Two of the top three campaigns for Kansas governor are relying heavily on a single source of cash: their own money.
The last major campaign reports filed before next weeks election revealed that, in the last three months, Kris Kobachs running mate accounted for nearly half the money hauled in by the Republican candidate. Greg Orman’s campaign cash is coming from his own pocketbook.
Kelly cashes in
Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly raised the most money by a wide margin, pulling in almost $1 million more than Kobach. During the period from July 27 to Oct. 25, Kelly received $2.3 million.
Nearly all of it came from a range of donors, rather than self-financing. The filing does show Kellys running mate, state Sen. Lynn Rogers, donated $15 in cash to the campaign.
Since Day One, the support and enthusiasm for this campaign has been overwhelming, Kelly said in a statement. Kansans of all political stripes have a home in our campaign to rebuild our state.
Multiple polls have shown Kelly and Kobach in a statistical tie, with independent Greg Orman a distant third.
The campaign also entered the final week with Kelly having significantly more money in the bank than Kobach. Kelly ended the filing period with $530,000 available for last-minute expenses, compared to about $61,000 for Kobach.
Those dollars could be helpful for costs such as last-minute digital advertising, according to University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller. Yet he said cash flow earlier in the campaign was more important.
It matters, at this point, but not as much, Miller said. If youre a campaign, you probably have your TV time reserved, if not paid for.
Kobach calls on Hartman
Kobach continued a trend from the primary, relying heavily on loans from his running mate, Wichita businessman Wink Hartman.
Of the about $1.4 million raised by Kobach during the filing period, nearly half of that came from Hartman. He injected $621,000 into the campaign on Oct. 25.
Kobach didnt issue a statement to accompany his report, but during the primary Hartman told the Associated Press why he was loaning cash to the campaign.
As a businessman, Hartman said, I know how important it is to invest in great leadership. And as a conservative, I know how critical investment is to the cause.
Candidates dumping their own cash into campaigns isnt something new, Miller said. Whats different this time is that its not the candidate for governor providing the money.
Its not uncommon for the lieutenant governor candidates to put in a bit of money, Miller said. Its never looking like this.
Whenever someone writes a textbook on self-financing in elections, Miller added, the Kobach campaign could be a very interesting footnote.
