Which Presidential Candidates is Oregon Funding?

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Bernie Sanders

Records of the latest campaign contributions for the Presidential Primaries are in, and GoLocal reviewed the data to find out who is leading the candidates among Oregonians. The Democrats have outpaced the Republicans, as the top two earners both sit on the left side of the aisle.

According to records released by the Federal Election Commission, Hilary Clinton has raised $447,738 in Oregon thus far. Meanwhile, her opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has raised $269,498.

The highest Republican fundraiser was Jeb Bush, who raised $173,675. He followed by first-time candidate Ben Carson, who totaled $159,007. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz were next, raising $85,019 and $39,156, respectively.

SEE SLIDES BELOW: See Which Candidates Receive the Most from Oregon

All told, the Democratic candidates have raised more than three-quarter of a million dollars, totaling $753,174 from the Beaver State, while Republicans have taken in $558,557.

Rebecca Tweed, Political and Communications Director at State Street Solutions, told GoLocal that finance records can be a helpful indication of a candidate’s chances of securing the nomination.

“Large donors see their money as an investment and assess the risk to writing large checks,” Tweed said. “They don’t want to look foolish with their contributions, so they’re giving to candidates either they get behind personally, or that other influencers tell them have the best shot at winning.”

Hillary Clinton

Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth Is

Despite coming in first among Republicans in Oregon in an August poll, Donald Trump lags far behind other Republican front-runners.

Bill Currier, Chairman of the Republican Party of Oregon, told GoLocal that fundraising information can sometimes be a better predictor of long-term success than poll numbers. By donating money, voters show that they believe the candidate can win, or at least make a legitimate run for the White House.

“Early in the game certain people will take control of the limelight, of the coverage surrounding the campaigns,” Currier said. “As the race progresses, and it becomes more about policy and substance, different people are going to rise to the surface and have more success financially.”

Tweed said she was not surprised that the state’s Republicans were slow to donate to the brash New York businessman, rather than other established candidates in the race.

“In true form, Republicans want to spend their money wisely, and when and where it matters most,” Tweed said. “Across the board, because Oregon’s primary is so late in the game, I assume many voters will wait to donate to the candidates they know will still be in play when May 2016 comes around.”

More Money or More Donors?

Despite Clinton ’s lead on total contributions, Sanders received the most individual donations to their respective parties.

Sanders filled his piggy-bank with low-sum donations from hundreds of donors in the state of Oregon. More than 2,300 Oregonians donated to this campaign, giving an average of roughly $116 per contribution.

Clinton, meanwhile, received less than a thousand donations. Her donors were feeling much more generous when they did write checks, however, and averaged donations of $467

Tweed, of State Street Solutions, said that at this stage of the primaries, the number of donors may carry more weight than a sum on a bank statement.

“Of course, ideally, you’d want to be the candidate that has the most of both,” Tweed said. “However, at this stage, I think the number of donors, and who the donors are, is an important indicator of which candidate is working hard to connect with regular, every-day American voters. It’s no surprise that Clinton has more money in the bank, but it isn’t as challenging to get large donor checks. It’s the smaller checks and the quantity of them that show how many real people, real voters, are behind a candidate.”

Related Slideshow: See Which Candidates Receive the Most from Oregon

GoLocal took a look at 2015 campaign funding for Presidential candidates funding in Oregon, focusing on how much each candidate raised, how they ranked within their party, and which zip codes raised the most money for each candidate. All data comes from the Federal Elections commission.