Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final story in a series analyzing campaign finance reports for contested offices in Johnson County. Stories examining Indiana Statehouse races, local offices and the presidential race were previously published and can be found online at dailyjournal.net.
Democratic Indiana gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick has out-raised her opponents over the last four months in Johnson County, though Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun still has a hefty cash balance statewide overall.
From July 1 to Oct. 28, McCormick has raised more than $22,986 from Johnson County voters and organizations. Braun has raised about $7,777 in the same time frame, while Libertarian Donald Rainwater has raised $525 from local voters and organizations, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Indiana Election Division.
The Daily Journal looked at reports for each of the three candidates, including large contribution reports filed within the July 1 to Oct. 28 time frame. Those reports showed McCormick has some fundraising momentum across Johnson County zip codes, but Braun still has a cash advantage overall.
Statewide, Braun raised at least $11.7 million during October, according to his last quarterly report filed on Oct. 29. He started with about $4.1 million, and ended the period with more than $1 million after expenses.
McCormick raised at least $4.2 million during October, according to her last quarterly report filed on Oct. 29. She started with $209,252, and ended the period with $239,439 after expenses.
Braun and McCormick’s statewide amounts raised do not include large contributions reported after the end of the quarterly filing period on Oct. 21. Rainwater did not report any large contributions after the end of the quarterly filing period.
Of the 12 zip codes covering Johnson County, both Braun and McCormick tended to get more from the more populous zip codes — though McCormick received more between July 1 to Oct. 28.
McCormick leads in Greenwood’s 46143 zip code — covering Center Grove through the city’s south and east sides into rural Clark Township — with voters giving $17,349 to her campaign. The 46142 zip code, which covers northern White River Township to the northwestern part of the city gave about $1,352, filings show.
However, the 46142 zip code was surpassed by Franklin’s 46131, with voters giving McCormick $1,620, and Indianapolis 46259, which covers areas of northeastern Clark Township, with voters donating $1,600. She also received donations from Bargersville’s 46106, Morgantown’s 46160, Trafalgar’s 46181, Nineveh’s 46164 and the Whiteland portion of 46184, according to filings.
Like McCormick, Braun’s top zip code was the 46143 with Greenwood-area voters giving about $5,348 to his campaign. This was followed by $1,250 from Whiteland’s 46184, more than $624 from Morgantown’s 46160, about $104 from Indianapolis’ 46259 and $100 from Trafalgar’s 46181, filings show.
One of Braun’s contributions was from a Whiteland business, while another was from a political action committee based in Greenwood.
Rainwater’s amounts were significantly smaller compared to his opponents, with him only raising money from three zip codes: $325 from Indianapolis’ 46259, $150 from Franklin’s 46131 and $50 from Greenwood’s 46143.
Several zip codes reported no donations to any of the candidates: Edinburgh’s 46124, Needham’s 46162 and the New Whiteland portion of the 46184 zip code.
Of the zip codes that did donate, many of the donations in both zip codes were repeat donations from the same donors, filings show.
Most of McCormick’s local donations came in during a July to September period, with Braun seeing a similar pattern. Rainwater’s local donations came in during the July to September period, filings show.
While candidate donations are typically used as a barometer for support of a particular candidate, it is impossible to say whether the surge in local contributions for McCormick will translate to more Democratic votes in November.
Johnson County typically votes for the Republican gubernatorial candidate, with voters selecting Republicans as far back as least 2016, records show. Statewide, Hoosiers have selected Republicans as governor since 2004, with the last Democratic to be elected being Frank O’Bannon when he sought reelection in 2000. No Libertarians have ever been elected governor.
Election Day is Tuesday. Early voting is underway now.
BY THE NUMBERS
Gubernatorial Campaign Finance Contributions
Here’s a look at how Johnson County and partially surrounding areas have supported Indiana gubernatorial candidates Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater. The list is organized by city and zip code. Data is from July 1 to Oct. 28:
Bargersville, 46106 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $225; Rainwater: $0
Edinburgh, 46124 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $0; Rainwater: $0
Franklin, 46131 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $1,620; Rainwater: $150
Greenwood, 46142 — Braun: $350; McCormick: $1,352.73; Rainwater: $0
Greenwood, 46143 — Braun: $5,348.75; McCormick: $17,349; Rainwater: $50
Indianapolis, 46259 (covering far northeastern Johnson County) — Braun: $104.10; McCormick: $1,600; Rainwater: $325
Morgantown, 46160 — Braun: $624.61; McCormick: $200; Rainwater: $0
Needham, 46162 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $0; Rainwater: $0
New Whiteland, 46184 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $0; Rainwater: $0
Nineveh, 46164 — Braun: $0; McCormick: $100; Rainwater: $0
Trafalgar, 46181 — Braun: $100; McCormick: $200; Rainwater: $0
Whiteland, 46184 — Braun: $1,250; McCormick: $50; Rainwater: $0
Total — Braun: $7,777.46; McCormick: $22,986.73; Rainwater: $525
Source: Indiana Election Division
