Copies of campaign finance reports are seen Friday at the Daily Journal's offices in Franklin.
NOAH CRENSHAW | DAILY JOURNAL
Several state and federal races are contested in this year’s primary election, and candidates are doing their best to shore up support in the final days before the May 3 primary.
This year, voters will decide races at all levels of government — from the county prosecutor and town council members to state representatives to U.S. senators. There are more than 45 local, state and federal offices on the ballot, as well as elections for delegates to the Democratic and Republican state conventions, and Democrat precinct committeemen. There also is a public question on the ballot for the Edinburgh Community School Corporation.
There are contested races for three Indiana House districts and a U.S. Congressional District. Campaign finance reports show political action committees, parties and individual donors are doling out cash by the hundreds and thousands to give their chosen candidates boosts to try to win your votes.
In past elections, campaign spending has been looked at as a measure of the amount of support for a particular candidate.
State Representative District 47
In Indiana House District 47, Republican incumbent John Young is facing challenges from Luke Campbell, Robb Greene and Scott Strother. All four candidates have spent a combined total of more than $56,000 on their campaigns, so far this election.
Campbell spent $7,147 on his campaign from Jan. 1. to April 8, the largest expense being $3,550 for letters and mailing services. He also spent more than $1,499 on advertising, filings show.
He has also received over $18,141 in contributions, the largest being $2,500, filings show.
Greene’s campaign has spent $48,061 on a variety of items, the two largest expenses are for advertising via mail and various media formats.
He has also taken out $20,040 in loans for his campaign.
In terms of contributions, Greene’s campaign has received over $57,674, with the largest contribution being $5,000. Greene has also received in-kind contributions totaling about $5,640, all of which were from himself for office supplies, filings show.
Strother has spent $453 and taken on $500 in debt for his campaign, with the largest expense being $320 for signage. He has also raised $261 in funds, filings show.
Young has spent $26,618 on his campaign so far. The two largest expenses were both for advertising mailers, a combined total of $23,706.
He raised $28,900 for his reelection bid during the Jan. 1 to April 8 period, adding to the $424 of funds he had on hand. The largest contribution was from the Indiana House Republican Campaign Committee for $10,000. He also received two additional large-dollar contributions after this period, for $25,000 and $5,000 each, according to an April 27 filing.
He received $25,000 came from House Republican Campaign Committee and $5,000 from the Lawyers Political Action Committee of Indiana. There was also an in-kind contribution of $2,900 for live text messages from the Indiana House Republican Campaign Committee, filings show.
State Representative District 57
In District 57, two candidates are seeking an open seat in the Republican primary: Melinda Griesemer and Craig Haggard. From Jan. 1 to April 8, both candidates together have spent more than $98,581 on their runs for office.
Griesemer’s campaign has spent $5,576, with $3,767 spent on advertising. The rest of the funds were used for printing and graphics work, filings show
She has also received $5,725 in contributions, the largest being a $5,000 donation from Griesemer to her campaign. There were also five other donations of $100 or more that were reported.
Haggard’s campaign has spent more than $93,000, with expenses ranging from postage to signage to advertising. More than $82,000 was spent on advertising, with the largest single purchase being $49,524 paid to a Martinsville media company for media placement, filings show.
Haggard raised $80,896 in funds for his campaign from Jan. 1 to April 8, adding to the $19,608 he already had on hand. More than half, or $56,542, came from the Indiana House Republican Campaign Committee. He has also received more than $6,800 in donations from five Indiana-based political action committees, filings show.
He’s also received 24 individual contributions and seven contributions from businesses, filings show.
In subsequent filings filed on April 17 and April 20, Haggard reported an additional $25,000 in contributions from seven additional PACS. Three are related to real estate and construction, while the other PACS are related to military service, education, beverage retailers and business, respectively, filings show.
He also received an additional $5,000 from the Indiana House Republican Campaign Committee on April 21. There was also an in-kind contribution of $1,248 from the committee on April 20.
State Representative District 60
There are two candidates are seeking an open seat for Indiana House District 60 in the Republican primary on May 3: incumbent Peggy Mayfield and challenger Brittany Carroll. The candidates together have spent more than $47,000 on their runs for office.
From Jan. 1. to April 8, Mayfield spent $32,081 on a variety of campaign expenses, including $21,447 on advertising. She also reimbursed $4,035 to herself for purchases she made for her campaign, filings show.
Mayfield has received $46,000 in contributions, in addition to the $111,513 she had on hand. Of that, a total of $39,100 came from 23 PACs, with the largest single contribution being $15,000 from the Insurance PAC, filings show.
There were also three subsequent filings for contributions Mayfield received after the latest filing period, the largest being $2,500, filings show.
Carroll spent $15,279 from Jan. 1 to April 8 on her campaign, including $13,372 on advertising. The remaining funds were used for fees, operations and fundraising services, filings show.
During the same period, Carroll raised $21,605 and reported that her campaign had $2,683 on hand. With the exception of three contributions from Greenwood-area businesses, almost all of her 61 contributions were from individuals.
The largest individual contribution was $5,000, and an anonymous cash donation of $2,000. There was also an in-kind contribution of $600, filings show.
U.S. Congress District 6
There are two candidates each in the Republican and Democratic primaries for Indiana District 6, which now includes Johnson County. George T. Holland and Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth will face off in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Greg Pence will face James Dean Alspach in the Republican primary.
In the Democratic primary, Wirth has not spent any money on her campaign but has received $597 in contributions, according to federal filings covering a period from Jan. 1 to April 13.
Holland has yet to file any campaign finance filings, according to the Federal Election Commission.
In the Republican primary, Pence has spent a total of $277,757 on his campaign this year. When taking into account the full election cycle so far, which began in Jan. 2021, he has spent more than $1.5 million, federal filings show.
He received $290,147 in contributions this year, but $5,026 was later refunded to contributors. Since January 2021 he has received more than $1.5 million, including $278,104 from PACs and $213,464 from other candidates, filings show.
Alspach has not yet filed any campaign finance reports, according to the FEC.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here is a look at how much was raised in spent in state and federal races:
Indiana House District 47
Luke Campbell (R): Beginning cash balance: $404; Raised $18,141; spent $7,147
Robb Greene (R): Raised $66,174; spent $48,061; debt: $20,040
Scott Strother (R): Raised $261; spent $453; debt: $500
John Young (R): Beginning cash balance: $424; Raised $61,800; spent $26,618
Indiana House District 57
Melinda Griesemer (R): Raised $5,725; spent $5,576
Craig Haggard (R): Beginning cash balance: $19,608; Raised $112,644; spent $93,005
Indiana House District 58
Michelle Davis (R): Beginning cash balance: $15,329; Raised $1,035; spent $9,258
Indiana House District 60
Brittany Carroll (R): Raised $21,605; spent $15,279
Peggy Mayfield (R): Beginning cash balance: $111,513; Raised $51,795; spent $32,081
Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District
James Dean Alspach (R): No data available
George T. Holland (D): No data available
Greg Pence (R): Beginning cash balance: $510,826; Raised $1,560,388; spent $1,529,627
Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth (D): Raised: $597; spent $0
Source: Campaign Finance Reports
