Fundraising by commission hopefuls in line with previous years
Fundraising by commission hopefuls in line with previous years
Democrat Brian Harrington and Republican Thad Hoff raised a combined $34,000 — but the candidates gathered that cash from very different sources.
There were no big surprises lurking in the campaign finance filings connected to the Albany County Commission race.
Democrat Brian Harrington and Republican Thad Hoff have raised a collective $34,000 and spent a little less than $25,000 as they compete for a single open seat that is set to determine the partisan balance of county leadership.
While Harrington ran in his own primary unopposed, Hoff bested three other Republicans to secure his own party’s nomination. Those three other hopefuls raised less than $9,000, spending just under $8,000, in primary campaigns that were mostly self-funded.
Taken together, all candidates raised a collective $42,800 in this year’s commission race — a figure that doesn’t deviate much from previous year’s totals. In 2020’s heated contest for a single open seat, in a race ultimately decided by just 57 votes, Democrat Sue Ibarra and Republican Terri Jones raised a combined $46,000. In 2022, with two commission seats on the ballot, five candidates raised a combined $41,000.
What’s different in 2024 is how the majority of this year’s funding was split between the two general election candidates. In the four-way race for the Republican nomination, the local GOP party, the relevant political action committees and even individuals were hesitant to pick a candidate. Of the Republican candidates Hoff ultimately defeated, the majority of Chris Cleven’s cash came from a loan, very nearly all of Troy Heien’s cash came from his own pockets or those of his family members, and every penny of Julie McCallister’s cash came from the candidate herself.
Hoff was no exception on this front, self-funding his primary campaign entirely with $9,500 of his own money.
“I’m fortunate enough my business did well this year, and I had some money saved up for either funding other campaigns or my own,” Hoff told the Laramie Reporter shortly after the Primary Election. “I really don’t want to be beholden to anybody or their ideals. If it’s offered without strings, that’s fine. If it’s a community member that’s concerned about something in the community, fine — but no, I don’t need special interest.”
Moving into the general, Hoff has mostly stuck to this commitment. He accepted $1,500 from a Wyoming-based political action committee, $500 from the Wyoming Republican Party, and smaller donations from eight individuals, but dumped another $2,500 of his own cash into the campaign. Almost 80% of Hoff’s overall fundraising came from his own pockets.
This stands in stark contrast to his opponent’s fundraising philosophy.
The overwhelming majority of Harrington’s campaign cash — more than $17,200, or 91% of all the funds he raised — came from individual or in-kind donations from more than 100 people.
“I’m really trying to run this campaign by and for my neighbors, and I think my campaign finance reports show that to be true,” Harrington said. “I’ve always felt like how you pay for your campaign is indicative of the support you have.”
A few individuals, mostly Laramie residents, gave the Democrat $500 or more across the primary and general campaigns. Harrington accepted $1,000 from the Albany County Democratic Party, but has received no funding from any political action committee.
Brian Harrington (Democrat)
Raised: $18,887
Spent: $9,682
Contribution breakdown:
$655 — Immediate family/personal
$13,825 — Individual
$1,000 — Wyoming County Party
$3,407 — In-Kind
Top donors:
$1,750 — Mike Vanata, Laramie resident (in-kind)
$1,000 — Albany County Democratic Party
$1,000 — Gail Shive, Laramie resident
$1,000 — Trevor Houser, California resident
$600 — Jeanette and Michael Parker, Laramie residents
$500 — Pete Gosar, Laramie resident
$500 — Brett Kvenild, Laramie resident
$500 — Kayla Clark and Jake Hochard, Laramie residents (in-kind)
Thad Hoff (Republican)
Raised: $15,151
Spent: $15,124
Contribution breakdown:
$12,001 — Immediate family/personal
$1,150 — Individual
$1,500 — Wyoming PAC
$500 — Wyoming State Party
Top donors:
$1,500 — Cowboy Freedom PAC
$500 — Wyoming Republican Party
$300 — James Hollon, Laramie resident
$250 — Duane and Margy Toro, Laramie residents
$250 — Jerry Gruber, Laramie resident