Democratic and nonaffiliated legislative candidates top Republicans in post-primary fundraising

dollar bill money macro
(Creative Commons photo by peasap)

Democratic and independent candidates critical of the majorities in the State Capitol have raised more in campaign donations than Republicans since the primary.

Political leaders interpreted the latest campaign finance reports in widely divergent ways.

House Minority Leader Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, watches a floor session Tuesday, May 31, 2016 in Juneau, Alaska. Members of the minority broke a stalemate on the state's operating budget and joined the majority in a vote to draw from the state's savings to solve budget issues. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
House Minority Leader Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, watches a floor session in May. He says the campaign finance report reflects the public’s rejection of current legislative majorities. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

Democratic leaders said the campaign reports filed Monday show that donors are rejecting how the legislature approached the state budget this year.

“I think it just speaks volumes of how the public is starting to realize who’s really at fault with the mess we’re in in Juneau,” House Minority Leader Chris Tuck said.

But Alaska Republican Party Chairman Tuckerman Babcock said the disclosures put a spotlight on a different issue: how candidates who are running as nonaffiliated are actually working with Democrats.

“The vast majority of the so-called non-affiliated candidates are completely affiliated,” Babcock said. “They’re simply trying to figure out a way to pull one over on the voters.”

Fundraising can be crucial in determining whether the public learns about candidates through TV and radio commercials, as well as through mailings.

Republican candidates raised $580,000 since Aug. 7, while Democrats raised $476,000 and nonaffiliated candidates raised $201,000.

Tuckerman Babcock was elected chairman of the Alaska Republican Party (Photo by Josh Walton)
Tuckerman Babcock, chairman of the Alaska Republican Party, said unaffiliated candidates are coordinating with Democrats. (Photo by Josh Walton)

Vincent Beltrami raised the most of any single candidate over the past two months. The nonaffiliated Anchorage Senate candidate raised $95,000, while incumbent Anchorage Republican Cathy Giessel raised less than half that. However, Giessel has more than twice as much cash on hand as Beltrami.

Babcock said labor leader Beltrami’s fundraising points to labor’s interest in maintaining state spending.

“There’s a massive coordination going on with the labor unions to funnel money into … the races, particularly into Beltrami’s race,” Babcock said.

Tom Begich is an Anchorage Democrat who’s running unopposed for the Senate. He said Beltrami’s fundraising success reflects discontent with the status quo.

“The campaign that seems to be doing very, very well is in fact Vince Beltrami’s nonpartisan campaign. That’s a clear rejection of Cathy Giessel and her level of leadership,” he said.

North Pole Republican Sen. John Coghill raised more than $20,000 more than Democratic challenger Luke Hopkins over the last two months. And Juneau Republican Rep. Cathy Muñoz raised the most of any House candidate – and more than three times as much as Democratic challenger Justin Parish.

The fundraising indicates which races are drawing the most attention and are likely to be competitive.

The incumbent Democrat facing an opponent whose raised the most funds is Anchorage’s Bill Wielechowski. He was out-fundraised by Republican Kevin Kastner after the primary.

Other than the Muñoz-Parish race, the other House races that saw the most fundraising are between:

  • Democratic Rep. Harriet Drummond and Republican challenger Mike Gordon to represent the Spenard area in Anchorage;
  • Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Republican challenger Sheila Finkenbinder to represent Sitka;
  • Republican Rep. Lance Pruitt and Democratic challenger Harry Crawford to represent Basher and East Anchorage; and
  • Democratic Rep. Matt Claman and Republican challenger Marilyn Stewart to serve West Anchorage.

Political observers note there’s still plenty of time for the fundraising gap to change before the election.

Andrew Kitchenman

State Government Reporter, Alaska Public Media & KTOO

State government plays an outsized role in the life of Alaskans. As the state continues to go through the painful process of deciding what its priorities are, I bring Alaskans to the scene of a government in transition.

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