Idaho Governors Race: Everybody Wins the Money Game
Idaho's Big Three Gubernatorial Candidates have released their financial reports for the second quarter. Who's the winner? Well, it depends on what you're looking for.Let's get started, so who raised the most money? That would be Dr. Tommy Ahlquist, whose campaign raised under a million dollars in quarter two. The campaign raised $575,000 from Idahoans with fifty percent of those contributions were under one hundred dollars.
Dr. Ahlquist kicked in $378,000 of his own money to up the overall number. The cost of becoming Idaho's 33rd Governor is not cheap. The campaign's expenditures were $790,000.
Senior Advisor Travis Hawkes explained the cost of the campaign. "Competing with well-known career politicians requires significant resources and significant investment."
This campaign will be the longest and most expensive in state history. Can any of us recall a gubernatorial contest that has started so early with multiple appearances and fundraising efforts?
Lt.Governor Brad Little's Campaign announced over $228,000 from January to July 31. His total war chest is $620,000 with over 1,400 folks donating to the campaign. Over 90 percent of his contributions were from in state. No expenditures were released.
Lt. Gov. Little described what he believes the race is about. "As lifelong Idahoans, Teresa and I want this campaign to be an Idaho grown campaign and having financial support from Idahoans shows we are right on track. The race is about Idaho and the grassroots community in every corner of our state."
Although he recently entered the race, Congressman Raul Labrador's Campaign reported that it raised over $300,000 in just over a month of announcing his candidacy. 52% percent of the money raised were donations of $100 or less. They added that they have $278,821 cash on hand.
Congressman Labrador said, "the high level of support I've reached in such a short period of time is humbling. The people of Idaho are excited for new leadership, and our first campaign finance report shows that."
So who wins? All three candidates have scored impressively according to their campaign reporting. However, money only goes so far. All three candidates will have the ability to get their message out. The key will be which message resonates with Gem State Voters.