Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who is running in the Republican primary to replace Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, has much going for him. He’s a long-time Alaskan, for one. He’s knowledgeable on Arctic issues, and he’s already won a statewide election.
According to FEC reports, however, raising money isn’t one of his strengths. His campaign spokesperson said that things have picked up since the last filing period, which is from July 1 to Sept. 30, when he raised $196,000.
“Our campaign finances are just fine,” Treadwell’s campaign spokesperson manager Fred Brown said. “We have improved each quarter and will undoubtedly have the resources to not only win the primary but replace Mark Begich in November.”
But unless things have turned around significantly for Treadwell the last two months, it appears that his campaign is underwater financially.
During the last quarter, Treadwell raised $196,000, leaving him with about $154,000 on hand. However, his debts and a campaign loan total $50,000. Too, $26,700 of that money is designated for the general election, meaning that it’s earmarked to be used after the primary.
As of Sept. 30, he only had $43,300 cash on hand. During this period, he appeared to be spending roughly $57,000 a month.
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich raised $813,000 during the same time period, and ended the period with $2.4 million cash on hand.
Dan Sullivan, who is also running, didn’t enter the race until Oct. 15 and therefore didn’t fill out a report. Joe Miller, the other candidate, only raised $31,900 from individuals this year.
A few things to note: At the end of September, Treadwell hired national high-powered fundraiser Lisa Spies who has organized fundraisers all across the country for Treadwell. The spoils of her efforts won’t be clear until the next filing date, which is in mid January. But Treadwell has also beefed up staff and taken on other substantive expenses since the reporting period.
Contact Amanda Coyne at amandamcoyne@yahoo.com
Correction: The original article said that Fred Brown was Treadwell’s campaign manager. He’s his spokesperson.
Treadwell is a stellar partner, he has helped me and I know he will make a great senator.
AK Gov
…Any why are ALL of Treadwell’s campaign ‘strategists’ from Outside? What message does that give to Alaskans, hmmmmm?
Wow, Shayne C – your comment is so obviously a plant for the TM camp!
Easy to tell because it lacks authenticity and creative thinking – just like your candidate!
The comments being posted about Mediocre Mean are hilarious. ” He knows everything about the Arctic”. Really cool. I think Alaskans can see thru these silly comments being posted by his staff. The fact of the story remains: his campaign is upside down. Broke. If his campaign is so great, where is the support? Alaskans want a candidate that tells the truth and doesn’t stoop to such penny ante lies. Alaskans aren’t stupid. Maybe Mead’s team of outside boys don’t know that. I am an independent voter. Currently leaning towards Begich but not 100% committed. Maybe it’s time to commit.
Looks like a lot of these comments here are “damage control” comments from Treadwell’s campaign. Lame. LAME.THEY SHOULD SPEND THEIR EFFORTS FUNDRAISING INSTEAD OF PONTIFICATING AND FANTASIZING. BEGICH WINS.
Finally somebody who makes sense! Mead is the only proven candidate, the only one to win statewide, and the only candidate with business experiences. One of these candidates is not like the other, one of these candidates is-a shoe-in.
On facebook Treadwell said that his campaign got their 1000th donor. I don’t think that 1000 people should be looked down on. That’s a lot of support. Plus Treadwell worked under people like Hickel and that must’ve given him a pretty good business sense. At least good enough to help bring back our pipeline project in the 80’s. Some of the audience here might be too young to remember that, but it’s worth some looking into [Yukon-Pacific].
And everywhere I look I constantly see the article’s second fact thrown up
— YES WE GET IT —
Mead knows everything about the arctic. No matter who the author, I hear it from everyone. Well I think there’s more to him than that, pro gun, pro life, and pro traditional family. It’s nice to have somebody running who’s knowledgeable, has expertise, and integrity in his beliefs.
I agree with some of the points in your article – namely, that Treadwell has a lot going for him. If I’m not mistaken, Mead won his 2010 highly contested primary race (and subsequently the general) by very high margins. Specifically, Mead got 53,273 votes in the 2010 Primary, which was 52.9% of the votes cast for the Republican Lt. Governor’s Race. That means that in a contested primary, with 3 other candidates running, Mead received more votes than all the other candidates combined in the same race. Similar margins can be observed during the general election.
Clarification aside – I did have to look into the financial issue though, because it got me wondering where all of this money comes from
As far as I can tell – and please correct me if I’m wrong, as math is not a strong suit of mine – it looks like you’re right; Begich has raised more money than Treadwell. However, when I looked at their individual contributions it seemed to me that more than 80% of the individual contributions given to Begich were not from Alaskans. Actually, when you tally up the number of Alaskans who gave to Begich in the first three Quarters it’s only about $250k. And on the other hand, it looks like around half of Meads contributions come from Alaskans….
The comment from Mead Treadwell’s campaign seems very disingenuous at best.
Your site continues to rock. You give me the news, informmation and analysis that matters. Some of my elephant leaning friends have conceded the race to Begich if Miller or Treadwell are the nominees. Just curious, what’s going on with Dan Sullivan’s Senate campaign and what kind of luck are they having raising money? Would be extremely interested in this story.
R. I. P
The Treadwellk show is over. Now it’s just a matter of time until the candidate owns up to it.
Wish the Republicans had a strong female candidate to challenge Senator Begich. Looks like Mead’s campaign leaves a lot to be desired. I have to agree with the other comment regarding Mead’s staffer’s comment that they will have the necessary resources to effectively win the primary and challenge Begich as being less than retional.
Nice article. Good analysis. Treadwell’s campaign is in trouble. We need to find a candidate that can inspire people to give so that a real and effective campaign can be waged against Begich. Mead is a nice guy just lackluster and uninspiring as proven by his FEC reports. Unfortunately, he’s just not a credible candidate.
What in the world is Treadwell’s campaign manager smoking? His candidate is raising less than 25% of what Begich is raising per quarter and he thinks he’ll be formidable? What a joke. Begich raises lots more than Treadwell and saves a lot of it for the important days of the campaign. In fact, I think Treadwell’s campaign may be one of the most unsuccessful fundraising campaigns in the country. Unless Sullivan proves to be able to raise some campaign cash, Begich will skate to re-election. I still would like to know, is Treadwell’s manager delusional, a crack smoker or ????????