Arizona governor's election: Democrats trail far behind Gov. Doug Ducey in fundraising

Maria Polletta | The Republic | azcentral.com

Democratic hopefuls for governor are running low on cash while incumbent Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has millions on hand, new campaign-finance reports show — a gap that could prove challenging for the Democrat who wins the primary election next week.

The most recent funding reports, posted Tuesday by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, indicate likely Republican nominee Ducey has more than 12 times as much money in the bank than the three Democratic candidates combined.

The advantage speaks to the governor's fundraising prowess among key political and corporate players, as well as the less-cutthroat nature of his primary race.

Ducey's Republican challenger, former Secretary of State Ken Bennett, had the least cash of any candidate at the end of the July 1-Aug. 11 reporting period.

On the more competitive Democratic side, longtime educator David Garcia overtook state Sen. Steve Farley as the top fundraiser for the period, despite collecting mostly small-scale donations. Tucson activist Kelly Fryer, who joined the race late, was a distant third.

The Tuesday reports provide the last financial snapshots before the Aug. 28 primary. The Democratic nominee will have to dramatically boost fundraising efforts to continue pushing his or her message out to voters through the Nov. 6 general election.

RELATED: What you need to know about candidates running for governor

The numbers: Republicans

Ducey raised more than $552,000 and spent about $822,800 during the reporting period, according to his campaign filing. He finished with more than $3.2 million in the bank.

Ducey has enjoyed a consistent funding advantage throughout the race, embracing donations from lobbyists and other key names in politics and business.

More than 200 donations listed as individual contributions note that they came through the "Ducey Victory Fund Committee," a joint fundraising committee that benefits Ducey's reelection campaign and the Arizona Republican Party.

Though some donations made through the Victory Fund appear to be counted twice on the secretary of state's website — rather than as one transferred amount — the duplicates don't affect calculations for Ducey's fundraising totals.

Ducey secured $32,300 from other political-action committees, including those managed by the Arizona Restaurant Association, Associated General Contractors and internet provider CenturyLink. Beyond state lines, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and health insurer Cigna both contributed through PACs.

Vice President Mike Pence's Great America Committee also appeared on the list.

More than half of the $822,800 Ducey spent during the reporting period went toward ads. He also paid out more than $127,000 to political consultants and spent $25,500 on polling and research.

Primary challenger Bennett brought in about $27,700 during the reporting period, nearly half of which he loaned to his campaign. He spent $18,900 and had just under $17,300 on hand after covering administrative costs, bank fees, mailings and other expenses.

Bennett did not raise enough small donations to qualify for public Clean Elections funding.

The numbers: Democrats

Garcia pulled in more than $181,700 during the reporting period, out-raising Sen. Farley for the first time during the campaign. He spent $280,400 and closed with about $147,200 on hand.

“Ours is a people-powered campaign," with 90 percent of donations under $100, Garcia said in a statement Tuesday. "In addition to the solid grassroots fundraising, we already have more than 5,700 volunteers that have contacted over 340,000 voters."

Garcia spent $145,000-plus on ad buys and more than $50,000 on consultants.

Nearly $25,000 went to media-consulting firm Devine Mulvey Longabaugh. Tad Devine was a strategist for Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and worked with Paul Manafort — the former Trump campaign chairman convicted of fraud Tuesday — to get the later-overthrown Viktor Yanukovych elected in Ukraine in 2010.

Farley raised about $167,500 during the reporting period, including $3,000 from the Arizona Firefighters PAC. He spent more than half a million dollars, mostly on ads, and finished with just over $93,300.

Campaign spokeswoman Kelsi Browning said the Farley campaign "outspent our primary opponent (Garcia) 3 to 1 on television as we enter the critical last few days" and is "confident we’ll convince that large chunk of undecided voters Steve Farley is the only candidate in the race that is battle-tested and ready to take on Doug Ducey this fall."

Fryer, who said she has "focused on building relationships, not a war chest," raised about $14,300 through individual contributions. She spent $36,300, largely on consultants and ads, and wrapped up the period with about $18,900.

"Everyone keeps asking how I'll beat Doug Ducey's money," Fryer said in a statement Tuesday. "I want to know: How does Ducey think he'll beat me — a candidate who is building real relationships and talking about real solutions to the real issues voters care about?"

Contact the reporter at maria.polletta@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @mpolletta.

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