September fundraising reports were due by the end of the day on Tuesday for all candidates running in Alabama’s upcoming November 6 election, and the numbers showed a huge advantage for Republicans running for statewide offices – except the race for chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
Governor Kay Ivey continues to dwarf all of the state’s other candidates in fundraising, with Republican nominees Rep. Will Ainsworth, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Secretary of State John Merrill all having strong months compared to their respective opponents as the last month before the election gets into full swing. This continues trends from August’s fundraising.
Even though Republican Associate Justice Tom Parker is the only Republican to trail his Democratic opponent in funding, he was very competitive with Judge Bob Vance in September.
Below is a breakdown of each contested race:
Governor
Gov. Kay Ivey (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $735,457.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $563,819.50
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $510,888.45
- Notable September contributions – $25,000 from the Alabama Farmers Federation’s PAC, $25,000 from the Alabama Forestry Association’s PAC and $25,000 from the Alabama Realtors Association’s PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $6,183,622.59
- Total cash spent thus far – $5,730,073.33
Mayor Walt Maddox (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $373,208.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $349,327.64
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $500,339.23
- Notable September contributions – $150,000 from one consortium of Tuscaloosa PAC, $15,000 from the Greenetrack gambling facility and $10,000 from a Montgomery union
- Total cash raised thus far – $2,089,033.80
- Total cash spent thus far – $1,644,794.57
Lieutenant Governor
Rep. Will Ainsworth (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $167,125.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $87,473.70
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $208,007.63
- Notable September contributions – $25,000 from the Alabama Realtors Association’s PAC, $25,000 from Alabama Association for Justice PACs and $15,000 from the University of Alabama Board of Trustees’ PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $1,617,425.00
- Total cash spent thus far – $2,559,901.83
Dr. Will Boyd (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $11,885.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $10,614.88
- Cash on hand as of October 2– $8,739.24
- Notable September contributions – $6,500 total from three union PACs
- Total cash raised thus far – $42,843.34
- Total cash spent thus far – $34,104.1
Attorney General
Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $224,700.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $108,966.75
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $236,489.55
- Notable September contributions – $15,000 from the Alabama Power Company’s employee PAC, $10,000 from the Alabama Hospital Association’s PAC and $10,000 from the Alabama Medical Association’s PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $3,621,335.28
- Total cash spent thus far – $3,402,095.36
Joseph Siegelman (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $92,993.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $46,326.16
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $208,788.72
- Notable September contributions – $10,000 from a family in New York, $5,000 from CASH PAC and $5,000 from a firm of trial lawyers
- Total cash raised thus far – $445,275.89
- Total cash spent thus far – $236,487.37
Secretary of State
Secretary of State John Merrill (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $46,110.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $38,019.50
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $181,435.86
- Notable September contributions – $10,000 from the Alabama Farmers Federation’s PAC, $2,500 from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and $2,500 from the Alabama Homebuilders Association’s PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $384,769.44
- Total cash spent thus far – $223,364.05
Heather Milam (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $16,370.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $12,843.83
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $11,568.91
- Notable September contributions – $1,000 from a union PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $62,628.76
- Total cash spent thus far – $51,499.72
State Auditor
State Auditor Jim Zeigler (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $2,300.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $711.90
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $13,870.25
- Notable September contributions – N/A
- Total cash raised thus far – $61,305.11
- Total cash spent thus far – $56,339.82
Miranda Joseph (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $4,042.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $3,051.14
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $3,592.88
- Notable September contributions – $3,077 from “Persistence PAC”
- Total cash raised thus far – $15,592.83
- Total cash spent thus far – $12,004.08
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice
Associate Justice Tom Parker (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $165,225.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $3,765.40
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $181,999.81
- Notable September contributions – $100,000 from an Alabama Association for Justice PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $594,377.05
- Total cash spent thus far – $447,808.86
Judge Bob Vance (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $178,075.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $47,818.66
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $550,453.82
- Notable September contributions – $10,000 from the Alabama Realtors Association’s PAC, $10,000 from California’s Warren T. Lazarow and $5,000 from a Washington, D.C.-based union PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $810,547.19
- Total cash spent thus far – $260,093.37
Supreme Court Associate Justice Place 4
Jay Mitchell (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $126,540.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $5,739.38
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $198,973.08
- Notable September contributions – $20,000 from the Business Council of Alabama’s PAC, $10,000 from Protective Life Corp. and $10,000 from the Alabama Homebuilders Association’s PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $742,078.20
- Total cash spent thus far – $643,339.83
Donna Wesson Smalley (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $12,461.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $13,362.60
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $12,691.40
- Notable September contributions – $3,077 from “Persistence PAC” and $500 from Sue Bell Cobb
- Total cash raised thus far – $50,311.00
- Total cash spent thus far – $36,447.80
Public Service Commissioner Place 1
Commissioner Jeremy Oden (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $0.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $263.48
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $762.92
- Notable September contributions – N/A
- Total cash raised thus far – $558,600.00
- Total cash spent thus far – $565,485.07
Cara Yvonne McClure (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $4,763.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $7,545.42
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $6,956.78
- Notable September contributions – $1,000 from Parker Griffith and $500 from a Mrs. Buttersworth
- Total cash raised thus far – $20,644.08
- Total cash spent thus far – $13,687.30
Public Service Commissioner Place 2
Commissioner Chip Beeker (R) –
- Cash raised in September – $0.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $0.00
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $1,003.31
- Notable September contributions – N/A
- Total cash raised thus far – $157,550.00
- Total cash spent thus far – $163,483.14
Kari Swenson-Powell (D) –
- Cash raised in September – $4,960.00
- Cash expenditures in September – $12,802.25
- Cash on hand as of October 2 – $1,642.61
- Notable September contributions – $1,000 from MoveOn’s PAC
- Total cash raised thus far – $25,666.00
- Total cash spent thus far – $24,273.39
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn