Both Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington touted their campaign fundraising numbers on the eve of the June 19 filing deadline, each claiming to have set a campaign cash record for Democrats seeking the governor’s office.
But neither candidate managed to match the total Republican Kelly Ayotte announced on the previous filing deadline back in December.
Tuesday morning, Executive Councilor Warmington blasted out an email headlined, “Cinde Warmington Surpasses $1.8 Million Raised, a Record for a NH Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate.”
According to the press release, Warmington has raised $750,000 since the December filing, and “80 percent of contributions were of $100 or fewer.”
“I’m grateful for the incredible support our campaign has received from every corner of the Granite State as we fight to take back the corner office so we can protect reproductive freedom, defend public education, build more affordable housing, and address the many challenges that have been ignored by Republicans in Concord for too long,” Warmington said in a statement.
A few hours later, the Craig campaign sent out its own statement.
“Joyce Craig Continues to Set Democratic Fundraising Records with $2.3 Million Total Raised,” the headline read.
“Today, Joyce Craig’s campaign reported raising over $2.3 million total and over $1.1 million during this filing period. Joyce now has over $1.3 million cash-on-hand and continues to break New Hampshire Democratic fundraising records, raising more than any former gubernatorial candidate, including incumbents.”
But neither New Hampshire Democrat was able to match the $2.7 million reported by Ayotte in December’s campaign disclosure.
Ayotte’s GOP opponent, Chuck Morse, reported just over $900,000 raised as of the December filing.
Neither Republican released any information about their financial filings on Tuesday.
Granite State political pundits say Warmington’s number is the most meaningful at this point in the primary. By keeping the fundraising close and approaching the $2 million total, Warmington is undermining Craig’s message that she’s the overwhelming and inevitable frontrunner in this race.
“Most of the Democrats I talk to say it’s pretty much a jump ball,” one longtime Democratic Party insider told NHJournal.
Warmington has been campaigning aggressively, the first gubernatorial candidate in either party to run ads on broadcast TV. She’s also repeatedly called out Craig for her unwillingness to participate in public forums with her fellow candidates. On Thursday, for example, Craig will be the only major candidate for governor to skip an NFIB event in Concord.
And Granite State Republicans were quick to note the Craig campaign texted a fundraising appeal to Democrats on Monday from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D).
“There’s a critical governor’s race for my neighbors in New Hampshire this year, and I’m supporting Joyce Craig,” Healey wrote in the text. “The stakes are high.”
One Craig supporter told NHJournal her campaign is feeling eerily familiar. “It feels like Hillary Clinton — remember how she was the establishment candidate with all the big names who was going to win the [2008] primary? And who won? Barack Obama. It feels like that.”
