Cowan leads in district donations
♦ Nine Republicans, 1 Democrat are vying for the Northwest Georgia congressional seat.
Northwest Georgia backers showed up for Dr. John Cowan — one of nine Republicans vying to replace U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, Rranger, who is not running for reelection.
The 14th Congressional District covers the counties of Floyd, Polk, Chattooga, Gordon, Walker, Catoosa, Dade, Haralson, Paulding, Murray and Whitfield along with half of Pickens County.
Cowan, a Rome neurosurgeon, reported raising over $520,000 in his three-month campaign through March, mainly from within the district.
His April filing showed he had nearly $453,000 in the bank to carry him through to the June 9 primary.
That puts him just behind Alpharetta business owner Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had a little over $490,000 in her war chest.
Greene launched her campaign a year ago in the 6th Congressional District and brought about $650,000 to the 14th District race when she switched in January. She raised almost $1.1 million overall, counting a $700,000 loan from herself, but took in just $155,000 during the past three months.
Ben Bullock, who moved his year-old campaign from the 7th Congressional District, reported $74,565 remaining in his war chest. The Air Force veteran from Atlanta brought close to $79,000 into the 14th District race in January and reported raising just under $55,000 in the first quarter of 2020.
The other candidates who, along with Cowan,
just started raising money this year are:
♦ Matt Laughridge of Terry Reid Automotive Group in Cartersville, who reported almost $390,000 cash on hand after putting in $250,000 of his own money;
♦ Bill Hembree, a former state representative who jump started his campaign with a $240,000 loan and had about $160,000 left to work with as of March 31;
♦ Clayton Fuller, a former Lookout Mountain assistant district attorney who had $145,284 in the bank and an outstanding loan from
himself of $106,500;
♦ John Barge, a former Georgia state superintendent of schools, who had almost $140,000 as of March 31 after a $150,000 loan to his campaign;
♦ State Rep. Kevin Cooke of Carrollton, who took in just under $100,000 for the quarter — with close to $90,000 coming from individual donors as opposed to political action committees. He reported $47,773 in the bank at the end of the quarter;
♦ Andy Gunther, a retired Airborne Ranger who reported $1,224 in the bank after loaning his campaign $3,976.
With so many candidates competing for more than 50% of the vote, a runoff is likely. It’s set for Aug. 11. The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal in November.
Van Ausdal reported $1,411 in the bank as of March 31 after making a $3,000 loan to his campaign.
Who’s funding whom
Cowan made no loans to his campaign and his donor list reads like a who’s who from across the region — including Rome, Calhoun, Dalton, Rocky Face, Resaca, Cedartown and Jasper.
Just under $500,000 of his funding came from individuals as opposed to PACS. The medical community is heavily represented, but big contributions also came from a range of attorneys, farmers, bankers, business owners and industry executives.
Backers ran the gamut from Dalton Mayor David Pennington, a staunch Tea Partier, to Wes Walraven of Lyons Bridge Farm, a major funder of the Fairview School African American heritage restoration project.
Among the other high-profile names are John Quinlivan, CEO of Redmond Regional Medical Center; the Ledbetter family of developers in Rome; Dee Yancey III of State Mutual Insurance; state Sen. Chuck Hufstetler; Rhonda and Ronnie Wallace, a Floyd County Commissioner and former mayor of Rome respectively; defense attorney Chris Twyman; builder Wayne Robinson; Fred Taylor of OTR Wheel Engineering and Georgia Power regional director Cassandra Wheeler.
Greene pulled in contributions from backers in places including Chatsworth, Tunnel Hill, Lafayette, Dallas and Hiram but the bulk of her money came from out of the district and out of the state.
Among the donors in the district who gave $200 or more were were Nicholas Hann of JWH Transport in Lindale; Roger Manis, Patricia Stein and Gary Scott Porterfield of Rome; Mandi Davis, CEO of Precision Products; Nolen Eastham, owner of Hill & Associates in Hiram; and James Green, a Cohutta consultant.
Cooke took in donations from around the district and across Georgia.
State law prohibits a member of the Georgia General Assembly from accepting campaign contributions while the legislature is in session. It convened in January and remains temporarily suspended during the coronavirus outbreak. The State Ethics Commission ruled last week the fundraising restriction applies. Cooke’s campaign could not be reached for comment.
Among Cooke’s district donors were Steve Tarvin, a former Chickamauga city councilman who ran against Graves for the seat; Mike Barron of Heritage Auto Group in Rome; Gary Hedrick of White Hawk Ranch in Buchanan; Zachary Thomas of Cedartown; and former Paulding County Commission chair Jerry Shearin.
Gunther raised a total of $1,320 in individual contributions, with no major donations coming from within the district.
Barge brought in $24,151 in individual donations over the three-month period. Major donors within the district included retirees Ron Fowler of Rome and Elizabeth Gillogly of Kingston; Aero Group vice president Vern Landrum of Dallas; and James Parker of Calhoun.
Fuller raised $111,878 from individual donors in and out of the district. Major contributors in the 14th district included real estate developer Jerry Braden of Summerville; a number of families in Lookout Mountain; attorney Adam Cathey of Ringgold; Fredrick Howalt III, president of Textile Rubber and Chemical Co. in Rocky Face; Istation CEO Richard Collins of Dallas; and David Webb of Rising Fawn, president of Professional Industrial Tire Co.
Hembree took in $13,425 from PACS and individual donors. The only listed contributor from within the district was Herman Hill of Dallas.
Bullock raised $54,812 for the quarter. Donors in the district included Arrowstar CEO Charles Cofield of Dalton; Jerry Bullock of Golden South Properties in Rockmart; Ragsdale Heating and Air owner Robin Ragsdale of Rockmart; Brian Shipp of Rockmart, vice president at Aiken Grading; Brian Stover of Dallas, owner of BLF Roll Off Containers; and Robert Shaw, CEO of Engineered Floors in Dalton.
Laughridge raised $69,124 from individuals and PACS, in and out of the state. Major donors within the 14th district were Troncalli Auto president Mark Welborn of Rome; Merry Toole of Rome; and Mark’s Used Cars of Menlo.
The candidates’ itemized reports can be viewed on the Federal Election Commission website at fec.gov.