By Ginger Gibson (August 24, 2010)
Wilmington, Del. – Two Democrats running for state treasurer have loaned their campaigns a combined $280,000, augmenting the less than $60,000 they’ve collected in donations this year, according to the most recent filings.
In one of the few contested primaries for statewide office, Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed to the seat in 2008, and Chip Flowers, an attorney from Wilmington, are vying for the Democratic nomination. The primary will be held on Sept. 14 and the winner will face Republican state Sen. Colin Bonini.
The economy is keeping potential donors from opening the checkbooks, Bronstein said.
“Fundraising numbers across the board are down about a quarter if you look across the country,” Bronstein said.
Flowers said he doesn’t expect to get the money back, even if he prevails and donations start rolling in during the general election. He added that given the economy and his ability to self-fund, he isn’t inclined to start asking voters to donate.
“I want to show the people of Delaware that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and invest in ideas I believe in,” Flowers said.
In other races, candidates also reported sizable fundraising totals.
New Castle County sheriff candidate Trinidad Navarro has raised more than $33,000 since the start of the year. When he filed his first report in January, the then dark-horse primary challenger to longtime incumbent Mike Walsh reported just $34 in funds raised.
Walsh hasn’t filed his report yet and is the only candidate not to have done so. He was given an extension, Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove said.
Walsh said Monday night that he’s raised $20,000.
Democratic Auditor candidate Ken Matlusky reported $14,000 in funds raised, and his primary opponent, Richard Korn, reported $9,420.
Also notable were the filings for the primary in the 19th Senate district between former Georgetown Mayor Joe Booth, who won the seat in special election, and tea party-aligned Eric Bodenweiser.
Bodenweiser reported $17,570 raised — $16,000 of which was from himself. He started the year with nothing and spent $14,679.55, leaving him with $2,890.45 entering the last month of the primary.
Booth raised $7,450, but he started the year with $32,870.56 from previous campaigns. Going into the last month of the campaign, Booth has $27,003.16 to spend.
The winner of the primary will likely head straight to Dover because no Democrat has stepped up to run for the seat.
All candidates in primaries filed reports covering funds raised from Jan. 1 until last week.
Flowers, who jumped into the race before Jones-Potter announced she would seek election to the office, loaned his campaign $200,000 from his personal money, according to his campaign finance disclosure filed last week.
“I have been blessed with a successful business and have the ability to loan myself that amount of money,” Flowers said.
His loan comes in addition to the $27,000 he raised in donations, mostly from attorneys and residents of the state.
Jones-Potter, who was appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to the seat when he vacated it, made two loans to her campaign, $55,000 in December of 2009 and $25,250 in May, according to her campaign finance disclosure filed on Monday.
Jones-Potter, whose husband is Wilmington Councilman Charles Potter, raised $31,940 in donations.
“She made a loan to the campaign and it’s going to be used however it needs to be used to help her win,” campaign spokesman Michael Bronstein said.
Contributions to both candidates were mainly small amounts from Delaware residents, with few donations approaching the $1,200 limit for statewide candidates.
After expenses, Jones-Potter reported $39,000 entering the last month and Flowers had $79,000 on hand.
Flowers thinks donors are waiting for the primary to end before before writing checks.
“Most Democratic donors, particularly in this climate, are saying, ‘We like Chip. We like the current treasurer, and we want to wait before we give money to either one of them,’” Flowers said.
