Golden Dome
Editor’s note: Luc Brodhead helped to comb through the latest campaign finance reports. We have combined our last analysis of funding streams from the July 15 reporting period with information made available through the Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 17.
Sen. Peter Shumlin and Secretary of State Deb Markowitz are leading the pack of five Democrats running for governor in the race to raise cash. Shumlin brought in $97,885, while Markowitz generated $97,880 in contributions for this campaign reporting period, which ran from July 15 to Aug. 17.
Fundraising is crucial for candidates, particularly in the last push to get the attention of voters with TV and radio ads, mailings, telephone banks and canvassing for the Aug. 24 primary.
Shumlin nearly doubled his kitty when he gave himself a personal loan of $75,000, bringing his grand total for the last campaign finance reporting period before the primary on Aug. 24 to about $172,885. Shumlin has raised $591,375 over a 10-month period and has $56,116 in cash.
Markowitz has raised even more — $620,142 — and she has spent, $576,433, over a 19-month period. Markowitz has $43,709 on hand for the last week of her primary campaign.
The remaining Democratic primary candidates – Google executive Matt Dunne, Sen. Doug Racine and Sen. Susan Bartlett — are trailing significantly. Dunne raised $69,567 in the last four weeks; Racine has pulled in $50,205; and Bartlett received $5,886 in donations.
The five Democrats have raised $1.886 million total and have spent $1.62 million. In all, they have received 5,268 donations of less than $100.
The Republican contender, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, who is running unopposed, raised $92,596 in the last month. His grand total is $1.036 million, so far. Dubie has spent just over half of that amount, his war chest flush with $461,621 in cash. In addition, the Republican Governor’s Association has set aside $260,000 through the Green Mountain Prosperity political action committee to be used on Dubie’s behalf in the General Election. Dubie has received 1,519 donations of less than $100.
Altogether, the six candidates for governor have raised $2.92 million – 29 percent more than the most expensive gubernatorial race in Vermont’s history – the 2002 contest between Jim Douglas, Con Hogan and Doug Racine, in which the three candidates raised $2.26 million.
Political science professor emeritus Eric Davis said the 2010 governor’s race could cost as much as $4 million.
What follows is a rundown on each of the gubernatorial candidates. They are listed in the order of the highest to lowest amounts raised in the last campaign reporting cycle.
Sen. Peter Shumlin
Total contributions since July 15: $172,885
Total amount raised: $591,375
Cash on hand: $56,112, or 9.5 percent, according to the campaign, which is not including about $13,000 of in-kind donations for its total.
Personal loans: $75,000 for this reporting period; $231,972 for the campaign to date, or 39.2 percent
Total number of contributions under $100: 551. Amount: $28,941, or 5 percent
Total large in-state donations from individuals: About $68,000, or 11.5 percent
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: About $130,000, or 22 percent
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: $5,000
Total from in-state businesses: $23,269, or 4 percent
Notable recent donors: Texas-based Rent-A-Center ($1,000); VTel CEO Michel Guite ($2,000); Vanderbilt Equities Corp., a development company in Manchester ($2,000); the Marijuana Policy Project ($3,000); the Teamster’s DRIVE political action committee ($3,000); former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and his wife, Jane, and the Tornante Company ($2,500).
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz
Total contributions since July 15: $97,880
Total amount raised: $620,142
Cash on hand: $43,709, or 7 percent
Personal loans: None
Total number of contributions under $100: 2,294. Amount: $120,605, or 19 percent.
Total large in-state donations from individuals: $108,286, or 17 percent
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: $97,000, or 15 percent
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: $3,000
Total from in-state businesses: $3,600
Notable recent donors: VTel CEO Michel Guite ($2,000); Tim Volk, co-founder of Kelliher, Samets, Volk ($1,152).
Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie
Total contributions since July 15: $92,715
Total amount raised: $1,036,675
Cash on hand: $461,621, or 44 percent
Personal loans: None
Total number of contributions under $100: 1,519. Amount: $154,556, or 15 percent
Total large in-state donations from individuals: About $320,000, or 30 percent
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: About $115,000, or 11 percent
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: $17,000, or less than 2 percent
Total from in-state businesses: About $155,000, or 15 percent
Notable recent donors: Bill Stenger, CEO of Jay Peak Resort ($2,000); Casella Waste Management ($1,000); American Council of Life Insurers ($1,000); Monsanto ($1,000); Fleischer Jacobs Group ($2,000); Pike Industries ($1,500).
Matt Dunne
Total contributions since July 15: $69,567
Total amount raised: $337,627
Personal loans: None
Total number of contributions under $100: 927. Amount: $57,696, or 17 percent
Total large in-state donations from individuals: About $67,000, or 20 percent
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: About $153,000, or 45 percent
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: $600
Total from in-state businesses: $3,000
Notable recent donors: Jay Canning, president of the Burlington Marriott ($2,000); Robert Young, CEO of Central Vermont Public Service ($1,000); Texas-based Rent-A-Center ($500).
Doug Racine
Total contributions since July 15: $50,205
Total amount raised: $210,708
Personal loans: None
Total number of contributions under $100: 1,170 Amount: $73,696, or 35 percent
Total amount raised in large in-state donations from individuals: About $47,000, or 22 percent
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: $3,800
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: None
Total from in-state businesses: $1,450
Notable recent donors: Sen. Bill Carris ($2,000); Rep. Paul Poirier ($1,500); Sen. Dick McCormack ($1,100); former Gov. Phil Hoff ($500, for a total of $2,000).
Sen. Susan Bartlett
Total contributions since July 15: $5,886
Total amount raised: $76,806
Personal loans: None
Total number of contributions under $100: 281 Amount: $12,187
Total amount raised in large in-state donations from individuals: About $14,500
Total out-of-state contributions of more than $100: About $8,000
Amount from out-of-state political action committees: None
Total from in-state businesses: $3,700
Notable recent donors: John and Jennifer Hollar, lobbyists for Downs Rachlin Martin ($250)
Editor’s note: There are some insignificant rounding errors in the percentages cited above.
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Fortunately, money (i.e. Markowitz, Shumlin – including a candidate’s personal campaign loans)has never been the hallmark of the excellence of a candidate.
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Small donations tend to translate into votes. Dubie has 1519 donations under $100. The combined Democrats have 5243 similar donations. One has to believe that the Demoratic primary winner will gain a very high percentage of that support. Thus, the Democrats seem to be in an excellent position.
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I find it interesting we don’t hear more about how the largest portion of Shumlin’s funds (a whopping 39%!)–unlike those of Markowitz and Dunne–were supplied by the candidate himself, not to mention the donations made by his various family members that we saw in an earlier breakdown. That hardly bespeaks robust fund raising efforts.