MT-Gov, NH-Gov: Politico reports that the RGA’s state affiliates have reserved $3.6 million in TV time in each of these contests for commercials that will start in early September. Republicans are hoping to win the contest to succeed termed-out Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in Montana and defend GOP incumbent Chris Sununu in New Hampshire.
Sununu won’t learn the identity of his Democratic opponent until the September nomination contest, but Montana’s June 2 primary is coming up quickly. Plenty of votes will be cast well before then, though: Republican Secretary of State Corey Stapleton announced last month that all 56 Montana counties plan to conduct the state's primary by mail, and that ballots will be mailed out to registered voters on May 8.
We haven’t seen any polls of either side’s primary all year, but the GOP’s money race remains as one-sided as even. Rep. Greg GIanforte raised $100,000 from donors from March 16 through April 15 and self-funded an additional $500,000. Attorney General Tim Fox was far back with $36,000 raised in the last month, while state Sen. Al Olszewski took in just $7,000.
Montana requires candidates to establish separate accounts for the primary and the general elections, so candidates also have two war chests: They have money they can use to win the primary, and funds they can only utilize if they advance to the general election. A victorious primary candidate may use leftover primary money in the general election, but candidates who lose their party’s nomination need to either refund their remaining primary funds or donate the money to a nonprofit.
Unsurprisingly, Gianforte held a large lead over both his intra-party rivals in both primary and general election cash-on-hand on April 15. Gianforte led Olszewski $310,000 to $42,000 in primary cash, while Fox had just $21,000 to spend. Gianforte also had $546,000 in general election funds to Fox’s $161,000, while Olszewski had only $27,000.
Things are far less lopsided on the Democratic side. Businesswoman Whitney Williams raised $127,000 from donors and self-funded another $50,000 during the last month, while Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney took in $62,000. Cooney, though, held a $173,000 to $138,000 cash-on-hand lead for the primary, while Williams led in general election funds $216,000 to $70,000.