Several local and state races are hotly contested, and candidates are doing their best to shore up support in the final days before the election.
Campaign finance records show political action committees, parties and individual donors are doling out cash by the thousands to give their chosen candidates last-minute boosts.
Election Day is Tuesday.
Indiana Governor
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryRepublican incumbent Gov. Eric Holcomb has an enormous fundraising advantage over Democrat challenger Dr. Woody Myers and Libertarian challenger Donald Rainwater.
Fundraising has been a challenge for Myers, and without the necessary funding, he has not been able to get on TV. In the third quarter this year, Myers raised about $464,000, compared to Holcomb’s $1.8 million. As of Sept. 30, Myers had $80,500 cash on hand, while Holcomb had more than $6 million.
In a fundraising email sent to supporters on Thursday, Myers said if he raised $10,000 by the end of the day, he could go on air through Election Day, which is Nov. 3.
“We know that the way to reach as many Hoosiers as possible in the remaining days before Election Day is on television,” the email said. “But for a grassroots campaign without a corporate-funded political machine like our opponent’s, the cost of going up with TV ads can be a high barrier to entry.”
His campaign did not have exact figures immediately available Friday morning, but said they have enough funding to run the TV ad through Nov. 3.
For months, Myers’ campaign said TV was not a top priority and that the team was focused on reaching voters through other avenues, such as social media.
Holcomb has mostly had the TV airwaves to himself after launching his first ad at the beginning of August. It wasn’t until earlier this month when Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater went on TV that either of Holcomb’s opponents were getting air time.
Holcomb’s campaign released its final TV ad this week. It features Holcomb and his wife, Janet Holcomb, talking about his accomplishments over the past four years.
Holcomb is favored to win the three-way race, according to the latest polling data.
U.S. Congress District 9
Filings from earlier this year showed Republican incumbent Rep. Trey Hollingsworth’s campaign had raised more than $800,000, while his Democrat opponent Andy Ruff had raised just under $50,000, and his Libertarian opponent Tonya Millis had raised $7,200, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Donations to Ruff’s campaign rose exponentially in the final months of the race. The Bloomington resident brought in nearly $75,000 since June. Most of the money Ruff raised has come from small, largely local donors giving $200 or less, confirming his touted grassroots approach.
Most of Hollingsworth’s donations are from large donors, and fewer dollars were raised in the tail end of the campaign, with about $200,000 being added between June and Oct. 14.
Hollingsworth received donations from a wide array of political action committees, special interest groups, firms and corporations, many of them from out of state, according to election commission records. Hollingsworth received a total of 628 donations; 101 came from Hoosiers or Indiana-based organizations. The largest single donor, Jamestown Associates, a New Jersey-based conservative political strategy firm, donated $14,000, records show.
Millis’ campaign was largely self-funded. She received just three donations from someone other than herself, according to election commission records. and two of the three donations are recent.
State Senate District 36
Republican incumbent Jack Sandlin outraised and outspent Democrat Ashley Eason. The types of donations to their campaigns reveal energy differences among their supporters.
Most of Ashley Eason’s donations were small. She raised $45,518 from 402 individuals, according to campaign finance documents filed with the state. Eason also received $26,188 from other Democrats running for office and party organizations, $12,290 from political action committees, $1,750 total from three unions and $500 from a Greenwood eyecare center, documents show.
Sandlin’s donation report shows significant support from the Republican establishment, with $212,000 of his $294,866 raised coming from party organizations, according to campaign finance documents. Sandlin also received $54,000 from political action committees and $21,425 from individuals, documents show.
State Representative District 93
The District 93 race, plagued with controversies in the final weeks before the election, has drawn interest from donors near and far, according to campaign finance documents.
Republican candidate John Jacob’s top priorities of banning abortion and constitutional carry brought in many donations from around the state and from national organizations. In contrast, Democrat Angela Elliott received largely local support from Greenwood and Indianapolis donors, documents show.
Jacob raised $81,684 from 119 individuals, most of whom live outside District 93, elsewhere in Indiana. Several other donations to Jacob are from out of state, including $950 from Rusty Thomas, director of Operation Save America, a controversial fundamentalist Christian organization.
Jacob also received $1,000 from the National Association for Gun Rights.
More than half of Elliott’s total fundraising, at $15,400, came from 58 individuals. Elliott also received $6,750 from political action committees, including $250 from Planned Parenthood and $1,000 from Northwest Indiana Gay-Straight Coalition.
Elliott received $3,013 from Democrat candidates and party organizations.
Jacob did not receive any donations from Republican candidates or party organizations, documents show.
State Representative District 58
District 58, which rests entirely in Johnson County, has more localized interest.
Both candidates received most of their funding from Johnson County donors, with a few from the greater Indianapolis area. Two local women, Republican Michelle Davis and Democrat Cindy Reinert, are facing off to fill Rep. Woody Burton’s (R-Whiteland) long-held seat at the Indiana Statehouse.
Davis has a broad base of support in Johnson County, and has raised $10,260 from 25 individual donors, $6,615 from local businesses and $2,500 from local carpenter’s unions, according to campaign finance documents.
Davis also received support from Republican establishment groups, with $10,931 from political action committees, $11,500 from other political committees and $9,274 from the Indiana Republican State Committee, documents show.
Reinert received seven donations totaling $1,902, including two from herself. She also received $200 from AFT Indiana, Inc., the state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, and $800 from the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee, documents show.
Johnson County Council
All three Republican candidates for three at-large seats on the Johnson County Council — Ron Deer, Melinda Griesemer and John Myers — are funding their own campaigns, according to the campaign finance documents filed with the Johnson County Clerk’s Office.
Democrat candidate Amanda Stevenson-Holmes raised $4,156. Stevenson-Holmes received 19 donations from Johnson County supporters and a few family members and friends from outside the county. She also received $1,000 from the Johnson County Democratic Party.
The Indianapolis Business Journal contributed to this report.
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Here is a look at how much was raised and spent in hotly contested state and local races:
Indiana Governor
Eric J. Holcomb (R) beginning cash balance $7.2 million; raised $3.9 million; spent $7.9 million
Woodrow A. Myers (D) beginning cash balance $14,648; raised $1.27 million; spent $1.24 million.
Donald G. Rainwater (L) raised $323,404; spent $203,807.
U.S. Congress District 9
Trey Hollingsworth (R) raised $1.09 million; spent $456,928.
Tonya Millis (L) raised $9,738; spent $9,613.
Andy Ruff (D) raised $122,843; spent $78,115.
Indiana Senate District 36
Ashley Eason (D) raised $128,015; spent $90,167.
Jack Sandlin (R) raised $294,866; spent $305,357.
State Representative District 58
Michelle Davis (R) raised $73,933; spent $63,558.
Cindy Reinert (D) raised $4,163; spent $2,060.
State Representative District 93
Angela Elliott (D) raised $27,735; spent $10,784.
John Jacob (R) raised $101,694; spent $21,957.
Johnson County Council
Ron Deer (R) raised $176; spent $176.
Melinda Griesemer (R) raised $4,897; spent $4,897.
John Myers (R) raised $279; spent $150.
Amanda Stevenson-Holmes (D) raised $4,156; spent $4,156.
Source: Campaign finance records
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Here is a look at when and where you can cast your ballot early:
Trafalgar Public Library, 424 S. Tower St., Trafalgar
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
Franklin Community Center
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
John R. Drybread Community Center, 100 E. Main Cross St., Edinburgh
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
White River Public Library, 1664 Library Blvd., Greenwood
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
Greenwood Public Library (east door), 310 S. Meridian St., Greenwood
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. today
Johnson County Courthouse, 5 E. Jefferson St., Franklin
8:30 a.m. to noon Monday
Source: Johnson County Voter Registration
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