Chris Beardsley, that guy who was running against Chris Coons for about 10 minutes, and who now is primarying State Sen. Kyra Hoffner in SD 14, raised a little over $5200, and has spent about $4900 so far.
Did my first stroll through the reports of the (Thursday) morning. Pretty much every notable report has been posted except for Krista Griffith’s 30-day report AND the reports from Elon Musk’s Third-Party Advertisers. Coincidence?
Some of the Third Party Advertisers have not yet reported. Neither has Krista Griffith. Most of the other reports have gone live.
Wow, a serious report from Kira Alejandro! Raised almost $43K, and spent just over $17K. Looks like almost half the district contributed. Grassroots lives! Already thought she was the favorite to succeed the odious Janet Kirkpatrick. Between Alejandro, Jason Hoover, and Syam Kosigi Schroff, New Castle County voters can effectively end the rubber-stamping of developers’ projects on September 15.
They finally posted the correct report for Will Imbrie-Moore. It’s respectable–$12K raised, $7K spent. Decent for a first-time candidate. I have no idea why a report crediting him w/o raising a single dollar was posted twice.
Lachelle Paul raised $3500 in her primary challenge to Kerri Evelyn Harris.
Josue Ortega had $6K in the bank to start the year, raised another $3200, and spent $4500. What’s surprising, and pathetic, is that the majority of the funds he raised this year came well after his abuse allegations were made public. Uh, Kendra Johnson, care to explain yourself?
Justice For All, which appears to be a pro-developer PAC, has donated to Dan Cruce, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, and Krista Griffith. Yep, makes sense. Why do I think it’s a pro-developer PAC? Because I consider any PAC that Shawn Tucker contributes to as a pro-developer PAC.
Adriana Leela Bohm started the year with around $18K on hand, and has raised an additional $40K. While Dan Cruce’s report dwarfs hers, keep in mind that Dan Cruce has to sell Dan Cruce to the voters, which costs a lot of money. Adriana just needs to meet them, and they’re sold. Oh, and she’s owned by no corporations.
While Dwayne Bensing‘s haul can’t match that of Kathleen Jennings, it’s still impressive in its own right. Began 2026 with $48K on hand, and raised an additional $77K. No corporate cash. At least the AG’s race has focused on issues regarding the office–what kind of Attorney General, and what kind of Department of Justice, should Delaware have?
The New Castle County Chamber Of Commerce, not to be mistaken for an organization with real clout, had about $10K on hand, and gave out to Frank Cooke, Tizzy Lockman, Kathy Jennings, Nicole Poore, Marcus Henry, Kim Williams, and Ray Seigfried.
The Delaware Building & Construction Trades started the year with $70K in the bank, raised another $29K, and donated to the usual suspects, plus the guy who has shown up at Democratic fundraisers shit-faced, Matt Powell.
Shay Frisby started the year off with over $9K, has raised $13K this year, and has about $12K for the stretch run. A frugal, well-run, campaign. No corporate donors.
All caught up for now. Time to check out what controversy Al (not A I) has wrought…
Ayanna Khan-Flowers, the mystery late entry into the RD 9 D primary to succeed Kevin Hensley, raised $8400 and has spent $6300. I think she might be a stealth candidate for Associated Builders & Contractors as Jennifer Cohan from the organization has donated $600.
Keonna Watson, who is primarying the eternally-corrupt Nicole Poore, has raised $7K and spent $6K of it. Might not hurt to give her a fighting chance by donating right here.
Gary Taylor, the Republican running in Rae Moore’s district (yes, he, too has a primary), has raised $9300, and has loaned his campaign another $5K. He’s spent $7K so far.
Hoover’s principal opponent, Curtis Linton, is funded by the kind of people who have earned my distrust–Bethany Hall Long, Debra Allen DeLuca, some labor folks from New Jersey, Ken Woods, Mike Houghton, Mike Hare, Pam Scott, you get the picture. Started out with about $13K, raised another $29K. So, more than Hoover, but not enough to overwhelm a grassroots campaign. BTW, kids, when you see the name of Debra Allen DeLuca, you can safely read that as a stand-in for Bethany Hall Long.
I can’t believe it! Jason Hoover actually raised money this time! Meaning, he has a legit shot at that NCC seat being vacated by Penrose Hollins. Might even be the favorite to win. Had a little over $1K starting the year, but raised over $25K this year. All grassroots donations, no corporate dollars. He’s generally been right on the issues. This report is a real pleasant surprise!
Real good report from Rachel Krantz. Started the year with $19K, raised another $18K, and has spent $12K so far. That makes me feel good. She’ll have everything she needs to battle the insiders’ choice, Ed Mulvihill, in this district.
Shane Darby started the year with around $6.8K and raised over $17K this year. Very solid for a grassroots campaign.
Kerri Evelyn Harris and Kathleen Jennings have a lot of mom-and-pop liquor stores in common. Pretty sure this is the result of an association of Delaware Asian-American business owners. I’ll find their official name eventually, they’ve been around for quite awhile, but I think they’re bundling these contributions on behalf of their preferred candidates. Anyway, Harris started the year with over $17K in the bank and has raised $54K this year. Spent about $22K.
Yikes! Rae Moore‘s campaign finance report is–bleak. As in about $5K total when combining her cash on hand with this year’s fundraising. No money from the Democratic legislative PAC’s. Guess they’d rather lose the seat…and a possible super-majority.
Nicole ‘No Longer’ Poore raised a bleep-ton of money, proving that not only is ethical bankruptcy no impediment to fundraising, but it’s a plus. Started the year with $70K, raised an additional $70K. She’s spent $76K of it. Oh, look, Debbie Allen DeLuca is now an LLC. ‘DS Allen LLC’, to be specific. About $24K paid out to her this year so far. That reminds me of a post that apparently offended some folks’ sensibilities. Here–be offended all over again.
Gotta suck to be the Senate R’s. Their PAC started the year with $22K in the bank, raised no money, spent about $8500 of it.
Eric Morrison had $36K on-hand at the beginning of the year, raised another $18K, spent around $11K.
Kim Williams started the year with $38K, raised another $53K, spent $26K. Cruising in her primary.
The Democratic State Committee finances are, well, better than the R’s. Started the year with virtually nothing in the bank, raised $206K, mostly from filing fees, spent, is this right, $60. As long as they insist on endorsing in primaries, they’re not getting a penny of my money.
Ouch, babe. The Republican State Committee finances are–not good. Beginning balance of $21 K, raised about $80K, spent over $72K. In other words, what happens when you swap out Greenville for Gumboro.
Yup. That worked. Let’s check out some reports.
New Day Rising. Need something besides coffee to jump-start my day. Ah, I said it myself:
I’m calling it a night. We’ve still got another day to come. Perhaps not as busy as today, but there are a lot of reports yet to be made public.
DSEA’s PAC has reported. The PAC had raised about $390K between carryover funds and this years receipts. Their donations match their endorsements, meaning two opposing candidates often receive funding in a given race. Those receiving contributions this cycle included Ed Osienski, Franklin Cooke, Branden Fletcher, Dave Redlawsk, Dan Cruce, DeShanna Neal, Gemma Lowery, Adriana Leela Bohm, Claire Snyder-Hall, Cyndie Romer, Eric Morrison, Kathy Jennings, Kerri Evelyn Harris, Mara Gorman, The Other Michael Smith, Michelle Wall, Nicole Poore, Nisha Lodhavia, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Rachel Krantz, Stephanie Bolden, Kyra Hoffner, Kim Williams, Krista Griffith, Greg Lindner, Maureen Madden, Mimi Minor-Brown, Rae Moore, Ray Seigfried, Shay Frisby, Spiros Mantzavinos, and Jack Walsh.
Jim Walton of the Bentonville Arkansas Waltons has funded a ‘Delaware CAN Action PAC’ with $150,000 of his family’s money. Folks like Kevin Hensley, Pete Schwarzkopf and–that name again–Ted Lauzen have also pitched in. Three contributions have been paid out so far–to Kim Williams, Nicole Poore and–that name again–Ted Lauzen. Make of that what you will.
Doesn’t look like Jacki Slonin has raised enough to challenge Delaware’s Bad Boy John Atkins in the RD 41 Rethug Primary. About $3500, including a loan. Atkins has raised about $18K. Doug Conaway, though, just might be a contender. Started out with $6200, raised just over $9000 this year. Meaning he can go toe-to-toe with Atkins. He’s Rich Collins’ choice, for better or worse. Same with former Rep. Greg Hastings, who Atkins dethroned when Atkins was a ‘Democrat’.
‘Never has so much been expended for so little.’ Yes, we’re talking about the race for State Treasurer. We have The Other Mike Smith, aka The $6 Million Man. Now, we have the R-masquerading-as-a-D Ted Lauzen. Started the year with $371 K in the bank. Raised a mere additional $150K this year. Wait, did I mention that this is a race for State Treasurer? Just wanted to make sure. There’s more–he’s already spent $386 K running for–State Treasurer. Un-bleeping-real. $1200 from Krista Griffith’s husband here, $1200 from Jeff Bullock there. Toss in $1200 from Buccini-Pollin’s Mike Hare. Perhaps even moreso than Dan Cruce’s campaign report, this reads like the report of a potential future gubernatorial candidate, who is an R-masquerading-as-a-D. Why are the D’s pushing for this guy??
Kathleen Jennings’ report is up. I understand that AG’s have to raise funds like any other candidates, but why all the contributions from liquor stores? A bunch of corner liquor stores at that. Just doesn’t ring right. She started with over $183K, and has raised $292K this year. I’m sorry, I’m really trying here. But I simply can’t scroll through this list without fixating on the vast number of small liquor stores that have contributed. Why?? I admit–it’s a ‘me problem’. But I defy you to scroll through the contributor’s list and not do the same.
I always look forward to Stephanie Bolden‘s campaign reports. This one is no exception. The assorted Buccinis, PAC’s, wow, Mark Murowany’s still around, ‘Mr. Robert Byrd’, the usual. Had $6210 at the beginning of 2026, raised about $13K. I get a kick out of her expenditures–$5710 For Billboards from Clear Channel?? Do the billboards read “Have You Seen This State Rep”? I mean, it’s fair to question whether anyone remembers what she looks like. $2300 for the ‘Friends Of Stephanie T. Bolden Headquarters’? Plus, no Stephanie Bolden campaign would be complete without over $1000 in Walt’s Flavor Crisp Chicken. I’m calling it–this is it for Stephanie Bolden.
Dan Cruce started the year with about $62 K in the bank, and has raised an additional $119K. (See comment immediately below.) I know I’m on the right side of this battle when names like Claire Dematteis, Joe Farley, Mark Brainard, and Jeff Bullock surface for the first time this cycle. Yes, it’s a bleepload of money. He is the Delaware Way hoss for 2026. Here’s the thing, though. You don’t need to come close to that amount of money to be competitive. Not when you’re running a grassroots campaign. This is a race where pretty much everybody has made up their mind. Sending eight more mailers the last two weeks instead of four won’t make a difference. I suspect people who support Adriana, and even many who support Cruce, are sick of the barrage of propaganda. (Hmmm, starting to wonder, do the ‘outs’ have designs on Cruce for Governor in 2028? Just a thought.)
Branden Fletcher started the cycle with over $11K in the bank, raised another $8K, and spent about $8K. Has over $11K remaining. I think he’s the favorite to win that race. I’ve always found the disparity required to win certain races as opposed to others fascinating.
Spiros Mantzavinos started the year with $43K in the bank, raised another $40K, a vast amount coming from banking and insurance companies, enough so you’d notice.
Took a nap. Brain is refreshed. Heard that Cruce’s report dropped. Let’s get back to the grind.
Nnamdi Chukwuocha started the year with almost $39K and has raised another $34K. He spent $26K, and has a healthy $46K remaining. First time I’ve seen the names of Gerald Brady and Ken Woods pop up this cycle. Also, that Dover law firm that’s been bundling on behalf of its clients, Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze. If you’re ee-vil, you’re on his contributor list.
Kyra Hoffner started the year with $12K and has raised $35 K, mostly from the usual suspects–other Democratic senators and the Democratic legislative PACs. One advantage she has is that she can go back to the same donors for the general, which will be a tougher race.
Jose Lopez, who is primarying Spiros Mantzavinos in SD 7, has raised a very respectable $22K this year. Yes, a lot of it is from the food hospitality industry, but it’s mostly individual folks. Might have to keep a closer eye on this race.
Progressive Democrats Of Delaware donated $600 to Branden Fletcher and $600 to Eric Morrison.
Something Called ‘The Statehouse Fund’ received $525 K from something called ‘Public First Action’, and then dumped $500K of it into the campaign of Attorney General Kathleen Jennings.
AYFKM? Something called State And Local Alliance, which appears to be a front for The Other Michael Smith, has reported $6,757, 019 in receipts. Virtually all the money comes from out of state. Over $164 K in direct mail for Smith, over $338K in digital and media advertising for Michael Smith. It’d be good for the economy if the money was being pissed down the drain in Delaware, but it doesn’t look like it.
Delaware Stonewall PAC had $14K at the start of the year, raised another $22 K, donated to Alexander Green (RD 22), Chris Coons, Mike Kozikowski, David Redlawsk, Jason Hoover, Dan Cruce, deShanna Neal, Luann D’Agostino, Adriana Leela Bohm, Alonna Berry, Claire Snyder-Hall, Eric Morrison, Jill Hicks, Jose Lopez, Keonna Watson, Kyle Grantham, Mara Gorman, Melanie Ross Levin, Michael Smith (not sure which one), Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Rachel Krantz, Dave Tackett, Kyra Hoffner, Joshua Pennington, Justine Cuccia, Ted Lauzen, Krista Griffith, Gregg Lindner, Maureen Madden, Sarah McBride, Rae Moore, Jack Walsh, and Lydia York. Regardless of whether I agree with all those donations, I’m glad that virtually everything they raise goes out in the form of contributions.
Someone should examine (and/or investigate) the report from Sheet Metal Workers LU 19. According to the report, they raised over $58 K this year, and started the year with over $14K in the bank. Nothing unusual about that. However, if the report is to be taken at face value, not a single contribution is credited as having been over $100. Meaning, not one single contributor is listed on the report. Let me rephrase, not a single cumulative contribution having been over $100. If you scan the report, that’s absurd on its face. If each contribution was $100 on the nose, that would mean 580 unique contributors each at that cutoff. No bleeping way. The contributions go to the Usual Suspects: Ed Osienski, Franklin Cooke, Josue Ortega, Curtis Linton (he’s the construction trades guy in the race to succeed Penrose Hollins), Dan Cruce, Stephanie Bolden, Nicole Poore, Kim Williams, Marcus Henry, Ed Muntz, and Jack Walsh. This report is bogus.
Bill ‘Lumpy’ Carson has raised a lot of money, but appears to have no idea how to spend it. Basically around $100K when you combine what he started out the year with, and his contributions received since then. I only see one of his expenditures related to his campaign, though. He can still be knocked off if Tye Grier can just raise a decent amount of money. The district has completely changed since he was first elected.
The Shore Democrats are doing it the right way. A fairly-large group of people who each provide small monthly donations that add up. Started the year with $18,009 in the bank, raised over $28K this year, all in small donations. They’ve already donated to Alonna Berry and a couple of other Suxco candidates. In the running for my fave campaign report of the cycle.
Michelle Wall, who is running in the D primary to succeed Kevin Hensley, had a decent report. Started with $18 K, raised an additional $11K, spent $14K. Meaning, she should have at minimum $15 K for the stretch drive. Mostly grassroots contributors. Gemma Lowery, running in the same primary, started with under $3K in the bank, raised about $15 K, and spent about 5 K. Not much in the way of spending, I gotta say. Has about $13K available. Use it or lose it.
Sorta-incumbent Ray Seigfried started the year with about $20K in the bank for his SD 5 primary with Shay Frisby. Raised $32K, spent over $25K. A lot of that going to Tiny Tony DeLuca’s Significant Other who, you may remember, was also BHL’s final campaign treasurer.
I’m back. Didja miss me? Did you know that Karen Hartley-Nagle now has her own personal PAC? Called ‘First State Forward’. A beginning balance of $500. No transactions. Hey, at least it’ll be there the next time Marcus Henry endorses her for something.
The Leadership And Economic Alliance For Delaware, whatever the hell that is, started the year with $130 K, raised another $22K, and donated to the following candidates: Ayanna Khan-Flowers, Frank Cooke, Bill Carson, Ed Mulvihill, Josue Ortega, Carlie Carey, Dan Cruce, Kerri Evelyn Harris, Nicole Poore, Nishia Lodhavia, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, and Stephanie Bolden. Well, anyone have more info on them? I see that Harrington Raceway ponied up $10K for this PAC. Guess, if I have the time, I can go back and take a look at their 2025 year-end statement. Don’t have that time now. In fact, I have to take a brief break. Be back in about 30.
Ed Mulvihill raked in $41K, quite a bit of it coming from the liquor industry. As the ethically-challenged Deb Heffernan’s designated successor, he’ll be well-funded as he faces his grassroots challenger Rae Krantz. Pretty much a Good vs. Ee-vil race here.
Joe Jasper, the fourth D candidate in RD 23, only raised $1080 so far. So, he’s not a factor this year. However, I had a really enjoyable conversation with Joe and his wife. They’re real interesting people. I hope they both stay active.
David Redlawsk, also running in the 23rd RD Primary, raised over $17K, lent the campaign $9K, and has spent close to $20K. He has a decent $6500 remaining. Both Matt Meyer and Sarah McBride have maxed out to him. Other familiar names include Connie Merlet, Ed Freel, Delaware Stonewall, former State Rep. Cathy Wojewodski, Joe Pika, Paul Baumbach and Lisa Diller. I have no idea how good his campaign is, but he’s probably got at least as good a chance as anyone.
Dan Seador, also running in the 23rd RD Democratic Primary, raised $7500, lent the campaign $10K, and has spent $15K, leaving him with a little less than $2K for the stretch run. I note a $600 contribution from former Republican State Rep. Tim Boulden in Seador’s coffers.
Unpleasantly surprised by Luann D’Agostino‘s report. She’s running in a four-way primary to succeed Mara Gorman in RD 23 as Mara runs for the State Senate. Raised about $4200, lent the campaign $2100, spent $3832. What this tells me is that she hasn’t spent enough time raising money. It’s not like you need to raise an obscene amount, but it means that you’re barely even trying.
I think we’ve overlooked Helena Creamer‘s candidacy to replace Penrose Hollins on NCC. Raised about $7500, spent about $6800. A stealth candidate?
Pleasantly surprised by Pam Salaam‘s report. She’s running to rid the General Assembly of Franklin Cooke. Began the year with about $2300 in the bank, raised over $13K, has spent over $12K. She’s got a real shot, but could use a cash infusion. You can do it right here.
I think we can stop worrying about Ruby Schaeffer’s challenge to Alonna Berry in RD 20. Berry started the year with $13K, raised another $32K, and has spent $21K. Schaeffer started the year with less than $600, raised $9K, and lent her campaign another $9K. Spent $14 K. One notable name among Schaeffer’s donors? John Paradee, Trey’s wheeler-dealer lawyer brother.
Michelle Booker has raised $3100 in her challenge to Stephanie Bolden in RD 2. I think she’s gonna raise a lot more, plus, when you see how Stephanie is pissing (aka ‘eating’) away the money she’s raised, you’ll see this race as clearly competitive. Hey, you can help.
Rob Bahnsen, who is primarying Krista Griffith in RD 12, started the year with $98K raised, raised another $19K, spent $78K. That’s a lot of money. Still has over $38K available. I honestly wonder whether there are any undecided voters remaining in that race.
The aforementioned ‘Private Property Rights’ PAC has quite a bit in common with the Delaware REALTORS PAC. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Pretty much the only difference is that the Realtors’ PAC also contributed to a bunch of R’s, some D’s who don’t have primaries. Plus $600 to Josue Ortega.
Something called the ‘Private Property Rights’ PAC doled out $600 each to Ayanna Khan-Flowers, Bill Carson, Ed Mulvihill, Dan Cruce, Dan Seador, Kerri Evelyn Harris, Nicole Poore, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, Stephanie Bolden, Kyra Hoffner, Kim Williams, Krista Griffith, Ray Seigfried, Spiros Mantzavinos and Jack Walsh. “Ye shall know them by who they contribute to.”
What looks like an AFSCME PAC (Delaware PEOPLE Committee) donated to Lumpy Carson, Dan Cruce, Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Jack Walsh. $1100 to Lumpy, $300 each to the others.
The less said about Patti Rickman’s report, the better. Suffice it to say that it’s not the report of a serious candidate for AG.
Whoa. Early nominee for ‘Completely In Thrall To The Delaware Way’. Yolanda McCoy, who (a) is running for the D nomination in RD 3, and (b) can rarely be bothered to show up for her current elected position on Wilmington City Council, has been funded almost exclusively by the (Republican) Strines, the Buccinis, and the Heislers. Raised about $5K. A report that says, “Don’t Vote For Me”.
Tye Grier, who is challenging Lumpy Carson in RD 28, only raised $285 since her recent announcement. However, when we get to Ol’ Lump’s report, we’ll see that he isn’t exactly spending his money wisely. Still, make some phone calls, raise some money.
Syam Kosigi Shroff, who is primarying pro-developer sellout Valerie George in NCC District 5, raised a respectable $14 K in the two months since his announcement. Valerie George started out the year with $20 K in the bank, raised $5800 more ($600 of it from, who else, Tim Sheldon), and spent about $6700. These numbers tell me that it’s a competitive race.
Did I say 30-day reports? More like 27-day reports. The report filing deadline isn’t until midnight tonight. Why? There is no reason why the filing deadline couldn’t have been at midnight Sunday going into Monday. Yes, I have a point: The current leadership at the Department of Elections simply isn’t up to the task of handling campaign finance. Patrick Jackson may be a nice guy, but I know that quite a few campaign treasurers can tell you about the inability to get dependable guidance out of DOE. Personal to Matt Meyer: Get some real professional tech whiz-kid types in there.
So. I have no idea if any reports will even surface today since (a) the deadline is technically not until midnight tonight, and (b) the performance of the Department of Elections so far this year does not instill me with confidence.
This is an especially newsworthy cycle, as we will see the extent to which PAC’s are trying to save the careers of quite a few Delaware Way non-entities.
Here’s how it’s gonna work: The most recent updates will appear at the top of this thread. That’s, uh, how it’s gonna work. I, of course, will comment b/c that what you don’t pay me to do.
The reporting period ends 30 days before the election. The treasurer has 3 days to complete the paperwork. As a former treasurer, this doesn’t seem unreasonable to me.
It’s only unreasonable when the system doesn’t work. I’m doing reporting for a campaign and got locked out of the system when I tried to generate a preview filing. Apparently, it’s a known glitch and the vendor has been notified. Unfortunately, I’m still locked out and a ticket has been submitted and I’ve got about 100 contributions to still enter before midnight tonight. And I still won’t be able to preview my filing before submitting.
It’s beyond frustrating.
You’re not the only one. Like I said, we need fewer political hacks, and more expertise, in the Department of Elections.
Mulvihill says he’s for the people and small businesses but received $7200.00 from 12 Corporate/LLC/PAC contributors.
Despite her reputation in Bellefonte, Deb Heffernan was one of the less ethical inside players in Dover. She has bequeathed her dubious benefactors to Mulvihill.
Will you be crosschecking these donations with the candidates’ filings? I’m not a professional so I may be missing something, but I noticed that Dan Seador did not report his $600 from Private Property Rights PAC.
I won’t be. Just keeping more or less current on the filings takes a toll. But that’s a GREAT task for our readers.
Just keep in mind that there will always be some slip-ups. We’ll know more at the 8-day report deadline.
Hey El Som. Happy to chat about my campaign any time!
Stonewall PAC sent Dr Rob 600$ but we asked they give it to charity as part of our “no PAC contributions” rule. Even if we agree with the PAC, we want to see corporate and PAC money out of politics.
-Steven
Oof…that Dan Cruce report just hit and it’s a doozy. Uphill climb for Adriana…
Helena Creamer raising $7500 and spending $5200 on billboards is quite the strategy.
Did she really spend it on billboards?
If so, SMH.
Yup, CLEAR CHANNELOUTDOOR on the report is a billboard company.
That’s true.
SMH!
I heard a rumor that several of the incumbents who have taken gobs of PAC money may not report today and would rather face whatever penalty / fine DOE levies (if they even have a penalty). Hiding the funding seems even worse than reporting it, doesnt it?
I don’t think it’s happening.
They have until midnight tonight. Then, keep in mind, the reports don’t automatically go up.
Plus, several of them with gobs of PAC money, like Nnamdi, have already reported.
I hope you are correct. In regards to Kathy Jennings… why did she BOLD all the liquor stores too? Lol they really stand out that way.
Turns out she bolded most of them, but not all of them.
I’d see my therapist about this–if I had a therapist.
This Mike Smith – State & Local Election Alliance PAC expenditure is hilarious and fascinating in a lot of ways.
1) They made their expenditure on the 17th for $338,361.05. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen any of it yet. If they had just waited two more days, I’m assuming they wouldn’t have had to report until the 8 day. I guess you can chalk that up to not being able to coordinate with the campaign directly. A mistake likely due to not being local. Now Ted’s campaign knows what’s coming.
2) I was wondering where all that money was? I haven’t seen anything from his campaign. No mailers, no signs, nothing. Get ready for a third of a million in mailers and digital ads. Likely just the start.
3) If you go to state-elections dot org, there are only two candidates listed in Delaware that they’ve supported. Senator Chris Coons and Treasurer Colleen Davis!
My understanding is Colleen’s election was really helped by the support of Chris and the Democratic Party to challenge Ken Simpler. Mike is smart, and he may have been reviewing her previous expenditures/connections and targeted the Election Alliance for support.
Or tin-foil-hat time, maybe this is a sign of something happening behind the scenes considering this PAC’s previous support. Does Mike Smith, who lost a democratic primary in the 21st, all by himself, really have the rizz to get a PAC to spend a third of a million on his behalf for Treasurer in Delaware?
4) Then there’s Ted. I’ve received three mailers from Ted. That’s probably the $200,000 to the Threshold Group. And then over $80k in payroll. Followed by over $15k to the Democratic Party + other donations. And then regular campaign expenditures. The question is, now seeing how much Mike has a third party spending, does Ted have a third party of his own? Also, now it’s actually conceivable that Mike has more money on hand? Could he have actually outraised him? Beating one of the richest and most connected people in the state in fundraising? What is happening?!?! We won’t know until Mike files, which he hasn’t as of this writing.
But I doubt Ted would have sent those three mailers and blown his budget early if he didn’t know more was coming or could self fund.
Oh, as for the liquor stores, this isn’t new. I noticed that in, I think it was Kyle Evans Gay’s report or some other statewide candidate report last cycle. I kept seeing all these liquor stores show up. And eventually there was a donation from the wholesale liquor association. It appears they decide to support a candidate and then the individual liquor stores follow suit.
Ted Lauzen should be resisted at every opportunity. Fuck that guy. I’d even for The Other Mike Smith, odious as he is, because he’s less likely to have his eye on the governorship.
Let me reiterate: Fuck Ted Lauzen.
With all due respect to lozenge (which is very little), he’s hardly one of the “richest people in the state”. Give me a break. He’s just a store brand Ken simpler.
One downside of having a one-party state is that people like this run as Democrats, and make convincing-enough mouth noises to fool the disengaged.
The man claims to run a pretty massive wealth fund with his partner and a full staff, plus he put 250,000 of his own money into the race. The man is pretty wealthy and connected. But, to be fair, wealth levels can be interpreted differently in different levels. What I’m saying is, he’s way up there.
The office has practically no duties, so there’s no reason beyond naked ambition to spend that kind of one’s own money on it.
He does not run a wealth fund. He is an investment advisor. Those are two radically different things.
Did my first stroll through the reports of the (Thursday) morning. Pretty much every notable report has been posted except for Krista Griffith’s 30-day report AND the reports from Elon Musk’s Third-Party Advertisers. Coincidence?
Any chance you might give us a Krista Griffith campaign finance update or is it still unavailable?
I will. Turns out she filed it real early–meaning she didn’t provide a true 30-day report.
You only do that if you’re trying to hide activity until the 8-day report–which she’ll probably file early in order to hide what she’s doing at that deadline.
I’ll post what I found tomorrow.
Thank you. Looking forward to reading about what you found…so far.
Make sure you have RLF, YCST, Morris, and the other First State Future PAC lawfirms up when you are going through the names to cross reference. That’s probably where most of the big number is coming from
OK, kids, you asked, I finally got around to it.
Krista Griffith filed her ’30-Day Report’ on August 11, 5 days before the end of the reporting period. She has not filed an amended report, meaning the report provides no information on donations and/or expenditures the committee processed from August 11 to August 16. Meaning, it is not a legit 30-day report. Hey, she’s a lawyer, she knows every sleazy trick in the book, and uses some of them.
She started the year with about $122K on-hand, and raised an additional $114K. She had spent $122K as of August 11.
A shitload of attorneys have donated to her campaign. I mean, a whole lot.
Looks like she’s trying to bribe voters with candy and ice cream. As in:
$1055 spent at ‘Candy For All Occasions’; and, yes:
$2730 with ‘Mr. Softee’.
This doesn’t even include 3rd Party expenditures from The Musk Lawyer PAC and other assorted 3rd Party Advertisers. Man, if I were her, and if I lost this election with all these resources aimed at propping her up, I wouldn’t show my face in public ever again.
There were about half a dozen contributions “in the future” literally dated after she filed to talking about a thousand bucks! But no expense for a fortune teller🔮. The lady is 100% shameless!