Bachmann vs Clark: Who’s Receiving More Money from Minnesotans?

Bachmann raising $1.02 for every $1.00 Clark raises in Minnesota; Congresswoman outraising Clark in 48 of 50 states overall

Despite facing nearly a 2:1 disadvantage in campaign fundraising from her rival Michele Bachmann over the course of the election cycle to date, and more than $700,000 last quarter alone, DFL 6th CD candidate Tarryl Clark is virtually tied with the two-term Republican Congresswoman on one metric: money raised in their home state of Minnesota.

A Smart Politics analysis of itemized individual contributions from January 1, 2009 through July 21, 2010 finds that Bachmann has raised $1,689.04 per day in such contributions from Minnesotans compared to $1,658.49 per day for Clark since she launched her campaign in July 2009.

To be sure, the Bachmann-Clark matchup is not simply of interest to 6th CD constituents, but also to residents across the Gopher State and the nation, where many Republicans see the Congresswoman as a champion of true conservative principles on Capitol Hill, while many liberals see her as tone deaf to her district and a top target to defeat at the ballot box this November.

But while Bachmann and Clark may be miles apart on policy, their fundraising campaigns are following similar tracks by some measures.

For example, through the second quarter of 2010, Clark had raised 88.7 percent of her total funds from individuals with just 11.2 percent from PACs. Bachmann, meanwhile, had raised 91.9 percent of her funds from individuals and only 8.1 percent from PACs.

Secondly, of the funds Clark has raised from individuals, 61.3 percent are small donors, or unitemized contributions, compared to a very similar 55.8 percent for Bachmann.

In Minnesota, Congresswoman Bachmann has raised $957,687 in itemized funds through July 21st, compared to $593,380 for Clark. But this statistic is misleading.

Although Bachmann has received $364,307 more from in-state contributors than Clark for the campaign cycle to date, the DFL State Senator did not enter the race until late July of 2009 and has thus had 209 fewer days to raise money during the past one and a half years.

When adjusting for the number of days on the campaign trail, the numbers are almost even, with just a slight in-state edge to Bachmann: $1,689.04 raised per day for the Congresswoman and $1,658.49 per day for Clark.

This $31.55 daily advantage for Bachmann is not significant considering the total amount of money being raised by the two candidates in-state: Bachmann is raising $1.02 for every $1.00 raised by Clark in itemized contributions from Minnesotans.

Per Day Itemized Individual Contributions to Bachmann and Clark from Minnesotans

Candidate	Funds	Days	Per Day
Bachmann	$957,687	567	$1,689.04
Clark	$593,380	368	$1,657.49
Total	$1,551,067	935	$1,658.90

Data from FEC through July 21, 2010. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

But while Clark is virtually even with Bachmann for in-state large donor fundraising, a tie probably isn’t good enough for the State Senator.

Because Congresswoman Bachmann has become such a national phenomenon during the last two years, a significant amount of her fundraising comes from out of state.

The $957,687 raised by Bachmann in-state amounts to just 39.7 percent of her itemized contributions raised nationwide. For Clark, the $593,380 she has raised in Minnesota totals 76.4 percent of such contributions she has received.

Overall, Representative Bachmann is outraising Clark in 48 of 50 states, including $365 per day in California, $296 per day in Florida, and $289 per day in Texas.

After also including New York and Illinois, Bachmann is raising $1,344 per day from these five states for the election cycle to date, compared to $220 per day for Clark since she launched her candidacy one year ago.

For every $1.00 Clark raises in these heavily populated states, Bachmann is raising $6.11.

The Congresswoman is raising more than 10 times that of the Clark campaign per day in 11 states across the country: Indiana (160x), Florida (25x), North Dakota (19x), South Carolina (15x), Ohio (15x), Texas (15x), Alabama (15x), Wisconsin (14x), Hawaii (12x), Oklahoma (11x), and Idaho (11x).

This does not include another seven states in which Clark has yet to raise money from an itemized individual donor: Nevada, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Utah, Mississippi, Delaware, and West Virginia. (Bachmann has raised large donor money from all 50 states).

And what are the two states in which Clark has a fundraising advantage over Bachmann?

Conservatives will nod knowingly to learn that Clark is outraising Bachmann in two of the nation’s most liberal states: Massachusetts and Vermont.

Clark is raising $24.36 per day in Massachusetts compared to $23.87 for Bachmann, or for every $1.00 raised by Clark, the Congresswoman is raising $0.98.

In Vermont neither candidate is bringing in a haul, but Clark holds a $2.86 per day to $2.37 advantage.

However, the place where Clark has the biggest advantage is actually where Bachmann works, Washington, D.C.

Clark is raising $5.51 more per day ($21.73) than Bachmann ($16.22) at the nation’s capital, or, for every $1.00 raised by Clark in D.C., the Congresswoman is raising just $0.75.

Itemized Individual Contributions to Bachmann and Clark Campaigns by State Per Day

State	Bachmann	Clark	Difference	x Diff
D.C.	$16.22	$21.73	-$5.50	0.75
Vermont	$2.37	$2.86	-$0.50	0.83
Massachusetts	$23.87	$24.36	-$0.49	0.98
Minnesota	$1,689.04	$1,657.49	$31.56	1.02
Pennsylvania	$84.44	$52.01	$32.43	1.62
Kentucky	$16.11	$8.38	$7.73	1.92
Connecticut	$18.02	$8.38	$9.64	2.15
South Dakota	$3.11	$1.40	$1.71	2.23
Oregon	$27.23	$10.75	$16.48	2.53
New York	$128.40	$50.55	$77.84	2.54
New Mexico	$17.16	$6.28	$10.88	2.73
New Hampshire	$5.86	$2.06	$3.80	2.85
Washington	$57.77	$18.19	$39.58	3.18
New Jersey	$60.75	$18.74	$42.00	3.24
Maryland	$81.57	$25.04	$56.53	3.26
Iowa	$14.98	$4.47	$10.51	3.35
Alaska	$4.90	$1.40	$3.51	3.51
California	$480.58	$115.05	$365.53	4.18
Montana	$13.34	$2.79	$10.55	4.78
Virginia	$67.32	$13.20	$54.12	5.10
Georgia	$36.18	$6.98	$29.19	5.18
Illinois	$117.35	$22.57	$94.78	5.20
Michigan	$65.87	$12.15	$53.72	5.42
Arkansas	$6.30	$0.98	$5.32	6.44
North Carolina	$32.29	$4.75	$27.54	6.80
Arizona	$40.69	$5.73	$34.96	7.11
Louisiana	$24.27	$3.21	$21.06	7.56
Maine	$8.46	$1.12	$7.34	7.57
Tennessee	$33.75	$4.33	$29.42	7.79
Colorado	$72.56	$8.17	$64.39	8.88
Nebraska	$18.32	$1.96	$16.37	9.37
Missouri	$33.85	$3.49	$30.36	9.70
Kansas	$11.86	$1.19	$10.68	9.99
Idaho	$7.95	$0.70	$7.26	11.39
Oklahoma	$16.42	$1.40	$15.02	11.76
Hawaii	$8.82	$0.70	$8.12	12.63
Wisconsin	$53.44	$3.58	$49.87	14.95
Alabama	$21.44	$1.42	$20.02	15.05
Texas	$309.36	$20.25	$289.11	15.28
Ohio	$75.63	$4.89	$70.74	15.47
South Carolina	$11.03	$0.70	$10.33	15.79
North Dakota	$34.71	$1.82	$32.90	19.12
Florida	$309.09	$12.22	$296.87	25.29
Indiana	$22.43	$0.14	$22.29	160.63
West Virginia	$3.97	$0.00	$3.97	—
Delaware	$4.61	$0.00	$4.61	—
Mississippi	$6.10	$0.00	$6.10	—
Utah	$7.49	$0.00	$7.49	—
Rhode Island	$9.33	$0.00	$9.33	—
Wyoming	$11.50	$0.00	$11.50	—
Nevada	$19.20	$0.00	$19.20	—

Data from FEC through July 21, 2010. Table compiled by Smart Politics.

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