Campaign Finance Insights for July
The latest campaign finance report reveals that frontrunners are still leaving competitors in the dust regarding funding in July. It seems some candidates have actually started using their campaign funds.
Tommy Tuberville, a Senator and candidate for governor, disclosed raising over $722,000 in July, including a $100,000 donation from The Protective Life Corporation, a life insurance company based in Birmingham.
His campaign spent slightly over $250,000 last month, with the largest single expense—a payment of $51,233.09—going to Tag LLC for advertising. There’s a noticeable emphasis on direct mail campaigns as well.
On the Democratic side, Chad “Chig” Martin’s report shows less than $4,000 in funding for July, and he spent more than $1,500 on assorted campaign expenses. Will Boyd, another Democratic candidate, hadn’t submitted his report by the time this was published.
The fundraising efforts for the lieutenant governor’s race mirror June’s performance. Secretary of State Wes Allen and agricultural commissioner Rick Patty are still managing to raise funds, while other minor candidates seem to be facing challenges.
According to his report for July, Allen raised about $140,000 and spent nearly $9,000 on services from Virtus Solutions, a communications company based in Troy that claims to serve many legislators.
Patty, on the other hand, raised over $100,000 in July, with significant contributions coming from the Alabama Poultry Trust. He also opted to hire Cardinal Consulting Group to aid his campaign.
Among the less prominent candidates—Nicole Wadsworth, Dean Odol, and Patrick Bishop—Wadsworth had the highest donation total at $10,050.
The Republican primary for Attorney General appears to be narrowing down to just two main contenders in terms of fundraising success.
Katherine Robertson recently reported a substantial contribution of $100,000 from First Principles Action, a nonprofit based in Tennessee that was established in November 2024.
Interestingly, the First Principles Foundation, created on the same day, is managed by Peter Bisbee, a former head of the Republican Prosecutors’ Comprehensive Foundation. State officials previously expressed concerns that a sizeable $1 million contribution previously made was an attempt to sidestep Alabama’s donation disclosure laws.
Filings indicate that former state Supreme Court Judge Jay Mitchell holds about $1.5 million for his Attorney General candidacy. While he’s received multiple large donations throughout his campaign, a major factor contributing to his cash flow is a transfer of over $600,000 from his previous Supreme Court campaign.
Pamela Casey, the District Attorney for Blount County and another candidate in the Attorney General race, pulled in over $7,000 in donations for July and reported around $3,500 in campaign expenditures, ending the month with just under $90,000 available in her campaign account.
