Republican JULIA LETLOW (left), and Democrat JAMIE DAVIS (right)
The general election candidates for U.S. Senate release their latest campaign finance reports. To no one’s surprise, Julia Letlow is far outraising Jamie Davis, having raised about three times as much money since both launched their campaigns. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan notes that more than three-fourths of Letlow’s $6.2 million in donations have come from the GOP and political action committees.
“She is a known entity. She has a voting record in congress that she can point to., and political action committees, wealthy interests, well-connected lobbyists who are familiar with her; she’s drawing her funding from those traditional sources,” Hogan explained.
In direct contrast, all of Jamie Davis’ nearly $2 million in donations have come from individuals – his report indicates that he has not received a dime from any political action committee. Hogan notes that Davis’ contributions have come from far and wide, which might not necessarily work to his advantage.
“He’s touting the fact that he has raised it from across the 50 states. Usually, candidates talk about the fact that they raised it within their home state,” Hogan noted.
Furthermore, Davis’ campaign says it raised $1.6 million since he won the runoff last month to become the Democratic nomination. In fact, Davis’ donations from individuals are outpacing Letlow’s, whose campaign has raised just under $1.4 million from individuals. Hogan says despite all that, that likely will not be enough for Davis to spring the monumental upset at the ballot box in November.
“A lot of Democrats, generally across the United States, may be enthused about a Democrat’s prospects; but that, I think, is not necessarily a reality, based upon the history of what we know about Louisiana politics in the last few decades,” Hogan said.
Currently, Letlow has more than $1.4 million dollars in cash on hand, compared to less than $480,000 for Davis.
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