Local State Legislature Incumbents Show Big Fundraising Leads

With millions of dollars spent, the race for one of Alaska’s U.S. Senate seats has dominated campaign spending this year.  Even on a local level, though, campaigns cost money.  The State House of Representatives and State Senate seats that cover the Upper Valley are both up for election this year, and the incumbents in both races have significant advantages when it comes to war chests, as KTNA’s Phillip Manning reports:

Right now, it’s hard to turn on the TV without being bombarded by political advertising.  With hotly contested races for the U.S. Senate and Governor’s office, the ads have been flying.  While local races don’t involve as much of a media inundation, they aren’t free.  This week, I took a look at the campaign finance filings for all five candidates running to represent districts that include the Upper Valley in Juneau.

The race for House Seat 10 has three candidates.  While some industry and partisan groups are involved, the bulk of the campaign donations have come from individuals.  As of the last filing with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, incumbent Republican Wes Keller leads in fundraising with a total of over $15,000.  That is more than both of his challengers combined.  Between August and the beginning of October, Keller’s largest donation was $1,000 from the Alaska Realtors Political Action Committee.

Democrat Neal Lacy has raised more than $10,000 in his bid to unseat Keller.  Lacy received $1,500 from the Alaska Democratic Party, but his campaign had previously given the party $1,900 for joint campaigning.  The latest reporting period for Lacy also shows three donations from labor organizations.  Non-affiliated candidate Roger Purcell raised just shy of $4,000 by the beginning of October.  The most recent reporting period shows that Purcell is partially self-funding his campaign.

Of all three candidates, only Neal Lacy spent money on media buys, with payments to the Alaska Dispatch, Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, and a small radio purchase.

In the race for Senate Seat E, incumbent Republican Mike Dunleavy has raised over $108,000.  That includes $10,000 of his own money in the most recent reporting period.  The most recent report also shows $1,000 donations from multiple Republican women’s groups, the Alaska Builders and Contractors PAC,  and the Alaska State Medical Association PAC.

Non-affiliated challenger Warren Keogh has raised a total of just over $40,000 for his campaign against Dunleavy.  Like the incumbent, Keogh has put some of his own money into his campaign to the tune of $5,000.  Keogh also received $1,000 from the Alaska Professional Firefighters PAC, $500 each from education PACs, and $500 from the United Transportation Union.

Both Dunleavy and Keogh spend substantial amounts on radio commercial buys and TV spots.

As of the end of the reporting period, all five campaigns reported having money in the bank.