Continuing to look at the disclosures from last week, I decided next to look at the other man I’ve already interviewed for this site, State Senator Eric Johnson (R-Savannah).
Johnson’s $962,773.40 total haul sounds pretty dang impressive. Looking at the non-itemized (‘working people’, as I tend to see them) contributions though, we see only $5,177 of Johnson’s money was from donations of $100 or less from a single source.
That said, the remaining $957,597 in itemized contributions came from 752 separate donations, averaging out to almost $1275 per donation. Both that amount and the sheer number of contributions are actually somewhat impressive – in general.
Let’s briefly discuss some other things before I get to my main point.
The $957,597 includes $48,484 dedicated to any runoff that Senator Johnson may or may not get into as a result of next July’s Primary, as well as another $33,700 directed at next year’s General Election. Some of these next numbers overlap with each other, but there was $43,440 from out of state, $42,604 from lobbying groups (including PACs), and $46,630 from various campaigns and elected officials.
Johnson also received donations from the Leeberns, in much the same way as Brian Kemp did in his Secretary of State race. Except that in Johnson’s case, it appears that the Leeberns each donated the maximum to both the Primary and Primary Runoff, and right around half of the maximum for the General Election.
But while all of that is mildly amusing, here’s the kicker, and what puts Johnson’s totals in a new light: Of the $957,597.00 itemized contributions, right at $565,000 came from the Savannah Metropolitan Area – essentially Johnson’s State Senate district, which he has apparently served well for quite a while, given his tenure in the State Senate. That is roughly 57% of his total raised, and without it his numbers fall more in line with what Karen Handel and John Oxendine raised over the first six months of this year.
So overall, yes, Johnson’s totals were genuinely impressive, as were the sheer number of contributions. But given how much of it came from his ‘home field’, so to speak, it only goes back to illustrate a common theme when looking at the Governor race in general 373 days before the Primary:
It really is anybody’s race to win – or lose.
Who will be the GOP nominee for Governor? Only time will tell. Get out there, learn about the candidates, and get active working for the candidate of your choice. I’ll help as much as a I can with getting you the information. It is up to you to use it effectively.
Eric sold Jekyll Island State Park right out from under the citizens of Georgia. Please interview Senator Jeff Chapman, who represents Glynn County. He has fought hard for all of us in Georgia to keep our State Park and can give you details about this outrageous takeover of state land.