Democrats in swing states are adopting a more traditional fundraising strategy. In Georgia, Senator John Ossoff ran in 2017 for the 6th District. Ossoff didn’t raise any money in Georgia.
A New York Times report states that “Most of Mr. Ossoff’s itemized contributions came from large Democratic States such as California and New York.” “Only 14% of Mr. Ossoff’s itemized contributions came from Georgia, compared to 56 percent for Ms. Handel. Ossoff’s spring 2017 financial records reveal that he received 7,218 contributions from California and only 808 from Georgia.
She ran against Brian Kemp in 2018 and used a similar fundraising strategy. According the San Francisco Chronicle
Before liberal pundits joined Abrams’ bandwagon and MSNBC, she was receiving strategic support from a small group a wealthy donors and Bay Area political operators. They view Abrams to be the Democratic Party’s best hope of winning back red states like Georgia in order to take over Congress. Stop following white working-class voters who voted for Donald Trump 2016. Instead appeal to diverse coalitions of people of color, young voters and progressive whites.
In 2020, Democrats Ossof and Raphael Warnock were elected senators. They raised an incredible $100 million between the general election in 2018 and the runoff. The New York Post examined election filings and found that 95% of the money was from outside the state. Only $2.5 million was raised by each of them. Rest came from non-Georgians.
We are back. Kemp is being challenged by Abrams again in the Georgia governor’s election.
End June, Governor Brian Kemp reported that he had raised $31.5 million. Georgia contributed $26.2 Million. Abrams reported that it raised $49.6 million, with $7 Million from Georgia. Axios reports.
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is leveraging a large amount of funds from outside the state to support one of the most prominent gubernatorial races in the country.
Why it is important: Abrams’ fundraising profile includes significant backing from wealthy coastal Democrats and a large base small-dollar supporters. This is more typical of a leading national candidate than a gubernatorial hopeful.
Driving the news
The analysis shows that disclosure of the source is not required for donations exceeding $100. Georgia accounts for at least 83% of Kemp’s fundraising.
Axios claims Abrams will be the sole candidate for gubernatorial office if the trend in outside donations continues. This pattern matches exactly what happened in the 2020 Senate election.
Georgia isn’t the only target of swing states. From January 1, 2022 to July 17, 2022 Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan Governor) raised $9.5 million. This was partly aided by celebrities and donors from all 50 states.
Four out of the record-breaking totals for Michigan Governor’s fundraising came from a California movie director and a Nevada politician. Gretchen Whitmer is running for reelection within the first seven months of 2022.
Whitmer was able to receive money from all states between January 1 and July 17. Whitmer was able to raise $9.5 million, almost three times as much as the previous two Michigan governors.
California and New York are two states that have received donations to support these candidates. Because wealthy Democrat donors don’t have much to worry about in these states, they can fund Democrat candidates in any other state that supports policies favoring Californians or New Yorkers.
This is the problem. Neither Stacey Abrams, Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock or Gretchen Whitmer, nor their donors, are responsible for each other’s actions, and not the residents of their respective states.
This is unacceptable. A lot of qualified Americans can’t afford to take into consideration local House races. It should be the residents of the state that have the governor accountable, and not Silicon Valley billionaires.
The solution to a problem is not politics without money. To celebrate the mother’s rights to kill her child, they would light up Detroit buildings in pink.