Who raised and spent the most campaign money on Sedgwick County Commission primary races?

No matter who wins the August primaries, Republicans will enter the general election cycle with more cash on hand than Democrats in the Sedgwick County Commission races.

Campaign finance reports released by the Sedgwick County Election Office this week show who has been paying for the campaign mailers, text messages, yard signs and other campaign activities.

Republicans out-raised and outspent Democrats in the District 3 primary to replace David Dennis as the commissioner for western Sedgwick County, with Wichita Republican Stephanie Wise raising the most and Wichita Democrat AlmaAnn Jones raising the least from January 1 to July 25.

Wise, a commercial real estate broker, raised more money than her GOP opponents Greg Ferris, a former Wichita City Council member and City Hall lobbyist, and Alan Reichert, a senior financial analyst at Spirit AeroSystems. But Ferris received additional support, with a Texas-based political action committee spending more on the primary than Wise’s and Reichert’s campaigns combined. Another PAC spent money on attack ads against Wise.

In southern Sedgwick County’s District 2, Democratic incumbent Sarah Lopez, who does not have a primary challenger in her district, raised more money than her Republican opponent, former Wichita City Council member Jeff Blubaugh. But Blubaugh had about $13,000 more in his campaign account as of Monday to campaign in the general election.

An open seat: District 3

On the Republican side, Wise received $50,774.53 in donations, including a $2,565.27 loan from herself, and spent $41,583.41. Her campaign accepted donations from 53 businesses, organizations and trusts – mostly from local commercial real estate developers. Some of the most common names associated with those businesses are developers Brian and Mark Suellentrop, developer Max Cole and billionaire casino and real estate magnate Phil Ruffin.

Wise has touted endorsements from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the Culture Shield Network, a Christian-right, anti-abortion group led by Donna Lippoldt.

Ferris raised $33,099.58, including about $4,500 in personal loans, and spent $27,214.31, including about $450 in loan repayments. He took in donations from 46 businesses, including several car dealerships owned by Brandon Steven and companies owned by brothers Marty and Ron Cornejo.

He has been endorsed by Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and R.E.D. PAC, a Texas-based PAC that says it focuses on rural economic development and support candidates who are dedicated to protecting private property rights. It receives the bulk of its funding from Michigan-based Conservatives For a Clean Energy Future, an organization that supports “market-driven energy policies.”

R.E.D. PAC spent $65,000 in support of Ferris, records show.

Several of the LLCs listed by Wise and Ferris were not listed on the Kansas secretary of state’s business entity database.

Sedgwick County Conservatives PAC raised $25,000 and spent $16,917 on attack ads aimed at Wise and ads supporting Ferris. The group’s listed treasurer is Thomas Datwyler, who provides “virtual treasurer” services and runs 9Seven Consulting, a political compliance firm that specializes in federal and state reporting and compliance. He was at one point listed as treasurer for former U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York, who was later charged in a campaign-finance fraud scheme. Datwyler did not respond to a request for comment.

State campaign finance records show $20,000 for that PAC came from Great America Coalition, a Washington DC nonprofit whose treasurer is Datwyler and whose donors are allowed to remain anonymous. The other $5,000 came from businesses owned by Wichita real estate developer Jay Russell. Most of those same LLCs gave directly to Ferris’s campaign, totaling $2,000.

Alan Reichert, a Cheney Republican, raised $3,900, including $2,500 he loaned his campaign, and spent $3,184.94.

On the Democratic side of the District 3 race, local Save Century II activist and former bank-fraud investigator Celeste Racette raised far more money than her opponent but less than the top two Republican candidates going into the general election. Her campaign raised $17,056 and spent $11,498.52. Six of her donations came from trusts or companies, including Colby Sandlian’s Sandlian Realty and Racette’s husband’s law firm. She received donations from 69 individuals. She ended the reporting cycle with $5,557.48 in her campaign account.

Racette received an endorsement from the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, a pro-union organization that says it represents over 30,000 union members.

AlmaAnn Jones, an advocate for trauma survivors and criminal justice reform activist, raised $2,445 and spent $1,098.63. All of her contributions came from individuals, with the largest coming from local Democratic couple Casey Yingling, an assistant Wichita city attorney, and Levi Henry, a political consultant. They donated the maximum $500. Her other 25 donors gave between $10 and $250. She ended the fundraising period with $1,346.37 cash on hand.

Jones has the endorsements of the family members of Andrew Finch, an unarmed man shot and killed by a Wichita police officer on his front porch in 2017, and Cedric Lofton, a Kansas foster child killed at the county’s juvenile intake facility. Jones has worked as an advocate for both families during their federal lawsuits against the city and county.

Incumbent raises more: District 2

District 2 has no primary election, but the two candidates are already out-raising many of the candidates who face primary challengers.

Sarah Lopez, a Haysville Democratic incumbent, raised $39,473.99 and spent $15,292.37. She accepted donations from 11 non-individuals, including companies, trusts, and labor and industry PACs. Some of the most prominent owners of those businesses include the Cornejo brothers.

She enters the next reporting period with $34,685.97 cash on hand.

Jeff Blubaugh, a Wichita Republican and former City Council member, raised $32,745 and spent $12,145.84. He accepted campaign donations from 47 companies and from a PAC for the local firefighters’ union. He, too, received donations from companies owned by Ron and Marty Cornejo and several owned by local developer Jay Russell.

He’ll have $47,231.46 cash on hand to start the general election cycle — buoyed by more than $26,000 in unspent campaign funds from the $39,000 he raised for his campaign in 2023 during his last year on the Wichita City Council.

This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 1:01 PM.