Warnock Raises $7.2M In Quest To Keep Senate Seat In 2022

July 16th, 2021

Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock raised money at a brisk pace from April through June, outstripping his currently announced Republican rivals for the 2022 senatorial election in Georgia.

Warnock’s campaign raised $7.2 million during the second quarter and finished June 30 with $10.5 million in cash on hand. Warnock’s campaign spent nearly $2.3 million during the period. His campaign says 110,000 people donated.

Warnock raised more than $150 million from the start of his campaign through March 31, part of a pair of the most expensive political races Georgia has ever seen. But he has to keep hustling for cash because he only won two years in the Senate and has to be reelected next year to win a full six-year term.

Latham Saddler, a Navy veteran and former bank executive who is running as a Republican, said he raised more than $1.4 million in the second quarter and has $1 million in the bank. Campaign officials said Sadler gave his campaign $2,900.

Republican Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black collected $703,000 in contributions since announcing his candidacy in June. Black reported $680,000 in cash on hand. Many of Black’s largest contributors came from Georgia agricultural and food businesses

Kelvin King, a Marietta contractor and another GOP candidate, reported raising $371,000 and loaning his campaign $300,000. King had $560,000 in cash in the bank. Notable donors to King include brewing magnate August Busch III and Gem Shopping Network founder Frank Circelli of Duluth.

Some congressional contests in Georgia are also likely to be high-dollar affairs.

In the 7th Congressional District, which currently covers parts of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties in suburban Atlanta, Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux said she had raised $556,000 in the three-month period and had $1.1 million in reserve.

Republican Rich McCormick, an emergency medicine physician and Marine veteran who lost narrowly to Bourdeaux last year said he raised $317,000 during the quarter and reported having $447,000 in cash on hand.

In the 6th District, another competitive suburban battleground, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath raised $720,000 during the period and concluded with $1.3 million in the bank. Among McBath’s contributions were some from other Democratic House members in safer seats.

Among McBath’s declared Republican opponents are Jake Evans, Meaghan Hanson, Suzi Voyles and Harold Earls. Earls reported raising $279,000 and ending the quarter with $244,000 in cash. Evans and Hanson declared their candidacies this week, too late for quarterly filing, although Evans said he had raised more than $100,000 in the first day of his campaign.

In northwest Georgia’s 14th District, Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reported raising $1.3 million during the quarter, giving her $2.8 million in cash on hand. Despite representing one of the most Republican districts in the country, Greene continued to spend heavily on fundraising, capitalizing on the publicity she often grabs through statements and actions that bring criticism.

None of Greene’s four Democratic and one Republican opponents had filed quarterly reports as of late Thursday, although some have previously raised significant sums of money.

In the 10th District, where Republican U.S. Rep. Jody Hice is stepping down to run for secretary of state, three Democrats and seven Republicans have filed to run. None of the three Democrats raised more than $2,000, but at least five Republicans raised significant amounts of money:

— State Rep. Timothy Barr of Lawrenceville raised $160,000 and had $153,000 on hand.

— Trucking company owner Mike Collins of Jackson, who lost a primary race to Hice in 2014, raised $180,000 and had $577,000 on hand after loaning his campaign $400,000.

— Former state Revenue Commissioner David Curry of McDonough raised $37,000 and had $252,000 on hand but owed $255,000 in loans.

— Monroe publisher Marc McMain raised $105,000 and had $146,000 in the bank after loaning his campaign $50,000.

— Former U.S. Rep Paul Broun raised $136,000 and had $115,000 on hand.