Kansas Republican Rep. Roger Marshall holds a commanding financial advantage in the race to replace retiring Sen. Pat Roberts, far ahead of two GOP competitors who made six-figure personal loans to fund their campaigns.
The western Kansas Congressman, who entered the field with more than $1 million on hand from his last House campaign, collected more than $570,000 during the quarter that ended Sept. 30. He has about $1.9 million in cash on hand, the latest federal filings show.
The personal loans were made by Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle and former Johnson County Commissioner Dave Lindstrom.
Wagles campaign claimed in August that the Wichita Republican raised more than $400,000 during her first week in the race. The campaign said last week that she had pulled in more than $500,000.
But the campaign neglected to mention that the $523,000 raised included a $275,000 personal loan from the candidate. Wagle pulled in less than $250,000 in contributions when her own money is not included.
Wagles former chief of staff, Harrison Hems, criticized the campaigns decision to frame the personal loan, which allowed under the law, as part of a fundraising haul in its earlier statements.
To me it was kind of disingenuous to say they raised $400,000 when they didnt really raise $400,000, said Hems, who departed as her chief of staff this month after serving in the role since 2015.
Hems, who worked in Wagles taxpayer-funded office, cited disagreement with requests for him to do work on behalf of the Senate campaign as the reason he was asked to leave the office.
Now, that hes cut ties with Wagle, he spoke freely about how the campaign used her personal money to inflate fundraising totals.
Susan loaned 200 whatever it was, and then she raised another 200 some, and I havent delved into that to see how much of that was in-state. I know she counted 97 percent was in-state, but more than half of what she raised was from her, whos a Kansas citizen, he said.
Wagles contributions still come primarily from Kansans even when her personal loan is excluded, according campaign spokesman Matt Beynon, who brushed off Hems criticism.
Susan made an early commitment to be fully invested in winning this race and she is living up to that commitment. She raised nearly $250,000, over 90% of which was from hard working Kansas families, and she is well positioned to stand as the proven and trusted conservative in this race against the moderate, insider congressman and perennial losing candidate Kobach, he said in a statement.
Wagles wealth from bingo
Lindstrom, a Kansas City Chiefs defensive end from 1978 to 1986, has loaned his campaign $125,000 since launching in June. Excluding the loans, he raised more than $150,000 during the financial quarter and $250,000 since entering the race. He has more than $240,000 cash on hand as of the end of September.
Lindstrom made most of his wealth from four Burger King franchises he owned in the Kansas City area following his NFL playing career until 2011. Wagle and her husband have a variety of investments in Wichita, including a string of bingo parlors.
Marshalls campaign appeared to take a jab at both of these candidates Tuesday, noting that its report did not include any self-funding.
This campaign is powered by the support of Kansans, campaign manager Eric Pahls said in a statement. Kansans and those around the country are taking notice they know theres one conservative candidate in the race who can win against a Democrat in November.
