By Cate Charron
Indiana Business Journal
With less than a month left until Indiana chooses its next governor, Republican Sen. Mike Braun is still outpacing fellow candidate Democrat Jennifer McCormick in fundraising by about double, according to quarterly campaign finance reports released Tuesday.
Braun received $3.2 million in contributions in the latest quarter, making his year-to-date total $9.4 million. After spending $3.6 million last quarter, his campaign has $1.2 million left in cash on hand.
McCormick saw $1.4 million in contributions this period. The filing did not reflect a $600,000 boost from the Democratic Governors Association because the funding landed outside this quarter’s reporting period.
Her total for the year is $2.4 million. Her campaign spent about $1.6 million this period, leaving her with about $496,000 cash on hand.
Though polling showed Braun with a strong lead over McCormick about a month ago, the Democrat is believed to have made up some ground in the last month. The Democratic Governors Association signaled additional support with its large donation and two national election evaluators moving the needle from safely Republican to likely.
Braun also ran an attack ad against McCormick, which has been atypical for Republicans.
Libertarian Donald Rainwater did the majority of his spending this quarter, using $69,000 of the $109,000 he’s raised this year. He brought in $9,000 in contributions this quarter and has $17,000 left on hand.
Lieutenant governor candidates also raised some money for their respective campaigns.
Republican Micah Beckwith, who is Braun’s running mate, leads with $103,000 raised. He spent $58,000 this quarter and has $50,000 on hand. Beckwith often leads his own fundraising events.
Democrat Terry Goodin, McCormick’s running mate, raised $51,000 and spent $40,000. He’s left with about $11,000.
In the attorney general’s race, Republican incumbent Todd Rokita raised $1 million this quarter and spent $336,000. Democrat challenger Destiny Wells brought in $616,000 and spent nearly $175,000. Rokita has $2 million left on hand, while Wells has almost $540,000.
