Donations fuel candidate spending as Election Day nears
October 20, 2024 | By Cheryl Casey | Correspondent 
Washington-Chittenden House candidates: Jonathan Griffin (R), James Haddad (I), and incumbents Tom Stevens (D) and Theresa Wood (D). Photos: Courtesy, Gordon Miller (Stevens), Glenn Russell (Wood)
As Election Day approaches, deadlines for candidates for the Vermont Legislature to file campaign finance disclosure details have shortened to every two weeks, with the latest reports filed on the first and 15th of this month.
Democratic Reps. Tom Stevens and Theresa Wood, both from Waterbury, are the incumbents in the Washington-Chittenden House district, which covers Waterbury, Bolton, Huntington and Buels Gore.
Seeking his ninth term, Stevens reported raising $1,370 since last month’s filing, and another $2,020 in the two weeks following, for a total of $14,320 raised as of Oct. 15 from 45 donors. The $3,390 in October contributions to Stevens’ campaign were all over $100, from six different donors including the Vermont Association of Realtors donating $1,220, Associated General Contractors of Vermont, which gave $500, and the Association of Vermont Credit Unions, which contributed $250.
Stevens was as active in spending as he was in fundraising, putting $1,551 toward a variety of expenses, most notably consultation with the Vermont Democratic Party and contributions to candidates in other legislative races.
Spending reports for Wood show that in recent weeks she has shifted her focus to spending at this stage of the campaign as she runs for her fifth term in office. She reported adding only $250 from the Association of Vermont Credit Unions to her coffers between the Sept. 1 and Oct. 15 filing dates for a total of $12,240 from 58 donors to date. Spending went largely to services from the Vermont Democratic Party, contributions to other legislative candidates, along with online advertising. However, Wood’s expenditures of $2,854 remain low – less than one-quarter of her fundraising.
Republican challenger Jonathan Griffin, also from Waterbury, filed his first reports in October after waiting to kickstart his campaign in the days following the August primary, where he went unchallenged. His October disclosure statements show $6,885 in fundraising to date from 14 donors, including contributions of $500 or more from Associated General Contractors of Vermont and several retailers and builders of manufactured homes across Central Vermont.
Griffin also received a $500 in-kind donation from Gov. Phil Scott’s campaign for digital advertising and $700 cash from Lenore Broughton, the notoriously media-shy Burlington heiress with a long history of bankrolling conservative causes, candidates and organizations. All of Griffin’s $2,449 in spending has gone toward online advertising and yard signs.
Independent candidate James Haddad, a Huntington resident who joined the race in early August, filed his first reports this month, showing his campaign to be a largely self-funded endeavor. Of the $978 raised to date, $788 comes from Haddad himself, with four smaller contributions totaling $190. Haddad has spent that money and a little more – $1,028 to date – on campaign swag (T-shirts, yard signs, and bumper stickers) and digital advertising.
Washington-2 House candidates: Gene Bifano (I), John Burns (I), incumbent Dara Torre (D), Candice White (D). Photos: Courtesy, Liza Voll (White)
Fundraising uneven in Washington-2 House race
The Washington-2 House district, which covers Duxbury, Moretown, Fayston, Waitsfield, and Warren, also has four candidates in running for its two seats. Democratic incumbent Dara Torre, of Moretown, reported raising $2,965 as of Oct. 15 from 20 individual contributors. Her campaign expenses total $3,426, mostly for yard signs, postcard mailings, and newspaper ads. Torre covered the difference with a $500 contribution of her own.
Candace White, a Democratic candidate from Waitsfield, only filed one financial disclosure report this month, on Oct. 1, noting a sum of $7,705 in fundraising from 32 donors – $3,230 additional from individual donors since last month. Her campaign spending this month was $1,333, mostly on yard signs and campaign software; White has spent $4,057 to date.
Neither of the other two candidates in the race – Moretown Independent John Burns and Eugene Bifano from Warren on the Common Sense Party label – has reported any fundraising details yet. State campaign finance regulations set the disclosure requirements at $500 or more in fundraising.
Four Senate contenders lead fundraising pack
Washington Senate candidates: Sen. Ann Cummings (D), Michael Deering II (R), Donald Koch (R), Michael “Mike” Doyle (R), Sen. Andrew Perchlik (D/P), Sen. Anne Watson (D/P). Courtesy photos
Both major parties have entered a full slate of candidates for the three Washington state Senate district seats.
The Washington district encompasses the 20 municipalities of Washington County including Waterbury along with Stowe in Lamoille County, Orange and Braintree in Orange County.
The district’s three incumbents – Sens. Ann Cummings and Anne Watson of Montpelier and Andrew Perchlik of Marshfield – all submitted reports for both October filing periods. All three run on the Democratic ticket; Perchlik and Watson also run on the Progressive Party label.
Perchlik reported a total of $2,801 in fundraising to date from 13 contributors; he spent $1,000 in September on postcards and mailing services.
Cummings, who carried over more than $6,000 from her previous campaign, added new fundraising during the month of September, reporting $3,095 in donations in addition to $500 she raised earlier in this campaign cycle. Another $1,100 came in during the next two weeks, bringing her fundraising total to $4,695 from 38 donors as of Oct. 15.
Contributors to Cummings include the Vermont Realtors PAC donating $840, the Association of Vermont Credit Unions with $500, and smaller amounts over $100 from the Beverage Association of Vermont, American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the VT Association for Public Justice, according to her reports.
Cummings’ spending has similarly focused on reaching voters; in the first two weeks of this month alone, $1,897 went toward print and mailing services and newspaper ads.
In her last two financial disclosures, Watson reported raising $5,699 to date from 24 contributors and spending $1,039 on print and mailing services in September. Of the $1,125 her campaign raised in the last month and a half, most came from the Association of Vermont Credit Unions and Vote Child Care Fund, both donating $500.
Likewise, Perchlik reported receiving $500 each from the Association of Vermont Credit Unions and the Vote Child Care Fund; VPIRG also shows up as a $200 donor to both Perchlik and Cummings’ campaigns.
On the Republican side, Donald Koch of Barre Town – the only candidate to run in the August primary – reported raising another $5,649 in September and the first half of October. He listed three donations of $1,000 or more: from Currier Park Dental in Barre, from tech entrepreneur Tom Evslin of Stowe who served in administrations of both former Republican governors Richard Snelling and Jim Douglas, and from Barre City Mayor and real estate developer Thom Lauzon and his wife Karen. Koch listed smaller donations from Sally Koch ($500) and $300 each from former Vermont GOP Chair Walter Freed and the Washington County Republican Party. Koch reported a total of $10,195 from 41 contributors to date. His campaign has put all but $100 of its $2,771 in spending toward local radio ads.
Michael Deering II of Barre City and Michael “Mike” Doyle of Montpelier, who were both added to the November ballot by a GOP committee after the August primary in order to field a full slate in the three-seat race, have reported much less financial activity than the other candidates. Deering filed on Oct. 1, reporting $529 in funds raised, $300 of which came from the Washington County Republican Committee. His campaign listed no expenses. Doyle has not yet filed any campaign finance disclosures.
The candidates are expected to file disclosures one more time on Nov. 1 before the General Election and additional reports in mid-November and mid-December following the election.
See the Vermont Secretary of State’s website for more information on Vermont campaign finance.
Look up campaign finance reports for all candidates on the state Campaign Finance System portal.
Voting has begun
Early voting has begun in Vermont. The Secretary of State’s office mailed ballots to all active, registered voters starting in late September. Voters can return their ballots by mail or drop them off at their town office before Nov. 5. Ballots can also be turned in at the polls on Election Day.
Voters may fill out their ballot in person at the polls on Election Day. Anyone needing a replacement ballot would be required to sign an affidavit attesting to not having already voted. Find more voting details in this earlier post on Waterbury Roundabout.
Anyone with questions about their voter registration information or voting may contact their town or city clerk or use the My Voter Page webpage on the Secretary of State’s website.
Correction: This post was updated to delete a donation reported to Rep. Tom Stevens. Stevens said a $250 contribution was listed incorrectly on his financial disclosure — it should have been listed as a donation he made to Rep. William Notte, D-Rutland, who is running for re-election.