There’s a crowded field of candidates for governor of Kansas, and many of them are making a last-minute push for donations before a year-end fundraising deadline. The finance reports being released next month are a way for candidates to show they have been raising money and are contenders.
Mike Swenson is a strategist for Josh Svaty, a Democratic candidate for governor, and he has worked on other campaigns in the past.
Swenson will watch not only the money raised, but how many donors each candidate has. He will also be on the lookout for any party leaders or well-known politicians that choose to financially back a candidate.
Swenson said the campaigns will use the reports to show who is a leader in the race.
“You send messages to other campaigns saying ‘our campaign has more donors, our campaign has more key leaders supporting our campaign,’” Swenson says.
After the finance reports are released, Swenson believes there may be talk of some candidates dropping out if they’re lagging on fundraising.
“It’s pretty early to make that decision, but this report will at least start the rumor mill in terms of whether or not someone should stay in the race,” Swenson said.
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Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @KPRKoranda.
