State Politics Update: Adding Up the "Little" Money

Big Money makes its share of headlines, but even small piles of green can carry their weight in the race for the governor’s mansion.

Small-dollar donations can be a lifeboat for a campaign, but more importantly, show how strong an impression a candidate is making with voters. Talk is cheap and people can say anything to a pollster. Reaching into your wallet is another level of commitment.

We’re pulling back the curtain on the gubernatorial candidates’ small-dollar donor base ahead of the August primary to see if their little cash hauls stack up against recent polling. We considered a small-dollar donation any contribution less than $150, which is small for the world of campaign finance.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson has the distinction of sitting on both the biggest war chest in the race—which stands at $7.2 million—and the biggest small-dollar haul. About 17% of Ferguson’s contributions were small-dollar donations, totaling $1.2M from more than 21,000 donors, based on the most recent numbers from the Public Disclosure Commission.

https://www.postalley.org/2024/05/30/state-politics-update-adding-up-the-little-donations/