GOP candidates outraise Democrats so far in most — but not all — of Georgia’s statewide contests

Many of Georgia’s top offices won’t have an incumbent candidate on the ballot in November, leaving candidates competing for an open seat. 

The first campaign finance disclosures of the general election were due Friday, offering an initial glimpse into how the Democratic and Republican nominees for some of the most high-profile races are doing as they hurtle toward the general election.

Here’s what the numbers say.

Governor

Both candidates for governors continued to raise millions in campaign contributions, although Republican Rick Jackson has pledged to super charge his campaign again with his own wealth. 

And now both Jackson and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms have jumped on the opportunity to raise money through a leadership committee, which is a type of political organization that was authorized under a 2021 state law that allows certain high-level officials and candidates to raise unlimited campaign contributions.

Jackson, who secured the Republican nomination after spending over $100 million of his own money during the primary, raised over $13 million during the reporting that ended in July. Most of those funds came from a $10 million donation the Republican Governors’ Association made to For All Georgians, Jackson’s new leadership committee. 

Jackson so far, unlike in his primary election, has limited the deployment of his own wealth since winning the party nomination, aside from paying for some of the campaign expenses like over $50,000 combined in helicopter and plane transportation and nearly $35,000 in legal fees. While Jackson has not contributed to his own campaign since winning the party nomination in June, he has vowed in public speeches that he’s willing to spend his fortune in order to win Georgia’s top office.

Bottoms trailed Jackson with about $5.6 million in total contributions. That includes about $1.8 million from the Democratic Governors Association that went to Project Battleground Georgia, the leadership committee Bottoms created once she became the official Democratic nominee.

The campaign finance filings from Bottoms came a day after the grace period for submitting the forms had passed, which the campaign said was caused by a technical error. That led to Jackson pouncing at the opportunity to remind voters about a $37,000 fine Bottoms received during the 2017 Atlanta mayor’s race. Garrison Douglas, spokesperson for Jackson’s campaign, painted Bottoms as “a candidate with a history of campaign finance violations.” According to the Georgia Ethics Commission, Bottoms will be fined $125 for submitting the form a day late.

Bottoms’ spokesperson TaNisha Cameron did not address comments from the Jackson campaign but said in a statement that there’s enthusiasm behind Bottoms’ proposals “while billionaire insider Rick Jackson continues to pledge his loyalty to Trump as his policies hurt Georgians.”

“Keisha will continue to share her plans to lower costs, expand Medicaid and protect Georgia’s hospitals, and invest in education by guaranteeing pre-k and raising teacher pay,” Cameron said.

Lieutenant governor

Democratic nominee Josh McLaurin raised more than $67,000 during the most recent quarter. An attorney and state senator from Sandy Springs, McLaurin has campaigned on expanding Medicaid, lowering the cost of living and protecting Georgians’ civil rights. 

But unlike the top-ticket Democrats this year, he first had to compete in a runoff election in order to secure the nomination for lieutenant governor, and ended up spending over $157,000 over the course of the quarter.

That leaves him with a little under $36,000 to face off against Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming.

“My campaign will have the resources necessary to inform voters that Greg Dolezal’s record is too toxic for Republican voters — and even some of his elected Republican colleagues — to accept,” McLaurin said in a statement.

Dolezal, who has made issues like election integrity, immigration enforcement and opposition to sharia law central to his campaign, raised more than $291,000 this quarter. His leadership committee, Georgia Liberty PAC, reported an additional $189,800 this quarter. (McLaurin does not currently have his own leadership committee.)

Dolezal also competed in a runoff before clinching the GOP nomination, and is sitting on a war chest of over $377,000 heading into the general election. 

He did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Attorney general

Republicans dominated the fundraising numbers for the governor and lieutenant governor races. But in the race to become Georgia’s next top lawyer, Democrat Tanya Miller has pulled ahead.

Miller, a state representative who currently serves as chair of the House Minority Caucus, reported raising over $446,000 during the most recent quarter. Campaign Manager Joey Wozniak celebrated the achievement, noting that Miller is the only candidate with experience as a prosecutor.

“This fundraising haul is another clear sign that Georgians are ready for an Attorney General who puts the people first,” Wozniak said.

Brian Strickland, the Republican nominee and a state senator from McDonough, raised nearly $324,000 during the most recent quarter. Though he fell short of Miller’s fundraising numbers from over the summer, he still maintained an overall edge, ending the quarter with $448,000 on hand compared to Miller’s $329,000.

“The growing support behind our campaign demonstrates what families across Georgia want in their chief law enforcement officer: steady leadership focused on public safety,” Strickland’s campaign manager Jantz Womack said in a statement.

Secretary of state

The battle to be Georgia’s next top elections official is heating up, becoming the second statewide race in which a Democrat has outraised a Republican candidate.

Democratic nominee Penny Brown Reynolds raised nearly four times as much as Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming of Covington during the most recent quarter and ended with a war chest over three times larger.

Brown Reynolds, a former judge, reality TV show star and member of the Biden administration, raised over $133,000 since April, and ended the quarter with nearly $68,000 on hand.

Fleming, who was deputy secretary of state under then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp and is currently serving on a committee dedicated to helping replace Georgia’s election system, only raised about $34,000, and ended the quarter with a little over $20,000 on hand.

Other downballot races

In the race for commissioner of agriculture, two-term GOP incumbent Commissioner Tyler Harper raised over $244,000. That dwarfed the $3,000 raised by his Democratic opponent, Katherine Juhan-Arnold, who ended the quarter with over $500 on hand. Harper ended the quarter with over $541,000.

Insurance Commissioner John King, who is a Republican, raised nearly $72,000 during the most recent quarter and ended with over $545,000 on hand. The Democratic nominee, Keisha Waites, claimed she had no contributions or expenses on her campaign finance disclosure. 

Incumbent Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes, a Republican who was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp last year, raised nearly $11,000 during the most recent quarter, and is ending with over $174,000 on hand. 

Nikki Porcher, the Democratic nominee for labor commissioner, raised about $4,500 during the most recent quarter. An Air Force veteran, former teacher and nonprofit founder, Porcher’s ending cash balance sits at over $15,000. 

In the race for state school superintendent, Republican incumbent Richard Woods added $4,800 to the bank and is sitting on a total of $30,000. His opponent, Democrat Lydia Powell, raised over $4,000 since April and ended the quarter with over $5,400 on hand. 

For the District 3 Public Service Commission seat, incumbent Peter Hubbard, a Democrat, raised over $105,000 and ended with $82,000 on hand. His Republican opponent, former Commissioner Fitz Johnson, raised more than $60,000 and ended with about $86,000. 

In the open District 5 Public Service Commission contest, Republican Josh Tolbert raised $2,000 and ended the quarter with over $25,000 on hand. Democrat Shelia Edwards raised more than $7,700 but her ending cash balance leaves her nearly $13,000 in debt.

The next round of fundraising reports will be due in October.