CASH ON HAND
Most Democratic statewide candidates are far behind Republican incumbents in the race of campaign cash. Below is the cash on hand at the end of March for some of the statewide races.
Governor
Nathan Deal, Republican, $3.94 million
David Pennington, Republican, $208,466
John Barge, Republican, $15,914
Jason Carter, Democrat, $1.63 million
Lieutenant governor
Casey Cagle, Republican, $1.256 million
Connie Stokes, Democrat, $21,078
Insurance commissioner
Ralph Hudgens, Republican, $386,800
Keith Heard, Democrat, $3,500
Elizabeth Johnson, Democrat, *$1,672
Attorney general
Sam Olens, Republican, $682,000
Greg Hecht, Democrat, $139,630
Agriculture commissioner
Gary Black, Republican, $367,977
Christopher James Irvin, Democrat, $0
*Through Jan. 31
Source: Campaign disclosure reports
Washington heavyweights and out-of-state donors showered Democrat Jason Carter with enough money to give him a 5-to-1 fundraising advantage over Gov. Nathan Deal during the 11 days after the legislative session. But the slim fortunes of down-ticket Democratic candidates show just how shallow the party’s donor roots are.
As Carter and Michelle Nunn, the party’s front-runner for an open U.S. Senate seat, each amassed more than $1 million in their campaign coffers, several statewide Democratic candidates have failed to raise a dime since qualifying to run in early March.
That presents challenges for a party hoping a strong ticket would boost turnout in a state where Republicans still hold an electoral advantage. Party leaders who scurried to draft a full slate of candidates may now have to worry about how to finance their runs against entrenched Republican incumbents.
Consider the case of Connie Stokes, a former gubernatorial candidate who jumped into the lieutenant governor’s race after Carter announced his bid in November. She’s raised about $25,000 since late last year, including just $5,000 over the past two months. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, by contrast, has $1.2 million at the ready.
Others fared worse. Former state Rep. Keith Heard, seeking the insurance commissioner’s job, didn’t raise any campaign cash and logged only a $3,500 loan to himself in campaign filings. Candidates for several other statewide offices didn’t file any campaign reports, a signal they didn’t have any funds to disclose.
The outlier is Democratic attorney general candidate Greg Hecht, a former state senator who raised $148,000 in contributions, about half from lawyers and law firms. Hecht’s campaign had $139,000 on hand at the end of last month, but was still well behind Attorney General Sam Olens, whose campaign reported having $682,000 in the bank.
Michael Smith, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said he expects the donations to ramp up as Democrat-leaning groups line up endorsements and activists mobilize after the May 20 primary.
“We have unprecedented excitement for the top of our ticket,” Smith said. “That kind of excitement sometimes presents a fundraising challenge for those further down the ballot.”
Carter, who like Deal was prohibited from raising campaign cash during the legislative session, took in more than $400,000 after lawmakers returned home on March 20. About $70,000 of the funds, or 16 percent of his take, came from out-of-state donors. His ties to his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, helped him collect money from about 20 states the last days of March.
National donors included Zbigniew Brzezinski, his grandfather’s national security adviser, and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who is now a Washington lobbyist. He also earned support from several Hollywood types, including singer Nancy Sinatra and Sherry Lansing, a former actress turned film studio executive.
Among Carter’s biggest in-state donors right after the session was Lea-Anne Jackson, marketing promotions manager at WXIA-TV, who gave $12,500. Carter also collected money from Democratic loyalists in Georgia, including the company of former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, the party’s nominee for governor in 2006.
Yet even with the big windfall after the session, Carter’s campaign has less than half as much money on hand as Deal, who raised about $80,000 during the period and had about $3.9 million on hand.
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