[I]ncumbent Republican Phil Scott maintained his fundraising lead over Democratic challenger Christine Hallquist as the governor’s race moves into the last days of the campaign.
Reporting a total of $700,897 in cash and in-kind donations to date, Scott had a substantial fundraising lead as the candidates entered the final days before Election Day, according to campaign finance disclosures filed Friday.
Hallquist, who reported a total of $560,099 in monetary and in-kind contributions in the election to date, appears poised to fall far short of her $2 million fundraising goal.
Hallquist brought in $94,048 in financial contributions, with an additional $27,038 reported for in-kind donations. Her campaign reported receiving contributions from 1,173 donors, all but about 100 of which were $100 or less.
Some recognizable names chipped in to support her gubernatorial bid in the final weeks of the campaign, including Scott’s former Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe, who gave $500, and former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin. California billionaire Tom Steyer, a liberal activist who, among other things, has led a campaign to impeach President Donald Trump, gave the maximum contribution of $4,080.
Scott, meanwhile, reported 423 total donors, less than half the number that gave to his challenger. Of those, 195 gave contributions of $100 or less. But he outraised Hallquist by a considerable margin, bringing in $127,697 in monetary donations in the second half of October. An additional $7,699 came as in-kind contributions.
Scott’s camp reportedly received $4,080 from the political action committee associated with pharmaceutical giant Mylan, the once-embattled manufacturer of EpiPen, which has a facility in St. Albans. He also got four figure donations from companies including United Health Group, Comcast, Vail Resorts, Florida-based Sutherland Realty Holdings and WHS Holdings, a company associated with Sugarbush chief Win Smith.
Hallquist reportedly spent a total of $107,686 in the two-and-a-half week period, $40,226 of which went toward media. The expenditures included $10,000 in online ads and radio buys on stations around the state.
Scott, meanwhile, spent $38,544, placing $6,389 in media buys.
In the lieutenant governor’s race, Republican Don Turner claimed a fundraising lead over incumbent David Zuckerman, a Progressive/Democrat.
Turner, the outgoing House minority leader, raised $61,260 during the period, bringing his total cash donations for the election period so far to $281,448. He also reported $8,829 in in-kind contributions.
The Republican spent $72,309 during the period, including $47,581 on media.
Zuckerman reported bringing in a total of $42,357 in money contributions in late October, bringing his financial donation total for the election to $177,747, plus an additional $7,150 in in-kind contributions.
He spent $51,870 during the period, more than half of which went to media buys.
