The Democratic nominee for Indiana governor has raised more campaign cash in Bartholomew County than her GOP opponent in the upcoming election, according to new campaign finance reports.
In a county where a Democratic gubernatorial candidate has not won in nearly a quarter century and is currently represented entirely by Republicans in the Legislature, Democratic nominee Jennifer McCormick has outraised GOP nominee Mike Braun.
The two candidates, along with Libertarian Donald Rainwater, are seeking the Indiana governor’s mansion in the Nov. 5 general election.
McCormick’s campaign reported raising $19,134.55 from Bartholomew County residents during the first nine months of this year, according to reports filed with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
By comparison, Braun’s campaign reported $10,009.10 in contributions from Bartholomew County residents over the same period. Rainwater’s campaign reported raising $75 locally.
Braun’s campaign, however, has reported raising more money statewide during the third quarter of this year than McCormick. Braun also reported having more cash on hand as of Sept. 30.
Braun’s campaign reported $9.36 million in contributions during the third quarter of this year and an ending balance of around $1.28 million as of Sept. 30.
McCormick’s campaign, for its part, reported $2.14 million in contributions statewide over the same period, with an ending balance of $496,356 as of Sept. 30.
The local fundraising advantage for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate marks a departure from the previous five governor’s races, when Republican candidates have by far outraised their Democratic opponents in Bartholomew County.
The last Democratic nominee for Indiana governor to outraise their GOP opponent in Bartholomew County was Frank O’Bannon in 2000, who went on to win the race for the governor’s mansion that year, according to state records.
O’Bannon’s campaign reported raising $55,740.40 from Bartholomew County in 2000, compared to his GOP rival, David McIntosh, who reported raising $43,727 locally.
In each general election from 2004 to 2020, Republican nominees for governor raised at least quadruple the cash in Bartholomew County as their Democratic rivals.
For instance, Republican Eric Holcomb’s campaign reported raising six times more than Democratic opponent John Gregg locally in 2016 and 4.6 times more than Democratic nominee Woody Myers in 2020.
Republican Mitch Daniels also reported raising between 4.3 and 7.7 times more than his Democratic opponents in 2004 and 2008.
Columbus native Mike Pence reported raising 31 times more cash from local residents during his 2012 general election bid for Indiana governor than his Democratic opponent.
Currently, it is hard to say whether local advantage for McCormick will translate to more Democratic votes in November. The last Democratic gubernatorial nominee to carry Bartholomew County was O’Bannon in 2000.
Recent polls have suggested that Braun is the favorite to win the race this year. Last month, a poll by Emerson College showed Braun leading McCormick by 11 percentage points statewide.
Another poll, by ActiVote, taken from Sept. 3 to Oct. 5, showed Braun up by 8 percentage points, while an ARW Strategies poll last month showed Braun leading by 7 percentage points.
Holcomb, for his part, won reelection in 2020 by 24.5 percentage points statewide over Democratic challenger Woody Myers. In Bartholomew County, Holcomb beat Myers by nearly 36 percentage points.
Rainwater, for his part, received 14% of the vote in Bartholomew County in 2020.
The new campaign finance filings in the governor’s race come after federal filings showed that Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, was outraising GOP nominee, former President Donald Trump, in Bartholomew County and the surrounding area.
From July 21 — when President Joe Biden announced that he would exit the presidential race — to Aug. 31, Harris’ campaign reported raising $40,857 from 134 local residents.
Trump’s campaign reported raising $17,033 from 71 local residents over the same period.
Democratic nominee for Indiana attorney general, Destiny Wells, also reported raising more money in Bartholomew County than her Republican opponent, Todd Rokita.
Wells reported raising $3,291.77 during the first nine months of this year, compared to Rokita, who did not report any contributions from local residents over the same period.
