The Democratic candidates for governor in Alabama filed their December fundraising reports on Monday, and the documents revealed what many suspected—Doug Jones is a clear and convincing favorite to earn the nomination.
Jones took in more than $480,000 for the month—his first full month officially in the race—with almost all of it coming in the form of small donations from individual donors. He received just two donations from political action committees totaling less than $5,000, and he didn’t receive a major donation. Jones has more than $560,000 in his campaign account.
“Team Jones is proud to report a powerful show of grassroots support heading into the new year,” said Doug Jones for Alabama treasurer April Hodges. “In the month of December alone, our campaign raised more than $480,000 from over 7,000 individual donors, with more than 6,000 contributions coming in at under $100.
“These numbers reflect what we’ve felt on the ground every day: Alabamians across the state are ready for leadership that puts people first. This campaign is being fueled by everyday folks chipping in what they can because they believe in the vision Senator Jones is fighting for.”
Jones’ competitors for the Democratic nomination, Will Boyd and Chad “Chig” Martin, took in a combined $7,400. Martin has just over $11,000 on hand. Boyd has just under $6,500 in his account.
All three trail Republican candidate Tommy Tuberville, although Jones did significantly out-raise Tuberville in the month of December. Tuberville brought in just over $150,000 for the month and has more than $6 million in his campaign accounts—the majority of which came by way of major contributions from businesses.
While money, of course, is not the ultimate determining factor in who wins an election, the amount raised and the method in which it is raised often reveal the strength of a campaign. Few people are willing to fork over their hard-earned cash to a candidate they don’t believe can win.
Jones, who has so far not launched the typical fundraising push, seems poised to challenge Tuberville in the money department, and he’s quite clearly the only Democratic candidate who will be able to do so. Both Boyd and Martin have been in the race for months now, with neither coming close in that time to raising what Jones did in a single week.
It’s also important to note that Jones’ fundraising, which came almost entirely from individual donors, defied the claim that he is backed by big business and special interest groups.
The early support for Jones would also seem to be further proof that Democrats are enjoying a resurgence and that voters in the state might be willing, given the current ongoing problems in the country and state, to shun the Republican lawmakers who have created those problems.
