Campaign contributions are flooding in for Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola to keep the U.S. House seat she won in a special election this summer.
Peltola raised $2.3 million in September, according to her latest campaign finance report, which covers just 24 days of last month. That brought her total contributions to $4 million.
Her two Republican opponents raised far less.
Sarah Palin brought in about $230,000 over the same 24 days, while Nick Begich III took in $57,000.
Begich and Palin have both raised about $1.5 million in all, with nearly half of Begich’s total coming from a personal loan he made to his campaign.
For Peltola, it’s a reversal of fortunes. When she won the special election in August, she was behind Palin and Begich in fundraising.
The Peltola campaign also started October with far more cash on hand than her rivals. She had more than $2 million. Palin had $150,000 in the bank. Begich had $547,000 in cash, showing that he’s dipped into his $650,000 loan proceeds.
Meanwhile, much of the late Rep. Don Young’s inner circle are coming out in support of Peltola. His death in March led to the special election that Peltola won, becoming the first Alaska Native to ever serve in Congress.
A group of 18 Young associates – most of them former Young staffers, lobbyists or both – announced they’re holding an online fundraiser for Peltola. The hosts include former Young chiefs of staff Colin Chapman, Pamela Day, Jack Ferguson and C.J. Zane. The fundraiser invitation says they’re celebrating her “commitment to bipartisanship and Congressman Don Young’s legacy.”
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
