Candidate has $1M to campaign
Starting his 2018 re-election campaign with $1 million in cash on hand gives U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann a certain sense of security.
The Chattanooga Republican’s campaign released its fourth-quarter fundraising report Friday. The report, filed with the Federal Election Commission, said Fleischmann raised $199,250 in the October-December period and ended 2017 with $1,030,135.95 on hand.
And this is for a race where the competition so far doesn’t pose a threat. No GOP rival has filed papers to challenge Fleischmann’s bid for a fifth term, and the only Democrat in the race, Chattanooga physician Dr. Danielle Mitchell, had raised $50,000 as of the end of the year.
“Whether Republican or Democratic, we really do not see any major potentially strong challenger in the race on either side of the aisle,” Fleischmann said by phone Friday.
He thanked “enthusiastic supporters and friends across the state of Tennessee” for their support.
“We’ve had our loyal, steadfast givers give and we’ve had a lot of new givers. That’s a growing dynamic in our campaign, and we’re very thankful for that.”
Mitchell’s spokesman, Brett Ratner, said via email she has raised more than $50,000, but her money comes from more than 1,150 “grassroots supporters” rather than out-ofstate corporations.
Ratner said Fleischmann has received $22,000 from pharmaceutical giants Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Lilly.
“It’s worth noting here that Fleischmann is a sitting member of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus. In addition, these drug companies are now named in a class-action lawsuit for allegedly colluding to price-fix the cost of insulin,” he said.
“Our campaign is thrilled with the overwhelming support from hardworking Tennesseans who are ready to elect leaders that are not bought off by corporate giants,” Ratner said.
Dr. Kent Syler, a political science professor at Middle Tennessee State University, agreed Friday that the incumbent is sitting pretty.
“Certainly Rep. Fleischmann is a very heavy favorite, and having a large war chest is a great deterrent of opposition for an incumbent,” Syler said.
He noted that the congressman also is an ally of President Donald Trump, who retains much more popularity in the Southeastern U.S. than nationally.
“It would have to be a china-rattling landslide for anything to change in as safe a Republican district as the Third,” Syler said.