Late start hurts fundraising for ND House candidate George Sinner
By Rob Port | Watchdog.org North Dakota Bureau
DELAY STINGS: After a late start to his 2014 campaign for the US House, North Dakota Democrat George Sinner has raised less than $40,000 for his campaign through March.
BISMARCK, N.D. — The first 2014 fundraising numbers posted on the Federal Election Commission website show a big disparity between North Dakota’s two House candidates.
Rep. Kevin Cramer, a Republican, has the advantage of incumbency, having raised money for 2014 since he won re-election in 2012. That’s evident in the fact he currently has more than twice the cash on hand in his campaign than he reported in his April 2012 quarterly.
So far in the 2014 election cycle, Cramer has raised $458,260 from individuals and $272,500 from political action committees for a total of $730,760. He had $504,577 in cash on hand as of March 31, the end of the reporting period.
Cramer’s April quarterly in the 2012 election cycle showed the candidate raising $254,270.12 through the end of March with $198,892.39 in cash on hand.
The Democrat challenging Cramer, Fargo state Sen. George Sinner, has raised a lot less. As of the end of April Sinner has gathered just $37,025 from supporters and ended the reporting period with $33,184 in cash on hand.
In 2012, Pam Gulleson, who was the Democratic-endorsed House candidate in the 2012 cycle, was doing far better than Sinner is now. By the time she filed her April quarterly the former state legislator had already raised $405,597 in total campaign funds and had $313,314 in cash on hand.
Sinner is working at something of a disadvantage due to the late start in his campaign, which came after he passed multiple self-set deadlines for an announcement. His April quarterly report, the first he’s filed this cycle, shows donations beginning on March 15. He didn’t receive his party’s endorsement until March 29. The campaign totals he’s posted so far represent a little more than two weeks of fundraising.
By contrast, Gulleson began her 2012 campaign in November 2011 and had already been fundraising for months before the April 2012 quarterly deadline.
You can reach Rob Port at rport@watchdog.org
