Kemp, Warnock enter final stretch with hefty warchests
Kemp, Warnock enter final stretch with hefty warchests
Incumbents raise huge cash as campaign enters final month
With the 2022 elections entering the final month and early voting now less than two weeks away, the incumbent officeholders in Georgia’s two big races are entering the final push with hefty financial warchests.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is seeking a second term, raised more than $29 million in the last three months and will report having over $15 million on hand as his rematch with Democrat Stacey Abrams enters its final stretch.
As of Wednesday morning, Abrams has not reported her latest fundraising haul. But she far outpaced Kemp in the last fundraising period, when she raised $22 million — most of which was from out-of-state donors.
The price tag of the 2022 governor race is set to shatter 2018, thanks in no small part to a new loophole in state fundraising laws that allows candidates to raise money through leadership SuperPACs separate from their campaigns.
Ahead in the polls, Gov. Kemp’s campaign has shifted their attention to raising money and competing with Abrams’ turnout operation. He has also cautioned his supporters against being overconfident: “Don’t believe any of these polls — you cannot underestimate [the Democrats’] ground game,” he told reporters last week.
Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock just concluded another impressive fundraising quarter as he campaigns for a full six-year term.
The Democrat says that he raised more than $26 million between July and September and enters the final month of the campaign with nearly $14 million in the bank. He is staring down a tough challenge from Republican Herschel Walker in a race that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
For an idea of just how expensive these campaigns have become, Warnock raised more in the last three months than 2014 Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn raised during her entire campaign. According to FEC filings, Nunn raised over $16 million that year.
Walker has yet to announce how much he raised in the last quarter, but he was outraised by Warnock in the second quarter. The two are set to meet for their first and likely only debate next week in Savannah.
The campaign was rocked this week by a bombshell report alleging that Walker paid for his ex-girlfriend’s abortion over a decade ago. But national and state Republicans are continuing to rally behind Walker, and his campaign reported a spike in campaign donations the day after the news broke.
DATES TO REMEMBER
October 11: Deadline to register to vote
October 17: Early in-person voting begins
October 22: First mandatory Saturday voting
October 28: Last day to request absentee ballot
October 29: Second mandatory Saturday voting
November 8: Election Day