After the report this past weekend noting that Gubernatorial Candidate Marty Jackley is bringing Sioux Falls Attorney and Gubernatorial scion Russ Janklow onto his campaign team and setting him to work for fundraising, it indicates that Marty isn’t letting anything to chance in the dollar race for Governor.
But how are they really doing? The Year End reports are in, and they illustrate a few interesting points about the two main Republican candidates for Governor, Attorney General Marty Jackley, and Congresswoman Kristi Noem.
Jackley for Gov 2016 Year End Report by Pat Powers on Scribd
And here are the year end reports (State and FEC) for Congresswoman Noem:
Kristi Noem 2016 Year End Reports State and FEC by Pat Powers on Scribd
What do we notice about these reports? Here’s the tale of the tape.
Jackley: 1,012,233.42 Raised. 11,311.14 Spent. 1,000,922 Cash on Hand. And of the money raised, 2,447.11 was unitemized ($100 or under), 223,850 was itemized, 1,500 came in from unaffiliated PAC’s, and he transferred over $367,475.83 to his campaign account from a Marty Jackley PAC.
Noem: 1,834,259.49 Raised. 27,124.09 Spent. 1,807,135.40 Cash on Hand. Of the money raised, 7,997.62 was unitemized or in amount of less than $100. 211,690 was itemized. 1.6 Million was transferred from her House Account and another 14,500 was raised from Congressional House members. Noem also Filed a federal report noting $5800 Raised, 144,895 Spent, and 76,500 cash on hand for her Congressional account.
Kristi is coming into the contest with a couple of advantages. The obvious one is that she has an $800,000 advantage over team Jackley. But looking at the reports also indicate that her “grassroots cash” is stronger – she’s posting nearly $8000 in unitemized contributions, versus Jackley’s amount just under $2,500.
Why is that? I would suggest because Kristi has had some tough contests along the way, and she’s had to work for every campaign dollar. And, she’s had to cultivate that donor base. The curse of being a Congressperson is that you’re in constant, almost never-ending campaign mode. Herseth was arguably the best the Dems had to offer in recent years, and it was a fight. Varilek gave an effective show. Corinna Robinson… well, you know that one, but Paula Hawks showed a few signs of life.
Compare that to Marty’s races. He was appointed in 2009. In 2010 he faced… Ron Volesky. Not exactly a race to generate a need for fundraising. Even worse, in 2014, he was for all practical purposes, unopposed. His opponent was Libertarian Chad Haber, Annette Bosworth’s husband. I’m not sure Chad had a college degree, and he certainly didn’t have a law degree. Two races, 4 years apart with nearly the worst (as in lowest quality) candidates the universe could roll the dice with.
Marty has shown he can raise money, as his overall total is quite respectable. But he’s going to need to spin up his small donor program quickly, as Noem’s is never spun down.
Another thing to notice – There is literally NO cross pollination among donors in the year end report. There was one that appeared to be husband/wife (Duane Harms 3k to Jackley – Barbara Reed Harms 1k to Noem), but that’s all I caught with a brief scan. Marty’s list is heavy with those in the legal profession, as you might expect, but there’s a lot of familiar names on both lists.
The Jackley list boasts notable donors such as Dave Bockorny, a few Bradsky’s from Rapid City, John Calvin of Watertown, Several Lien’s in Rapid City, Karl Fischer of Ft. Pierre, Grant Houwman of Sioux Falls, Pat Prostrollo from Madison, former Governor Frank Farrar of Britton, current US Attorney Randy Seiler, and Buffalo Chip tycoon Rod Woodruff.
And several legislators/former legislators such as Jerry Apa, Blake Curd, David Lust, Liz May, Mac McCracken, John Mills, Scott Munsterman, Dave Knudson, Betty Olson, Tona Rozum, and Mike Vehle.
Who did Noem collect checks from this year? Her list includes , Dana Dykhouse, Tom Everist, Harvey Jewett IV and V, Several Kirby’s, Al Kurtenbach, Dr. Looby and wife of Sioux Falls, Several of the Moyle’s in Rapid City, Larry Pressler and wife, Bart Sugarman and his wife Mary Hart of Beverly Hills, and others.
Her legislative donor list includes Dave Billion, Kim Vanneman, and Matt McCaulley. Larry Rhoden’s wife Sandy also sent a check.
Looking at the lists, Jackley’s itemized state donor list makes up for the deficit in unitemized contribution numbers, coming in twice as large in number than Noem’s, (roughly $125 to $250). But on a per donor basis, Noem rules the roost again posting numbers where she comes in better than a $1700 average per donor, as compared to Jackley at around $925 per donor. (I’m rounding, so don’t quibble).
Some of this may be skewed a bit, with Kristi having just come off of a Congressional election where her resources were devoted to raising money for that race, and Marty has had the field to himself.
But, if it was skewed for that reason, Noem’s already competitive donor numbers could be even stronger with the report to be filed next year at a time when they’re more evenly matched. It may also show more accurately how the two compare on a head to head basis.
Stay tuned – 2018 is around the corner, and the race is on in full force!
SDGOP OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY OF CONGRESSMAN CLINT ROBERTS
Pierre, SD – February 11, 2017 – Today, the South Dakota Republican Party elected Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes to lead the SDGOP for the next two years.
“We’re very pleased with where we are financially overall and with how things came together at the end of the year,” Noem spokesman Justin Brasell said in a statement. “Kristi continues to persuade new people to join our team every day. Kristi is taking nothing for granted and is out there working hard for every vote just like she always has.”