Incumbent congressman is ahead with fundraising
Buoyed by political action committees, U.S. Rep. Steve Russell continues to lead two Democratic opponents in fundraising as the three campaigns enter the center of summer.
The Republican incumbent raised $81,536 in the brief three-and-a-halfweek fundraising period between June 7 and June 30. He had $474,891 on hand at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Democratic challenger Kendra Horn raised $44,837 during the same span and has $24,810 on hand.
A second Democratic challenger, Tom Guild, raised $715 and has $17,610 on hand as he and Horn prepare for an Aug. 28 runoff election that will narrow the Democratic field to one in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District, which includes most of Oklahoma County and all of Seminole and Pottawatomie counties.
Russell continues to land large donations. The 52 donations he took in during the June reporting period were worth an average of $1,556 each. PACs for Chesapeake Energy, Cox Enterprises, Farmers Insurance, Koch Industries, Raytheon, the National Rifle Association, Boeing, Union Pacific and UPS all chipped in, among others. The Cherokee Nation donated $2,700 and has given Russell $5,400 this election cycle.
“We’ve had a lot of good support,” the congressman said. “We’ve tried to be very smart with our resources. I’ve never been the strongest fundraiser among the (Oklahoma) delegation.
Relying on individual donors
Horn, who lives in northwest Oklahoma City, received donations from two PACs: A sheet metal workers union gave $4,000 and the United Transportation Union donated $1,000. Sonic’s CEO donated $2,700 more and has given $5,400 to date. Horn continues to rely primarily on individual donations.
“There is incredible grassroots energy behind our campaign,” she said, “and I am extremely grateful to the thousands of Oklahomans who have been volunteering, donating and talking to their neighbors about the direction our nation is and should be headed in.”
Despite raising less, Horn has outspent Russell during the 2018 election cycle. Ed Porter, a Democrat who finished fourth in the June 26 primary, endorsed Horn last week, telling his Twitter followers to vote for Horn to protect Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
Guild, a progressive Democrat from Edmond, will face Horn in the late August runoff after finishing second to her last month. He has sworn off PAC donations, running a comparatively frugal campaign on individual donations alone.
“If Oklahomans have the courage to change and to vote big money out of politics, we can successfully pursue and implement an agenda to benefit working people, the middle class, the working poor, seniors and those who are struggling to make ends meet,” Guild said. “Otherwise, we will continue to follow the new golden rule — those who have the gold make the rules!”
Guild and Horn have been critical of Russell’s support from PACs and large donors. In a fundraising email Tuesday, Horn said the congressman is “bought and paid for by wealthy lobbyists and deep-pocketed PACs.”
In a statement Thursday, she said Russell “has feasted on over $400,000 from special interest corporate PACs out of Washington.” Guild said 98 percent of Russell’s donations come from PACs and large donors.
The congressman defended PAC donations he has received, saying many have ties to the Oklahoma City area.
“Are we to tell the nearly 3,000 employees at Boeing that they don’t matter?” he asked, referring to Boeing employees at Tinker Air Force Base. “Or the money we’ve received from the air traffic controller managers association — are we to tell 6,500 people who work at the Mike Monroney Center that they don’t matter?
“It’s easy for people to take cheap shots and just assume any money that you raise is somehow evil. I think that is disingenuous. There are monies that I don’t take, there are monies that I do return if they don’t align with the things that I believe in.”