Bollier outraises Marshall by millions. Where are the candidates getting their money?
Kansas Democrat Barbara Bollier outraised Republican opponent Roger Marshall by more than 4-to-1 margin from July through September, federal campaign finance filings show.
Bollier’s historic fundraising was buoyed by a flood of out-of-state money and small-dollar donations as Democrats seek to recapture the U.S. Senate.
Kansas, a GOP-leaning state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to Senate since 1932, was not expected to be competitive when GOP Sen. Pat Roberts announced his retirement plans in early 2019.
Marshall, a Republican congressman who represents western Kansas, raised roughly $2.9 million from July 1 through September 30, according to a pair of filings with the Federal Election Commission.
That would normally be a strong showing for a federal candidate in Kansas. But this is not a normal year.
Bollier, a state senator from Johnson County, raised nearly $13.5 million during the same period. It’s the most any candidate in Kansas has raised in a quarter.
Of her roughly $7.2 million in itemized individual contributions last quarter — donations of $200 or more from individuals — $1.8 million, or 25%, came from California. Nearly $1.3 million, or 18%, were from Kansas. Bollier also raised six-figure sums from 13 additional states and the District of Columbia.
The Kansas Republican Party and Marshall’s campaign took to social media to slam Bollier for relying on out of state donors, a months-long critique from Republicans.
However, while Marshall’s percentage of Kansas donations is higher, he’s actually received less than Bollier in raw dollars. Marshall collected 51 %, or more than $866,000, of his itemized contributions from Kansas contributors.
Marshall’s next top fundraising state was New York, which accounted for 7 %, or about $121,000, of his haul. Marshall raised a total of more than $1.7 million in itemized contributions.
Bollier received $5.3 million in unitemized donations, small-dollar contributions frequently routed through ActBlue, the Massachusetts-based fundraising platform that has been a boon to Democrats in recent years.
Marshall raised less than $300,000 in unitemized contributions.
Of the two candidates, Marshall is more reliant on contributions from political action committees and party committees, accepting more than $764,000 to about $200,000 for Bollier during the quarter.
PAC’s for Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Bayer and AT&T are among the major corporate contributors to Marshall.
Bollier received contributions from PAC’s representing major unions, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 9:05 AM with the headline "Bollier outraises Marshall by millions. Where are the candidates getting their money?."
