / $338,000 / $224,000
Phil Gingrey (R) / $327,000 / $2.44 million
Karen Handel (R) / $295,000 / $386,000
In Georgia’s hotly contested Republican race for the U.S. Senate, Rep. Jack Kingston continues to lead the fundraising pace, while businessman David Perdue put at least a temporary stop to pumping his own money into the campaign.
And Democrat Michelle Nunn raised nearly as much as all the Republicans put together during the first three months of the year — $2.4 million.
With less than five weeks to go until the May 20 primary, candidates for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House revealed their first-quarter fundraising totals this week. For the most part, they stepped up both raising and spending money as the election year began.
The Republican U.S. Senate primary continued its separation into the haves and have-nots for campaign cash, with Rep. Phil Gingrey as a wild card in between the two camps.
Kingston, of Savannah, had his best quarter yet, raising $1.1 million in the first three months of the year as he started plunking down millions on a television ad campaign. Perdue, the former CEO of Dollar General, raised $567,000, about double what he raised from others in the last three months of 2013 — while chipping in just $6,000 of his own money to cover campaign expenses.
Last year Perdue, of Sea Island, contributed $1.4 million in loans and donations to his own candidacy, and his campaign would not say whether he is finished backing his own bid.
Gingrey, of Marietta, raised just $327,000, but he still had $2.44 million on hand, the most of any Republican. Much of Gingrey’s campaign cash is left over from prior U.S. House races.
Gingrey recently started airing television ads and has reserved more than $700,000 of airtime in Atlanta for the final sprint.
Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel of Roswell and Rep. Paul Broun of Athens are the relative have-nots, who primarily must rely on cheaper Internet or radio advertising — though Handel did buy television ad time this week to tout the endorsement of former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Broun raised $338,000 and had $224,000 on hand. Handel raised $295,000 and had $386,000 on hand as of the beginning of this month. The other Republicans in the race, Atlanta attorney Art Gardner and Stone Mountain MARTA engineer and minister Derrick Grayson, have raised far less, and their first-quarter figures were not available at press time.
Nunn topped her already impressive quarterly numbers by bringing in $2.4 million, finishing the quarter with $3.9 million in her campaign coffers. Anointed by state party leaders as the de facto Democratic nominee, the CEO of the volunteer service nonprofit Points of Light has been able to raise big money nationwide.
Her Democratic primary foes — Atlanta psychiatrist Branko Radulovacki, former state Sen. Steen Miles of DeKalb County and Columbus firefighter Todd Robinson — are underfunded while Nunn debuted an introductory television ad this month.
And even in the Internet microtargeting age, pricey TV ads remain king in the political world.
“Most Americans … really aren’t that interested in politics,” University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said. “To get their attention, you have to probably be on television, and you have to run those ads over and over and over again.”
In the Democratic race for the 4th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of DeKalb County outraised his opponent, former DeKalb County Sheriff Tom Brown. But the congressman has fewer dollars left on hand for the second quarter in a row, an unusual circumstance for an incumbent.
Johnson raised $156,523 and spent $148,856, leaving him with $92,537. Brown raised $108,792 and spent $53,324, leaving him with $147,296 in the bank.
Most of Johnson’s money came from political action committees, while all of Brown’s came from individuals.
The Democratic race will decide the winner since no Republicans have qualified to get on the May 20 primary ballot.
In the six-way Republican race for the 11th District — which is being vacated by Gingrey — former state Sen. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville raised the most at $114,910 and had $77,162 left on hand. Former Rep. Bob Barr of Smyrna collected $102,505 in contributions and gave himself a $20,000 loan. He had $124,963 on hand at the end of the period.
Atlanta state Rep. Ed Lindsey’s haul for the first quarter of this year: $92,595. He had $168,334 at the close of the reporting period. Tricia Pridemore of Marietta, a former executive director of the state’s Workforce Development Office, collected $68,336 in donations and gave herself a $50,000 loan. She had the most left in the bank: $238,645.
Businessman Allan Levene of Kennesaw reported raising just $350 during the fourth quarter of last year. Retired Army Col. Larry Mrozinski of Woodstock raised $5,615 — $5,543 of that came from a loan to himself — and had $5,463 on hand.
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