Final fundraising numbers in primary races for Vt. governor, lieutenant governor

MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - We’re following the money for statewide candidates leading up to next week’s primary elections.

In the race for lieutenant governor, former lieutenant governor David Zuckerman and former House appropriations chair Kitty Toll continue to be the frontrunners in fundraising, giving them more resources to call upon heading into the last week of the campaign.

Here’s a look at the final fundraising numbers.

Zuckerman raised $29,938 this cycle and spent $56,504.

Toll raised $56,414 and spent $95,749.

Council on World Affairs President and CEO Patricia Preston raised $4,824 and spent $33,971.

Woodstock state Rep. Charlie Kimbell raised $13,345 and spent $31,839.

A recent University of New Hampshire poll showed Zuckerman and Toll as the frontrunners in the race.

Zuckerman has $34,000 and Toll has around $45,000 on hand they can spend in the final push to voters.

The GOP candidates have not raised as much in comparison to the Democratic race.

State Sen. Joe Benning raised $11,346 and spent $6,957.

Rutland accountant Greg Thayer raised $352 this cycle and spent $837.

Thayer has $218 in the bank and Benning has $10,738 in the bank.

The UNH poll last week showed Benning with a 13-point lead, but almost half of Republican voters were undecided.

Now, let’s look at fundraising for the race for governor.

With no Democratic primary and Republican Gov. Phil Scott not facing a serious challenge, there has been very little activity in the race for governor.

Incumbent Scott’s fundraising efforts have been minimal. He raised $13,011 this quarter and spent $4,969.

His presumptive challenger in the fall, Newfane activist Brenda Siegel raised $18,340 and spent almost all of it, $8,095.

Siegel has $32,000 on hand, while Scott has $240,000.

Republican landscaping contractor Stephen Bellows raised $800 and has about $800 on hand.

Though the candidates haven’t raised much, fundraising is just one metric that we can use to gauge a candidate’s support.

Governor Scott has a big surplus leftover from his previous campaigns, but Siegel has the financial support from big names in the party like Sen. Becca Balint, lieutenant governor candidate Kitty Toll and former state chair Dottie Deans.

Fundraising in the governor’s race has been slow because Scott and Siegel are not in competitive primaries, but we can expect these numbers to grow as the general election draws closer.

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