In This Week on the Laboratories of Democracy, Special Election Episode (with Lots of Ladyparts), Esquire blogger Charles P. Pierce interrupts his
usual programming regarding the zany capers of various state legislators in order to bring you a brief survey of some of the more interesting fauna running for the Congress of these United States...
For Pierce, in Minnesota that's Allen Quist. Pierce writes:
Souphead Standard is out there to be grabbed by the likes of Minnesota's Allen Quist, a "soybean farmer and onetime anti-sodomy crusader" (Ed. Note: "Onetime" anti-sodomy crusader? What's up with that? If he had a change of, ah, heart, I really don't want that image in my head) who is trying to become the craziest member of a delegation that also includes Michele Bachmann.
On October 31, Mankato Free Press political reporter Mark Fischenich wrote in Campaign notebook: lies, damned lies and footnotes that Quist had been his great supporter so far in the pre-general large contribution reporting system:
In the final three weeks of an election, congressional candidates have to report large donations within 48 hours. Walz has received 17 donations of $1,000 or more since the end of the last reporting period on Oct. 17. The $23,950 is on top of the $1.9 million in receipts the Mankato Democrat had previously reported for the election cycle. (BSP note: subsequent contributions have bumped that figure up to $37,450)
Quist’s contributions over that 12-day period, $38,500, topped those of Walz, thanks to the continued generosity of the St. Peter Republican’s biggest financial backer — himself. Of the $38,500, Quist contributed $30,000.
In total, Quist has contributed $235,000 to his campaign, loaned the campaign $260,000 and raised $81,492 from individual supporters. Political action committees and parties have added $5,300.
On Halloween, Bachmann for Congress contributed $2400.00 and MICHELEPAC Chipped in $5000, for a total of $7400.00. That's a lot of Snickers.
Bachmann's generous contributions, combined with several other fat cat checks has helped bump Quist's haul of large contributions to $52,900.
A pre-primary fundraiser featuring Representative Bachmann as the headliner yielded far less. On August 2, Fischenich noted in Bachmann fundraiser for Quist not as lucrative as first reported:
Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, who has raised more money from individual donors this election cycle than the rest of Minnesota's congressional delegation combined, didn't bring the same fundraising magic to Allen Quist.
Bachmann's July 20 fundraiser for Quist was less lucrative than the Quist campaign previously reported, according to a campaign finance report filed this week. . . .A retired farmer from rural St. Peter, Quist contributed more from his own pocket in July -- $10,000 -- than the Bachmann event generated. Quist told various Minnesota media the event raised $9,000.
But the campaign's filing with the Federal Elections Commission showed that nine contributions of $250 were made to the Quist campaign July 20, the day the event was held at the home of a Rochester physician. That was the size of the donation required to get into the private reception with Bachmann, a former Republican presidential candidate, a tea party favorite and a supporter of Quist and his wife/campaign manager Julie.
There were also two $250 donations in the days before and after the fundraiser, so there may have been another pair of donors who attended and paid in advance or after the fact -- bringing the total garnered from the private reception to $2,750.
In addition to the private reception, Bachmann held a larger "general reception" that night for people who made $50 contributions. Donations of that size aren't itemized on reports to the Federal Elections Commission, so the total haul from the combined Bachmann events isn't spelled out by the filing.
Even if all of the money Quist raised in July from small donors -- $2,635 -- came via the Bachmann "general reception," the combined receptions would have brought in just less than $5,400 -- 40 percent less than the $9,000 Quist quoted to the media. . . .
The small contributions that Quist and Walz take in before the election won't be known until the post-election reports are due.
While Quist's loan to himself makes his take for this short cycle larger than Walz's take, it's unlike the Walz campaign is worried. Early this week the Mankato Free Press summed up the gap between the two men's total fundraising for the cycle:
In total, Quist has contributed $235,000 to his campaign, loaned the campaign $260,000 and raised $81,492 from individual supporters. Political action committees and parties have added $5,300.
As of Oct. 17, Walz had raised $1.07 million from individuals and $739,113 from PACs, according to OpenSecrets.org. Geographically, 85 percent of Walz’s donations came from Minnesotans with Minneapolis ZIP codes being the biggest source, followed by Rochester, Mankato, Wayzata and St. Paul.
Photo: Bachmann leaves the July fundraiser.
Related posts: Tea Party ATM machine Michele Bachmann to fundraise for Allen Quist in Rochester
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