An Early Look At The Fundraising Results For Federal Races

The September fundraising period for federal campaigns ended, and reports of how much money various campaigns raised are trickling in. Here’s what we know thus far:

Mike Collins and Derek Dooley both raised impressive amounts of money:

Dooley announced Monday he raised more than $1.8 million and will report roughly $1.7 million in cash on hand. Collins said late Sunday he brought in $1.9 million and is transferring another $1 million from his congressional account. He’ll report $2.4 million on hand.

Both totals rank among the largest opening hauls in recent Georgia history for Republican candidates in a competitive Senate primary – a sign each can tap deep reservoirs of support ahead of what’s expected to be one of the costliest, and nastiest, races on the midterm ballot.

Dooley’s fundraising reflects his close alliance with Gov. Brian Kemp, who recruited the former coach, endorsed his campaign, lobbied President Donald Trump to support him and urged his vast donor network to open their wallets to fund his bid.

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Collins, meanwhile, tapped a legion of small-dollar donors scattered across the U.S. His campaign said his haul came from more than 40,000 contributions averaging about $47 apiece, with donors in all 159 Georgia counties and all 50 states.

We’re waiting to hear from Buddy Carter’s and Jon Ossoff’s campaigns. However, I’ve received a lot of mailpieces from Congress Carter’s campaign, so his coffers must be full.

In the race to replace Buddy Carter, we received a press release from Jim Kingston’s campaign showing that he had another impressive fundraising haul:

Quarter 3 Fundraising Highlights:

• Raised in Q3: $434,328
• Total Raised: $1,304,533
• Cash on Hand: $1,172,117
• In-State Donors: 87%
• Donors Under Age 50: 53%
• GA-1 Counties with Kingston Donors: 15 of 15

Kingston’s campaign has also earned 33 public endorsements — the broadest early coalition in the race — bringing together leaders from law enforcement, state government, and local communities across the First District. Endorsements include:

• Law & Order: Five of the 12 Republican sheriffs in GA-1 (Sheriffs Mark Melton, Kevin Chaney, Andy Batten, Craig Nobles, and Robert Phillips)
• State Leaders: Six sitting state legislators in GA-1 (Sens. Ben Watson, Russ Goodman, Billy Hickman, and others), along with respected current and former lawmakers across Georgia
• Community Leaders: Dozens of county commissioners, mayors, district attorney, and GOP leaders representing every corner of the district

It’s early in the reporting period. I think the deadline to file with the FEC is October 15th, so we shouldn’t read anything into the fact that other campaigns haven’t released their data yet.