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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Most DFL candidates enjoying big leads in fundraising

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 9/7/22

REGIONAL— DFL candidates from across the region and the state are crushing their Republican opponents in the race for campaign cash, and that could give them a distinct advantage as the …

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Most DFL candidates enjoying big leads in fundraising

Posted

REGIONAL— DFL candidates from across the region and the state are crushing their Republican opponents in the race for campaign cash, and that could give them a distinct advantage as the campaign winds toward the Nov. 8 general election.
While money isn’t everything in politics, well-financed candidates typically win, which is why political observers often look to campaign finance reports to determine candidate viability. While a successful candidate doesn’t always have to raise the most money, they need to raise enough to run a credible campaign.
For some GOP candidates in the region, viability is still an open question.
In District 3A, for example, Republican candidate Roger Skraba, of Ely, reported raising just $4,665 through July 18, which was the most recent reporting deadline. While that total is likely to jump considerably in the wake of his Aug. 9 primary win, it appears unlikely he’ll be able to match the DFL incumbent in the race, Rob Ecklund.
Ecklund reported he raised $34,681 through July 18, and had $60,559 remaining in his campaign coffers, having spent just $11,785 to that point. Ecklund, who faced no primary challenge, has been able to pool his resources for the fall campaign. Ecklund also benefitted from campaign funds left over from his 2020 re-election effort.
Skraba, meanwhile, will be starting the fall campaign in the hole. While he reported raising just over $4,600, his campaign finance report indicated he’d already spent $9,488, with $6,778 in unpaid bills. His campaign reported just $1,945 in the bank.
It’s a similar mismatch in the District 3 Senate contest, where DFLer Grant Hauschild, of Hermantown, reported raising $100,655 through July 18, over $78,000 of that through individual contributions. He reported just $17,119 in campaign expenditures to that point, leaving him $81,078 in the bank.
His GOP challenger for the open seat, vacated by longtime Sen. Tom Bakk, reported just $12,170 in the bank. Andrea Zupancich, of Babbitt, reported raising a total of $33,090, while spending $21,034 as of July 18.
In House District 7A, which includes places like Embarrass, Pike, and Angora, and the rest of the East Range, the incumbent DFLer David Lislegard held a huge lead in cash on hand as of the July 18 report, with $32,440 in the bank compared to $745 for his GOP opponent Matt Norri.
Norri has demonstrated some success in raising money, posting a total of $13,195 in contributions, while spending $14,807. Norri started the reporting period, which began Jan. 1, 2022, with $2,416 in the bank, while Lislegard reported $21,854.
DFLers are outpacing their GOP opponents in statewide races as well. In the race for governor, incumbent DFLer Tim Walz had nearly ten times as much money on hand as of July 18, as his GOP opponent Dr. Scott Jensen. Walz reported a hefty $4.98 million in cash on hand, compared to $580,726 for Jensen. Walz started the year with $3.63 million and had raised $2.67 million through July 18. Jensen started the year with $807,436 on hand and raised $1.024 million since the first of the year.
In the race for Secretary of State, GOP-endorsed Kim Crockett, who maintains that the 2020 election was rigged for Joe Biden, badly trails DFL incumbent Steve Simon. Simon reported $679,884 in the bank in his latest finance report, compared to just $76,913 for Crockett. So far this year, Simon has raised $406,882 compared to $137,447 for Crockett.
While Secretary of State has long been a low-profile office, that changed remarkably in the wake of the 2020 election, when Donald Trump and his allies falsely claimed widespread election fraud that favored Joe Biden. As part of that, Trump and a number of his political allies are under investigation for pressuring the Georgia Secretary of State to find additional votes for Trump to flip the state in his favor.
Trump has endorsed a number of secretaries of state around the country who have indicated a belief in the former president’s claims of election fraud, despite the lack of evidence.
In the race for Minnesota Attorney General, DFL incumbent Keith Ellison has a roughly two-to-one fundraising advantage over challenger Jim Schultz, although Schultz (who faced a primary challenge) has spent considerably more. Ellison enjoys a considerable cash advantage, with $572,740 in cash as of July 18, while Schultz reported $113,298.
Eighth District
an exception
The most notable exception to the DFL advantage in fundraising is in the congressional contest in the Eighth District, where Republican Pete Stauber holds a wide lead over his DFL challenger, Rep. Jennifer Schultz. As of the July 20 reporting deadline, Stauber reported $1.026 million in cash on hand, while Schultz reported $98,691.
Next reports
Voters won’t have a clearer picture of the fundraising matchups until the next campaign finance reports are due. While candidates are required to report certain large contributions within 24 hours of receiving them, candidates who don’t receive such donations won’t need to report their fundraising numbers until Monday, Oct. 31, barely a week ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Candidates running in legislative races or for statewide constitutional offices will need to file those reports with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board. Federal candidates, such as those seeking election to Congress, will file their next reports with the Federal Elections Commission.