The latest campaign finance reports show that the results of the March 25 primary have put Susan Theall’s campaign on nearly equal financial footing with the campaign of Candyce Perret.
A campaign finance report filed on Wednesday shows that the Perret campaign spent $256,184 between March 6 and April 9. The bulk of that money was spent in advance of the March 25 primary. During that same time, the Perret campaign raised $154,920, including a $10,000 loan Candyce Perret made to her campaign on March 31.
Perret’s campaign had $48,086 in funds on hand at the end of the reporting period, by far the smallest amount she has had in any period since the campaign began in January.
The Susan Theall campaign reported raising $54,082 during the final reporting period; $39,525 of that total came via direct contributions. Another $14,135 came via in-kind contributions to the Theall campaign. Theall loaned her campaign $421 on April 9.
Theall’s campaign ended the reporting period with $19,771 on hand.
In the time between the end of that final pre-election reporting period, candidates are required to report contributions of $1,000 or more in special reports filed with the Ethics Administration’s Campaign Finance Office.
Those special reports show that Theall’s campaign has nearly closed the money gap with the Perret campaign since the primary.
Since that time, Perret campaign finance reports show that it has raised $43,756 in contributions. Of that total, $7,000 came in the form of large contributions since April 9, the end of the last reporting period. Candyce Perret’s loan to her campaign is not included in that overall total.
Theall’s campaign, on the other hand, has raised $41,975 since the primary. Of that total, $22,000 has been raised via large contributions included in special campaign finance report documents filed since April 9.
It’s a stunning reversal of fortunes.
Perret raised and spent money at a prodigious clip in the months leading up to the primary. According to four reports tied to specific reporting periods in the entire election cycle, the Perret campaign raised $442,369. That figure does not include $68,100 Perret loaned her campaign. It also does not include the $7,000 the campaign reported in special contributions since April 9.
Through April 9, the Perret campaign reported spending $462,283.
Perret ran first in the primary, although fewer than 2,000 votes separated her from second place finisher Theall. Perret received 16,599 votes compared to Theall’s 14,849.
Over the course of the entire campaign, the Theall campaign raised $65,275 in direct contributions and loaned her campaign an additional $27,267.84. The Theall campaign also received $18,123.71 in in-kind contributions. Theall campaign spending totaled $72,771.