State of the House money race -- part 1

Now that all of the OCPF reports are in, we can get a much better idea of where the Central Mass. races for state house and senate stand and what we can expect between now and election day. Here is the first of two breakdowns of the state house races.

For each contested seat, I’ve listed how much cash was raised in the last two months, how much cash on hand was reported in the pre-election report, and what changes, if any, have been reported since then. Also note that the latest reports include primary donations and spending from August 20 to September 6, so those candidates who had primary opponents may have spent or raised more in this period than unopposed candidates. (Incumbents are listed in italics).

Second Franklin

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Denise Andrews (D-Orange)	$7,381	$4,039	$2,000	$6,039
Susannah Whipps-Lee (R-Athol)	$4,958	$2,880	$6,352	$9,232
Richard Schober (U-Templeton)	$47	$0	$0	$0

Andrews’ $2,000 late contribution came from the Democratic State Committee. $5,352 of Whipps-Lee’s late contribution was from her personal funds. Going back to January 1, Andrews and Whipps-Lee have each loaned over $14,000 to their respective campaigns. Whipps-Lee has also been the beneficiary of over $5,000 worth of mailers provided by the Mass GOP in the last week. Schoeber lists one in-kind contribution: lawn signs from David Roulston, a 2010 Democratic primary challenger of Andrews.

Third Middlesex

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Kate Hogan (D-Stow)	$8,100	$12,527	$0	$12,527
Chuck Kuniewich (R-Hudson)	$1,059	$781	$0	$781

Neither candidate has received money from the state parties, suggesting this race may not be that strongly contested. Over a quarter of the contributions to Hogan have been from Political Action Committees. Bucking the old adage that “political signs don’t vote,” Kuniewich spent over $4,000 of his available cash on campaign signs.

Fourth Middlesex

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough)	$3,025	$5,715	$0	$5,715
Steven Levy (R-Marlborough)	$12,777	$25,651	$0	$25,651

Levy received a $2,000 from the Republican State Committee in September, while Gregoire has yet to be buoyed by her state organization. In addition to having $25,000 available, Levy invested over $10,000 the last two months on direct mail and postage. Despite Levy’s recent fundraising prowess, he is carrying over $22,000 in loans from his personal account from campaigns going back to 2003.

Sixth Middlesex

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston)	$10,975	$22,221	$0	$22,221
Marty Lamb (R-Hopkinton)	$14,275	$5,283	$0	$5,283

Lamb’s fundraising has been augmented by $3,000 from the Republican State Committee in September; Dykema has not received any such help. Lamb has also spent over $12,000 on mailers and postage in the last two months. from his personal account from campaigns going back to 2003. Dykema has spent $4,000 on consultants and at least as much on events in the district. She has not reported a direct mail campaign, but has more than enough money on hand to do so.

Second Worcester

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Jonathan Zlotnik (D-Gardner)	$3,774	$6,424	$500	$6,924
Rich Bastien (R-Gardner)	$5,978	$2,188	$1,500	$3,688

In addition to the funds here, Zlotnik has reported giving his campaign $1,600 in in-kind contributions (most candidates list their personal campaign spending as loans, not gifts). Bastien has been propped up in part by $2,450 in in-kind services provided by the Marlborough Republican City Committee, which routinely funnels money from big-money GOP donors to local legislative candidates.

Fourth Worcester

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Dennis Rosa (D-Leominster)	$7,473	$13,766	$5,972	$19,738
Justin Brooks (R-Leominster)	$4,124	$9,122	$1,251	$10,373

Despite having a healthy war chest, Rosa has pumped nearly $6,000 of his personal funds into his campaign over the last two days. Rosa has taken in over $3,000 from an eclectic group of PACs, including liberal Congressman Jim McGovern’s PAC and the far-right-wing Mass. Independent PAC for Working Families among others. Brooks spent almost nothing over the last two months (just $655), and has money to spend. He’s also getting late help from the Republican State Committee, which spent $2,500 on a mailing on October 31.

Fifth Worcester

Candidate	Raised 8/19-10/19	Cash on hand 10/19	Late Contributions	Total Available
Anne Gobi (D-Spencer)	$940	$7,537	$0	$7,537
Jason Petraitis (R-North Brookfield)	$1,745	$1,010	$1,545	$2,555

This has been an extremely quiet race, with little activity reported by either candidate. Of the only $940 Gobi has raised in the last two months, $800 were from PACs. She has also spent less than $2,000. Petraitis is making a late fundraising surge, taking in over $1,500 at a fundraiser last weekend. His biggest expense has been online advertising, dropping $1,100 for ads on the Telegram & Gazette website.