Second quarter fundraising numbers are starting to come in from the leading candidates facing off in Alabama’s 2020 U.S. Senate Republican primary.
While all of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports will be filed and publicly available in the coming days, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville’s campaign on Thursday confirmed to Yellowhammer News that he raised just over $420,000 last quarter, which ran from April-June.
Tuberville also loaned his campaign an additional $1 million, putting his cash-on-hand at over $1.3 million at the quarter’s end after expenses.
This came after State Rep. Arnold Mooney’s (R-Indian Springs) campaign on Tuesday confirmed to Yellowhammer News that their candidate raised over $300,000 during the quarter.
Mooney’s numbers were first reported by The Daily Caller.
Tuberville’s campaign said his $420,000 quarterly haul is more money than any other Republican candidate has raised in the first 90 days of their candidacy. Tuberville entered the race on April 6 but did not have a fundraiser on staff until a few weeks into his bid.
Touting their status as a political outsider with strong grassroots support, Tuberville’s campaign highlighted the fact that they raised 70% of the quarterly contributions from Alabamians, with nearly 73% of contributions under $200.
Tuberville’s exact second quarter numbers and statistics as follows:
Raised: $420,251
Cash-on-hand: $1,342,541
Percent of contributions from Alabamians: 69%
Percent of contributions from individuals: 99%
Percent of contributions under $200: 73%
Average contribution: $351
Total Number of Donors: 1,054
“Coach is the only candidate in this race who isn’t a politician so it’s no surprise he’s seeing such a huge surge in grassroots support and fundraising,” Tuberville Campaign Manager Paul Shashy said in a statement. “It’s clear folks from all corners of our state are ready to fire Doug Jones and elect an outsider who has been supporting President Trump from the beginning and has never gotten weak-kneed in that support.”
Mooney’s campaign is emphasizing that their $300,000 haul came just over a 30-day period, as Mooney himself did not start making fundraising calls and personal overtures until the end of the Alabama legislature’s 2019 regular session. However, it should be noted that he announced on May 6 and his campaign sent out a direct fundraising email on May 9.
“In just 30 days since the legislative session ended and fundraising began in earnest, Arnold raised enough money to show he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with and received some huge endorsements. We’re excited by the momentum,” Jordan Gehrke, a spokesman for the campaign, said in a statement.
The state representative has pulled in a bevy of early national endorsements, including Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), talk show hosts Mark Levin and Erick Erickson, Duck Dynasty star Al Robertson and the Washington, D.C.-based Senate Conservatives Fund.
Mooney’s campaign also said Tuberville is a member of the “establishment,” along with Congressman Bradley Byrne (AL-01), who is polling in second behind Tuberville as of the last credible primary survey.
“While better-known, establishment candidates Bradley Byrne and Tommy Tuberville are expected to report they raised over a million dollars each this quarter, remember: Arnold Mooney did all of his fundraising in less time, and he raised it at a faster pace,” Gehrke added.
Byrne has yet to release his fundraising numbers from the second quarter.
The same holds true for Secretary of State John Merrill and former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who both entered the race in the closing weeks of the quarter.
Byrne ended the first quarter of 2019 with just over $2 million cash-on-hand in his Senate campaign account.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
