Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) just filed his Federal Elections Commission (FEC) financial report for the first quarter of 2019, and the contents of the disclosure are only going to fuel the criticism that Jones is beholden to out-of-state – and even international – interests.
First, only 12 percent ($107,122) of Jones’s itemized individual donations came from Alabama residents.
This was less than Alabama’s junior senator raised individually from California, New York and Texas. Seventeen percent ($152,544) of Jones’ itemized individual donors were California residents, while 16 percent ($148,458) were New York residents and 13 percent ($119,122) were Texas residents.
One notable individual donation was from George Soros’ son, Jonathan, who contributed the federal maximum on March 20. Jonathan Soros is the CEO of JS Capital Management LLC, a private investment firm in New York City. He previously served as co-deputy chairman of his father’s company, Soros Fund Management.
Another stark comparison to his paltry home-state percentage is the fact that $425,360 of Jones’s $1.6 million in total receipts came from PACs.
The PACs giving the most to Jones included Hawaii PAC, Follow the North Star Fund and Vermont’s Green Mountain PAC, along with many other leadership PACs of Democrat elected officials. Out-of-state corporations and special interest groups were also prevalent throughout the list of PACs.
Jones again received contributions from Thailand, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Belgium during the quarter, although the total amount of these overseas donations was much less than the final quarter of 2018.
You can browse the report here.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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