Noem’s financial backing strong in Rapid City

David Montgomery, Journal staff rapidcityjournal.com | Posted: Sunday, October 17, 2010 10:00 pm | (0) Comments

From July to September, Rapid City residents donated more money to Republican Kristi Noem’s campaign than the entire state of South Dakota contributed to Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, the Democratic incumbent.

The figures, which were released this weekend by the Federal Elections Commission, also show that Noem raised a total of $1.1 million in those three months, compared to $550,000 for Herseth Sandlin.

Overall, the two candidates have each raised $1.6 million in one of the most hotly contested U.S. House races in the nation.

In the past three months, Noem’s fundraising efforts included raising $775,000 from 1,600 donors nationwide who contributed more than $200 apiece. Of that total, 1,430 donations totaling $630,000 were from South Dakota.

Those totals include $117,000 in 275 donations from Rapid City, which is almost six times as much as the $21,000 Herseth Sandlin received in 45 contributions from Rapid City.

Noem also collected nearly $90,000 from 75 political action committees, or PACS.

Herseth Sandlin, meanwhile, received $300,000 from PACS and $250,000 from individuals from July to September. Among her individual donors, around $100,000 came from South Dakota in the past three months.

The FEC reports, which were filed by the candidates’ campaigns, do not list the names or hometowns of those who contribute less than $200.

The other states giving the most support to Herseth Sandlin’s campaign were California, Maryland and Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.

California, Minnesota and Virginia contributed the most to Noem’s campaign after South Dakota.

Noem’s donors included retirees (15 percent), doctors or dentists (7 percent), business owners (7 percent) and homemakers (5 percent).

Herseth Sandlin’s top donors were attorneys (13 percent), executives (12 percent) and retirees (11 percent).

The third candidate in the race, independent B. Thomas Marking, did not have a campaign report on the Federal Election Commission website. Marking said in an e-mail that he is spending less than $10,000 on his campaign, including a $2,000 personal loan.

The FEC reports show the two major-party candidates also spent heavily from July through September. Herseth Sandlin spent $150,000 more than her opponent, chiefly due to $400,000 to run advertisements and another $90,000 producing them.

Noem’s report shows $240,000 spent on advertisements and $45,000 on production.

Those numbers reflect Herseth Sandlin’s advertising blitz earlier in the quarter. Noem began advertising heavily at the end of September. Expenses don’t show up on the FEC report if the campaign hasn’t yet paid them.

As of Saturday, Noem has $776,945 cash on hand, compared to $502,033 for Herseth Sandlin.

The candidates will file regular reports with the FEC in the remaining weeks before the Nov. 2 election.

Contact David Montgomery at 394-8329 or [email protected]

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