State campaigns tell who's donating, how much they spent

TOPEKA — Repub-lican gubernatorial hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback continues to outraise and outspend all other candidates in statewide races.

One week from the Aug. 3 primary election, candidates filed reports Monday showing how much they have raised and spent since Jan. 1. Candidates had until midnight to file their reports.

Brownback, who started the filing period with more than $1 million in his war chest, raised $519,271 over the past seven months and spent $403,102. He ended the cycle July 22 with $1.18 million in campaign funds remaining.

His Republican primary challenger, Joan Heffington, raised $2,689 and spent $14,257 in her bid.

"Sen. Brownback is very humbled by the support of his campaign for governor and is looking forward to talking to Kansans about his Road Map for Kansas," said spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag.

The Republican primary winner will face state Sen. Tom Holland, a Baldwin City Democrat, in the November election. Holland was barred from raising money for his bid until the state Legislature adjourned in May.

Since May, Holland raised

almost $ 282,741 and spent $179,965.

"It's encouraging to have the support of so many Kansans — especially moderate Republicans and independents,'' Holland said in a statement. "In a short amount of time we've exceeded our first fundraising goal, and we're continuing to gain momentum."

While being the biggest spender in a race doesn't guarantee victory, money buys advertisements, yard signs and pays for the campaigns.

"Boy, is it good to be the person with the most money," said Washburn University political science professor Bob Beatty. "That is an advantage that every candidate would like to have because it gives you so many more options."

Research has shown a correlation between winning candidates and having more money, he said. Conversely, spending a lot of money could indicate that a campaign is struggling — or the candidate is unknown.

The three-way Republican primary race for Secretary of State's office — normally not one of the most visible state races — has attracted large amounts of money.

In that race J.R. Claeys of Salina has spent more that double his two opponents — $282,003 — almost exhausting his $287,944 war chest. Most of the money went to a media broker, and most of the money spent came from personal loans Claeys made to his campaign.

University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor and former Kansas GOP chairman Kris Kobach had $189,162 on hand during the reporting cycle and spent almost $100,000 of that.

Shawnee County Election Commissioner Elizabeth "Libby" Ensley raised $74,361 and has spent a little more than $61,000. Her funds included a $5,000 loan to the campaign.

In the Democratic primary, Secretary of State Chris Biggs had available $77,209 and spent $43,236 while his opponent, state Sen. Chris Steineger of Kansas City, Kan., has raised $107,835 and spent $81,575.

Biggs' campaign funds included a $6,000 personal loan; Steineger's funds included a $50,000 personal loan.

This story was originally published July 27, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "State campaigns tell who's donating, how much they spent."