Brown Out-Fundraises Warren 4 to 1 in Central Mass

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Across the region, residents have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the US Senate race between incumbent Scott Brown (R-MA) and challenger Elizabeth Warren (D), but Brown swept Warren in campaign donations, raking in almost four times the amount of his competitor in this election cycle.

Central Mass is a critical part of the state, and if the race is going to be decided by Central Mass, Scott Brown is ahead of Warren by a landslide, taking in more donations from residents in all but fifteen local communities.

The Grand Total

According to figures published at the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Scott Brown’s campaign raised a total of $386,955.00 while Elizabeth Warren received $100,034.00 from local residents.

“Scott Brown is proud that two-thirds of his donors come from Massachusetts, and is grateful for the support he has received from voters in Central Massachusetts,” said campaign spokesperson Alleigh Marre. “This speaks to Scott Brown’s homegrown support, and on Election Day it will be these Massachusetts residents who will vote to keep his independent leadership in Washington.”

FEC data only shows donations when an individual has contributed more than $200 per election cycle, but this disclaimer in no way favors either candidate.

Spokesperson for the Warren campaign, Alethea Harney, said, that they are not accepting defeat in local donations.

“One thing’s for sure – we won’t be outworked in Central Massachusetts and Elizabeth is very proud of the incredible grassroots enthusiasm behind her campaign for middle class families,” she said. “There are more than 3,700 people in Central Massachusetts alone who have volunteered to be a part of her efforts to level the playing field for working men and women across the Commonwealth.”

Worcester Going Red?

Historically, Central Mass towns have been the driving force behind the area’s Republican leanings, but even in Worcester, Brown pulled well ahead of Warren in donations. He pulled in $46,290 from Worcester residents, while Warren took just $18,150 from the Heart of the Commonwealth.

Surprising Numbers in Hopkinton

One town that raised big money for Brown this election cycle was Hopkinton, which raised a whopping $54,875 for Brown compared to $4,495 for Warren.

“Scott Brown knows a lot of people, he’s met a lot of people over the years. We voted very highly for him two years ago. He is a frequent visitor to the town,” said Ken Weismantel, Chair of the Hopkinton Republican Town Committee.

The town was one of his higher totals seeing around sixty percent of the vote in the 2010 election. Brown also attended an Republican town committee meeting in the town last election cycle, and according to Weismantel, held a fundraiser in Hopkinton this time around. He has been on the committee for more than 20 years including five as chair.

“Members of the committee are working for him. As a committee we are just stepping into doing more,” he said. Their Republican Town Committee has 34 full members and 15-20 associate members.

While the town of about 14,000 has historically pulled very hard for Republican candidates, the amount raised there was considerably high.

“Hopkinton has partisan elections at the local level so the committee is active. We have an organization built up,” he said. “Historically Hopkinton has given very well to Republican candidates. I’m surprised he’s only raised $54,000. That seems like a low number.”

“We like Scott Brown here in Hopkinton,” Weismantel said.

Republican in the Past

In the 2010 special election Brown won his Senate seat against Democrat, Martha Coakley. Worcester reported a lone blue spot in a sea of red, with 52% of the vote pulling for Brown’s competition. Except for Harvard, Acton, Maynard, Sudbury, Framingham and Boxborough, the Senator won in all surrounding precincts by fairly large margins.

In terms of fundraising, Brown has trounced Warren during the current election cycle in several towns. In Westborough, he raised $30,275 compared to her lowly $1,700. In Fiskdale, he received over $9,000 when Warren had no donations.

Where Warren Won

Warren saw success in fifteen of the Central Mass communities on the list: Westminster, Uxbridge, Shirley, Rutland, Rochdale, Petersham, Oakham, North Grafton, Milford, Harvard, Clinton, Brookfield, Bolton, Barre, and Athol.

Towns where she swept Brown included Milford and Harvard where she raised $10,950 and $12,525 respectively.

Not So Political Towns

Many Central Mass towns were left off the list, without a single contribution listed on the FEC website, but it should be noted that the website does not require any individual donations to be tallied unless they exceed $200.

Towns that had no listed donations to either campaign included: Charlton City, Cherry Valley, East Templeton, Hardwick, Holland, Manchaug, New Braintree, North Oxford, North Uxbridge, Royalston, South Lancaster, Spencer, Templeton, Warren, West Townsend, West Upton, and Winchendon.

To Win the Race

Jen Lawless, Director of the Women & Politics Institute at the School of Public Affairs at American University says that in order for Brown to pull through with the race, he will need to learn how to split the ticket.

“Scott Brown needs to learn to navigate this race so that if Obama gets the Presidency, people will still be willing to split their ticket and get his vote,” she said. “Massachusetts is tricky because Scott Brown can’t completely adopt republican views; he needs to moderate his stance.”

In Scott Brown’s newest video ad, he features three historically prominent Democrats and former Presidents – Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson. Brown has also been discussed as one of the most bipartisan voters in the Senate.