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Following the money
By LEE BANDY
Staff Writer
Over the past several months, candidates for statewide office have been flying below the radar, spending hours dialing for dollars.
That’s about to change.
With last week’s filing of quarterly campaign reports, candidates now move to the next round — a battle for the hearts and minds of voters.
Campaign money, and its origin, will be an issue.
Republican Gov. Mark Sanford holds a huge advantage over his rivals. His money-raising machine has been raking in cash since he won the governorship three years ago.
Democrats and Republicans, looking for chinks in his armor, are zeroing in on donations from Sanford’s rich Yankee friends.
To date, Sanford has raised more than $4.6 million, some 22 percent from out of state.
Sanford’s rivals have attempted to make an issue of his out-of-state gifts.
“How can a governor be so good at getting out-of-state money for his own campaign but so bad at bringing out-of-state industries here to provide jobs for the people?” asked Rod Shealy, consultant to GOP gubernatorial candidate Oscar Lovelace.
Lovelace, a Newberry physician, raised only $155,302 for the year.
Jason Miller, a campaign spokesman for Sanford, said Democrats clearly “are trying to divert attention from the fact the governor’s amount of in-state contributions is much larger than the combined total of the entire Democratic field’s number of in-state, out-of-state and PAC contribution.”
Tim Shock, a consultant to state Sen. Tommy Moore, the Aiken Democrat running for governor, suggested Sanford will need every bit of that $4.6 million to redefine himself.
“If he doesn’t, he’s in trouble,” he said. “Folks in South Carolina know who Sanford is, and they don’t like him.”
Moore had an impressive quarter, raising $355,904. Not bad for a Democrat.
At first glance, his primary challenger, Florence Mayor Frank Willis, seemed to have an impressive fundraising year. He reported donations of $900,066. But that’s misleading — $500,000 of that was his own money.
In what might be the most heated race of all, state Sen. Greg Ryberg, an Aiken Republican, took an early lead in fundraising for state treasurer. He reported taking in a record sum of $458,025 last quarter.
Ryberg’s staff couldn’t resist taking a swipe at primary challenger Rick Quinn, who had a down quarter. He raised only $45,079, and $27,928 of that was his own money. The rest seemed to come from people who either worked for him or were related to him.
“I was embarrassed for Rick,” commented Ryberg spokesman Terry Sullivan tongue-in-cheek. “I assume he’s thinking about dropping out.”
Quinn said, “That’s wishful thinking on their part.”
Quinn spent $31,980 during the last quarter, according to his report.
“He must have spent it shaking hands at the Back Porch,” suggested Sullivan, referring to the bar-restaurant next to Quinn’s office.
Easley home builder Jeff Willis, another GOP candidate for treasurer, raised $7,400 in the final quarter but spent $74,486. He already has given $100,000 of his own money to his campaign.
Treasurer Grady Patterson, a Democrat, missed the filing deadline, which was 5 p.m. Tuesday. His staff reported Patterson’s campaign had raised $162,440 for the quarter.
Patterson’s campaign said it had a difficult time adjusting to the new online filing system.
