Sittenfeld raised $551,830 from individual donors before Strickland entered the race on Feb. 25, but just $175,120 after. The figures do not include un-itemized donations of less than $250.
Meanwhile, Strickland raised $489,756 from individual donors after Feb. 25, and $49,577 before then. Under FEC guidelines, candidates do not have to file with the commission for 15 days after they begin raising money.
The last two days of the fundraising quarter may have illustrated most dramatically what Sittenfeld may be up against. On March 30 and 31, Sittenfeld raised $38,050 from individual campaign donors, while Strickland raised $107,490.
The same pattern occurred during the last two weeks of the filing period. Between March 20 and March 31 Strickland raised $286,631 to $108,850 for Sittenfeld.
‘Fundraising isn’t linear’
The money race is one of many ways to tell whether Sittenfeld has the juice to stick in the primary to replace Sen. Rob Portman, a first-term Republican senator who will be on the ballot in 2016. On the face of it, Sittenfeld would appear to have an advantage: Overall, he raised $757,044 to Strickland’s $671,073. Those figures count party money and outside groups.
But Strickland didn’t formally enter the race until Feb. 25, giving Sittenfeld a month’s lead in raising cash.
“Everyone in politics knows that fundraising isn’t linear,” said Dale Butland, a Sittenfeld spokesman. “There are better days and worse days. The best way to judge is the overall amount raised.”
He said comparing Sittenfeld’s second month of fundraising to Strickland’s first is “inherently unfair,” saying virtually every candidate has a strong first month of fundraising. And he said it is “simply untrue” that Sittenfeld’s fundraising dried up after Strickland entered the race. By most standards, he said, Sittenfeld’s first quarter of fundraising has been strong – particularly, he said, when you consider that it is his first time running statewide.
“For a first time candidate to raise $750,000 in the first quarter of a campaign is nothing short of fantastic,” he said. “We don’t expect to match Gov. Strickland dollar for dollar during the course of this campaign, nor do we need to. We just need enough to get our message out. And I’m confident we’re going to have that.”
A Strickland spokesman declined to comment on the figures.
Among those who gave Strickland money were Democratic political haymaker George Soros, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and former House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, among others.
Strickland also has a few donors that are a bit more notorious: Talk Show host Jerry Springer, a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, gave him $5,400, and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned after being embroiled in a sex scandal, gave $5,400 Feb. 26, the day after he entered the race.
Earlier in the month, on Feb. 6, Spitzer gave $2,500 to Sittenfeld.
Spitzer joins John and Frances Pepper — the parents of Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper — in giving to both candidates: They each gave Sittenfeld $5,200 in Jan 7 and Strickland $5,200 on Feb. 24.
Political action committees also gave heavy favor to Strickland: They contributed $70,500 to Strickland during the first quarter of 2015, compared to just $3,550 to Sittenfeld.
Sittenfeld also had a few notable names on his donor list: Author Jennifer Weiner donated to him, as did Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, where Sittenfeld used to work. Lawrence Lucchino, president and CEO of the Boston Red Sox, donated, as did Dennis Wojtanowski, whose name was briefly in the mix for Ohio Democratic Party chair before he withdrew his name from consideration.
While Sittenfeld and Strickland have a handful of donors who overlap — many gave to Sittenfeld before Strickland entered the race — Sittenfeld also shares a handful of donors with Portman who, like Sittenfeld, is from Cincinnati. And at least one donor — Cincinnati businessman Otto Budig — gave to all three candidates.
Both Democrats saw most of their donors give $500 or less. Individual donors can contribute up to $5,400 combined for a primary and general election. Strickland had 42 donors give $5,000 or more and 85 give $500 or less. Sittenfeld had 72 donors in the $5,000-plus club, and 178 who gave $500 or less.
Nicklaus among Portman’s donors
The figures, while telling, may not define the race: Outside groups have increasingly weighed in on political races, and the money they raise and spend does not show up in candidates’ campaign finance reports; such groups are barred from collaborating directly with candidates. But they have an influence; outside groups spent an estimated $40 million in the 2012 race between Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel for the Senate seat. Most of that money was spent against Brown, who won nonetheless.
Both, however, are dwarfed by Portman, who at this point seems to be the only Republican in the race. The first-term incumbent raised nearly $2.8 million during the first quarter of 2015 and has some $8 million in the bank. Among his donors? Golfer Jack Nicklaus, the president and CEO of the fast food chain Wendy’s, former Connecticut Senate candidate and WWE Founder Linda McMahon and the CEO of Pfizer Drug Company.
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