Thursday, July 16, 2009

Small Donors Fuel Goodman's Quarter

Sen. Jack Goodman's frontrunning fundraising effort for Southwest Missouri's congressional seat over the past three months was fueled by small donors giving $100 or less, according to a Notebook analysis of second quarter campaign finance documents.

Between April and June, nearly 53 percent of Goodman's individual contributions came in amounts of $100 or less. Goodman narrowly topped his GOP rivals in second leg of the 2009 money race, raising $108,264.

But auctioneer Billy Long still leads the overall 7th District dollar chase. Long has more than double the amount of cash Goodman has on hand to spend. That advantage does include $100,000 in personal money Long gave himself earlier this year. Long raised $101,700 during the second quarter, but just four percent of his donations came from individuals giving $100 or less.

Joplin State Sen. Gary Nodler, who jumped into the race in late May, raised $101,645 in about a month. The Notebook analysis found that Nodler's second quarter haul was largely fueled by bigger donors. 42 percent of Nodler's contributors gave the maximum donation of $2400, while just two percent of his donations came in increments of $100 or less.

Long fell in the middle of the breakdown -- four percent of his donations came in at $100 or less; 15 percent of his donors delivered the maximum.

The analysis lends some credence to the Goodman campaign's argument that the Mount Vernon State Senator is running a "grass-roots" campaign.

On the other hand, all that groundwork costs money. Goodman spent more than his other two top rivals during the last three months. Goodman doled out $35,215, mostly for political staffing. Campaign consultant David Barklage was paid $4,500. Campaign manager Miles Ross was paid $21,560. Goodman also spent more than $3,000 on printing campaign materials.

Long spent $14,805, mostly on office supplies, bumper stickers, postage and fundraising supplies, including a $761 tab for food provided by Buckingham Smokehouse.

For now Long has the mathematical advantage, but as head of the Senate appropriations committee, Nodler is likely to hunker down and attempt to produce a big 3rd quarter number coming out of the summer. Meanwhile, Goodman's contributions on his finance sheet shows the most balance between wealthy and small donors.

Here's a breakdown of the Top 3 and the need-to-know numbers:

GOODMAN: RAISED $108,264/ON HAND $147,710/2nd Q Spend $35,215/$100 or less 52%

LONG:
RAISED $101, 700/ON HAND $326,493 /2nd Q Spend $14,805/$100 or less 2%

NODLER:
RAISED $101,645/ON HAND $100,000/2nd Q Spend $1,645/$100 or less 4%




No comments: