Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
The primary gubernatorial races are getting expensive this year – and campaign contributors are responding. On Tuesday, the Alaska Public Offices Commission released the reported amounts of contributions and expenditures – with the top five candidates in next month’s elections showing they have received more than $1.5 million all together. And they each still have money to start the general election races if they prevail in the primaries.
Republican Candidate Bill Walker leads the pack, showing $512,000 going to his campaign – part of that coming from his own pocket. He reports he has spent $432,000 so far on letting people know who he is – and turning that into the party nomination.
Among the other Republican candidates, Governor Sean Parnell has raised $446,000 – and Ralph Samuels has raised $308,000.
Ethan Berkowitz is the top fund-raiser for Democrats at more than $240,000. He says he’s comfortable with where he stands right now – both in money available and in the number of contributors to his campaign.
Hollis French has raised $181,000. The primary election is August 24.
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