Vermont’s gubernatorial campaign has already broken fund-raising records. Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, the Republican who is running unopposed, and his five would-be challengers – Matt Dunne, Susan Bartlett, Peter Shumlin, Doug Racine and Deb Markowitz – have together raised $2.9 million. The last time a governor’s race was even in that ballpark was 2002, when Racine ran against Jim Douglas and Con Hogan. Together, they raised about $2.2 million.
The economy may still be in the tank, but Vermonters are shelling out big time for candidates this year.
So where’s it all coming from? And where the heck is it all going? Across the state reporters have been answering those questions as campaign finance reports are released. Vtdigger.org ran an exhaustive, three-part series on where the money is coming from, but we’re grateful that other news media outlets are on the task, too. Reporters from the Associated Press, Burlington Free Press, Vermont Public Radio and the Vermont Press Bureau (the team of three reporters who cover state government for The Times Argus and Rutland Herald) have been analyzing candidates’ outlays since the first campaign finance reports in a year’s time came out on July 15. There was a subsequent reporting deadline on Aug. 17. Media buys must be reported more frequently.
In sum, there is a lot of material here that no one news operation has the staff to cover. That’s why we decided to pull all the pieces together into a series of links so you can get a complete picture of where the money is coming from, who stands to gain access to officials, and how the money is being spent.
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, overview, Aug. 17 report
Vtdigger.org, “Shumlin, Markowitz neck and neck in race for contributions”
Associated Press, “Markowitz leads Dems in fundraising, Dubie ahead”
Burlington Free Press, “Dubie raises more than $1 million”
Times Argus, “Markowitz, Shumlin top money raisers”
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, overview, July 15 report
Vtdigger.org, “On the Money: Dubie banks on large donors, contractors and GOP activists”
Vtdigger.org, “On the Money, part 2: Dems donations are more Wall Street than Main Street”
Times Argus, “The Race for Cash”
Times Argus, “Vermont GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Dubie reports almost $1M in donations”
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS, outside influence
Associated Press, “Little known political action committee loaded for Dubie push”
Times Argus, “Big money from national organizations could sway elections outcome”
VPR: “National Groups Target Vermont’s Gubernatorial Race”
EXPENDITURES
Burlington Free Press, “Democrats spend big on television ads”
Burlington Free Press, “Latest television spending”
Times Argus, “More Vermont media buys reported”
AUDITOR’S RACE
Times Argus, “Candidate takes aim at campaign finance reports”
