Republican donors gave GOP Senate candidate Charlie Summers a financial boost after he won last month’s primary election, but Summers is still well behind former Gov. Angus King in the money chase, new campaign finance reports show.
Summers raised more than $240,000 for his campaign through the end of June, including more than $122,000 that he received in the two weeks after he won the June 12 primary and became the party’s nominee.
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His total includes $57,000 from political-action committees, including national groups that are trying to elect a Republican majority to the U.S. Senate in November.
Despite aggressive spending on television ads and direct mail campaigns in early June, Summers’ post-primary fundraising left him with a campaign fund of $119,290 as of June 30, his report says.
He hasn’t yet paid back $55,000 that he loaned to his own campaign to help pay for the TV ads before the primary.
Summers’ post-primary fundraising shows that GOP donors see him as a possible contender and are not giving up on holding the seat that will be vacated by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College in Waterville.
“He has clearly seen a significant bounce in his fundraising now that he has emerged as the Republican nominee,” Corrado said. “They are seeing him as a potentially viable challenger. … Generally, it reflects perception that this is a race that is far from over.”
Summers is still far behind King, in both fundraising and opinion polls, Corrado noted.
King, an independent candidate, had raised about $900,000 and had $503,444 left to spend as of June 30, according to his latest report. He loaned $37,000 to his campaign in March, but has not invested any more of his own money, it says.
The Democratic nominee, Cynthia Dill, had raised $91,166 and had $28,522 in her campaign account as of June 30, according to a copy of the filing her campaign released before the deadline last week.
“The race is now starting to take shape as the fundraising is picking up,” Corrado said. “Not surprisingly, King is able to take advantage of his stronger name recognition and well-established record to lead the fundraising. Clearly, the other factor is he is widely perceived as having a strong lead in the race at this point, which always makes it easier to raise money.”
A poll conducted for the Portland Press Herald in late June showed King had the support of 55 percent of the voters who were surveyed, while Summers had 27 percent and Dill had 7 percent.
Summers’ donor list includes a mix of Mainers and supporters from away.
Rowe Ford Sales President Wallace Camp Jr. gave $2,500. Members of the Quirk family, owners of Quirk Motors, gave a total of $7,000. Andrew and Ralph Cusack, owners of the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough — Summers’ hometown — each gave $2,500. Portland real estate broker Joe Malone and Portland fishing boat owner Jim Odlin each gave $250.
Ed Bosarge, a businessman from Houston who is a part-time Maine resident, and Marie Bosarge, his wife, each gave $5,000.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ Dirigo PAC gave Summers $5,000, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Orrin PAC gave $10,000, and the Senate Victory Fund PAC gave $5,000.
Summers had spent a total of $175,000 as of June 30. He spent aggressively on various advertising in the weeks before the primary, including $1,050 on an automated phone call, $41,151 on direct mail and $107,000 to air TV ads, his report says. After the primary, he spent $7,150 on polling.
A closer look at King’s report, released late Sunday, shows he got help from familiar Maine donors and wealthy supporters from other parts of the country.
Jackson Laboratory executive Charles Hewett of Holden gave $5,000, and former Republican legislator Horace Hildreth of Portland and Cyrus Hagge of Portland each gave $2,500. Tom and Kate Chappell of Kennebunk, founders of Tom’s of Maine, each gave $1,000. Former Democratic Maine House Speaker Michael Saxl gave $250.
King’s out-of-state supporters included Andrew Tisch, co-chairman of Loews Corp. in New York, who gave $5,000.
King’s well-financed and well-staffed campaign spent $431,000 by June 30, even without a primary to win.
It spent about $80,000 on payroll in the latest reporting period — May 24 to June 30. It reported more than $35,000 in legal expenses and spent $15,000 for a media consultant, $47,000 on a design consultant and $9,000 for Google and Facebook advertising, the report says.
Three other independent candidates remain in the race, but are running lower-budget campaigns.
Steve Woods of Yarmouth reported that he had raised $15,320 as of June 30. He contributed $15,000 of that total to his own campaign, and has done little outside fundraising, according to his filing. Woods also loaned his campaign $53,640.
Woods’ campaign has spent $48,277 on consultants, supplies, a website designer and Woods’ expenses for collecting signatures to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot, the report says.
Woods had $20,682 left to spend as of June 30.
Andrew Ian Dodge of Harpswell said Monday that he has raised a total of $1,678 and has $390 in cash on hand.
Danny Dalton of Brunswick said he will not file finance reports because he is not raising any money for his campaign, in an effort to remain totally independent.
Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:
jrichardson@pressherald.com
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