Dem has financial edge in House race against Trump-endorsed candidate
Former President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate for a U.S. House seat in west Michigan, John Gibbs, continues to lag his Democratic opponent, Hillary Scholten, in fundraising by a wide margin, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission this weekend.
In the three-month period ending Sept. 30, Scholten nearly outraised Gibbs by a 3-to-1 margin, bringing in almost $1.7 million compared to $580,216 for Gibbs.
For the entire election cycle, Scholten had raised nearly $3 million while Gibbs’ campaign reported just over $1 million. Scholten’s campaign has nearly that much, $959,333, left to spend as of Sept. 30; Gibbs’ campaign had $119,627 cash on hand.
That could provide Scholten, a lawyer running in Michigan’s newly drawn 3rd Congressional District stretching from Grand Rapids
northwest to Muskegon, with a significant edge, especially given that it’s considered a slightly Democratic-leaning district now, compared to the current configuration.
Gibbs, a former official with the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development under Trump, was able to overcome a financial handicap in the August primary, however, when he defeated the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids.
Trump targeted Meijer for defeat after he voted to impeach Trump for his role in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Gibbs may face a far more difficult task in the general election, though, given the district’s new makeup, and many believe the 3rd District represents a strong chance for Democrats to flip the seat in the Nov. 8 balloting.
The fundraising reports showed that Gibbs, for the election cycle, has received $144,339 in contributions from a joint fundraising committee that has been raising money on his behalf and held an event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort earlier this year. That committee showed less than $7,000 remaining in its account.