As the Minnesota Reformer pointed out the mid-July article, With no DFL endorsement, race to replace longtime DFL rep from Winona is wide open.
Looking at the campaign finance reports now on file with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, it's also fairly pricey compared to earlier elections in the district. In his 2022 year-end report, now-retiring Representative Gene Pelowski reported taking in $20,927.06.
As the pre-primary reports embedded below illustrate, inflation is real in the open seat that may help determine control of the Minnesota House.
Let's look at the DFL contenders first. From the Sarah Kruger campaign:
Sarah Kruger for MN House 26A 2023 Preprimary Report uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
The 38-year-old candidate, who lost a 2020 state senate bid in a prior configuration of the district and has never held public office, raised $47,658.97 in individual contributions. with an additional $1100 coming in from lobbyists, $4325 from PACS, and $7000 from party and terminating committees.
That's a total of $60,083.97, most of which has already been spent. Of the $31,375.00 in itemized individual contributions, $10,769.62 was from people living in the district.
It's not possible to determine from the report how much of the $15,714.35 in smaller, non-itemized contributions came from people living in the district.
The largest single contribution came from a terminating Rochester-area state senate campaign committee, Rochester-based Aleta Borrud Senate Committee (Registered Id: 18491). which gave $7000.
Dwayne Voegeli fundraising
That $7000 accounts for much of the Kruger DFL pre-primary fundraising lead. Voegeli's campaign raised $50,533.65 in cash and inkind contributions, with $46,113.86 coming in via individual contributions. Most of the $28,802.79 in itemized individual contributions are from people who live in the district.
Unitemized contributions? Voegeli received $18,155.86 in small contributions.
Dwayne Voegeli for Minnesota House 26A uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
While these numbers are impressive, I suspect that readers will get a sense of sticker shock when they reader the pre-primary report of the endorsed Republican candidate Aaron Repinski, who faces what appears to be a primary in name only on August 13.
Repinski began his fundraising last year, as his candidate page on the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board illustrates, He began the year with $50,069.21 cash on hand.
He raised $19,814.00 by the July 22, 2024 reporting deadline, and spent $17,981.18 from the beginning of the year. He was left with $51,902.03 cash on hand. (His nominal Republican opponent began the year with $1,551.06 on hand, raised $3,471.84 and closed the reporting period with $594.30 in the bank).
Here's the endorsed Republican's report:
Aaron Repinski Pre Primary Campaign Finance Report uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd
Will the tens of thousands of dollars spent by the DFL candidates provide solid campaign experience for the winner of the DFL primary?
Bluestem can't predict the future, but hope progressive readers in the Winona area support the DFL candidate in November's election.
Photo: Candidates for the District 26A Minnesota House seat. From left: Sarah Kruger, Dwayne Voegeli, Aaron Repinski. (Courtesy photos).
Related posts
- Fact checking: Was MN House District 26A candidate Sarah Kruger charged with a felony?
- Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record
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