By: Russell Dye
United States Representative Jack Kingston of Georgia’s 1st District is shaking up the 2014 U.S. senate race in an immense way with his ability to fundraise on a large scale. In a crowded Republican primary field, Kingston is the only candidate from south Georgia to partake in the race for retiring Senator Saxby Chambliss’ seat. As he tries to gain more support for his campaign and spread his message throughout the state, Kingston will need to continue to fundraise well in order to compete on a large scale with his metro Atlanta counterparts. So far, he has done just that.
Last quarter, Rep. Kingston raised over $800,000 in support for his campaign. The successful quarter haul marks the third time in a row his campaign has raised more than $800,000 in a fundraising quarter. Last quarter, he raised his money across a stretch of thirty-eight finance events around the state of Georgia. More importantly, over half of the donations to his campaign came from outside of the south Georgia area. Such geographical diversity demonstrates that Kingston’s message is being received favorably across the state, allowing him to pick up donors from a wide range of supporters.
Kingston has successfully developed a strong war chest of over $2.9 million on hand, with no debt to his name. If Kingston can continue to keep up his tremendous fundraising pace, he will certainly remain competitive throughout the race and quite possibly even become the frontrunner to win the seat. His fundraising abilities will to allow him to spread his message across new areas of Georgia and potentially allow him to steal some votes away from districts he is not supposed to compete well in. That being said, how is he doing in comparison to his counterparts in the race? At this point in the race, Kingston and Representative Phil Gingrey are leading the way monetarily; they are also leading in the polls alongside another well-established candidate, Paul Broun. Republicans like Gingrey and Kingston should also take into account that Democrat candidate Michelle Nunn reportedly raised $1.7 million in first fundraising period as well. She will not go quietly into the night, and Kingston must keep up his fundraising pace if he wants to compete monetarily with Nunn in the general election. Further, it is essential for Kingston to continue to fundraise well in order to stay atop of the polls, especially if Gingrey and Nunn are fundraising at similar rates.
Fundraising and broad-targeted messaging is especially key for Kingston because he cannot win the Republican primary or U.S. senate race by simply winning the south Georgia area alone. He must fundraise and spend money to branch out to areas around metro Atlanta and north Georgia in order to win the statewide race for U.S. Senate; however, the fact that he is the only member in the race fromsSouth Georgia may end up helping him. It is quite possible that his metro Atlanta challengers will split the vote among one another in the Atlanta area, and thus allow Kingston to sneak out a primary win or at least gain a runoff race. Should a runoff occur, Kingston would need to be ready to compete quickly in a large market by spending a great deal of money. Continuing to fundraise at his current pace would allow him to do just that.
Jack Kingston and his fundraising abilities are a major wild-card factor in Georgia 2014 U.S. senate race, especially as the race continues to heat up. Kingston’s ability to fundraise will benefit him greatly as he competes across the vast state of Georgia — but can he keep up this current pace? We will soon see how Kingston’s message will sit with future donors across the state, but if the past has told us anything about his fundraising abilities, the answer is a resounding yes.
