First District Fundraising Numbers Tell a Story

The latest fundraising reports are in for the Democratic candidates running for the First Congressional District nomination. Sometimes these reports can tell a story on the status of a race and this time is no different.

From January 1, 2012 to March 31, 2012, here is what the reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed:

Clark Hall
Raised last quarter: $98,828
Cash on hand:  $130,257
Total raised: $224,042

Scott Ellington
Raised last quarter: $19,955
Cash on hand: $5,976
Total raised: $19,955

Gary Latanich
Raised last quarter: $18,894
Cash on hand: $1,512
Total raised: $18,894

The big shock of these reports was how little Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington raised.

Ellington formally joined the race on March 1st, so he was behind in getting organized, while Clark Hall had announced roughly last September.

However, as a study in contrasts, Fourth Congressional District Democratic candidate Q. Bryum Hurst announced for Congress at almost the exact same time as Ellington, but still managed to raise $102,489 last month and end with a $95,310 cash-on-hand balance.

Ellington’s campaign must get in gear quickly, get organized and raise significantly more funds if they want to compete for the nomination, and it must be noted that Ellington barely out-raised long-shot candidate Gary Latanich.

Clark Hall continued his fundraising dominance, raising $98,000 last quarter, bringing his total raised to $224,042.

I still consider this race a toss-up between Ellington and Hall, but if these lopsided fundraising numbers continue, I may rethink my original analysis.