Democratic presidential ticket outraises Republican opposition twofold in Spokane County

Spokane County residents greatly favored the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election, at least with their wallets.

A review of federal fundraising data shows Democratic presidential candidates have brought in more than double what former President Donald J. Trump raised countywide, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have received more than $465,000 through nearly 15,000 individual contributions, while President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz received more than $970,500 through nearly 11,000 contributions.

The figures include contributions to the respective presidential campaigns and wealthiest nine political committees in support of Trump or Harris from Jan. 1, 2023, to Oct. 16, the latest Federal Election Commission filing deadline. It’s worth noting that many of the committees now supporting Harris supported Biden before he retracted his re-election bid in mid-July.

While not a complete snapshot, the Spokane County data follows statewide and national campaign finance trends. The campaign for Harris has vastly outpaced the Trump campaign, raising $997.9 million nationwide this election cycle. Trump’s campaign has raised $391.9 million, according to the FEC.

On the state level, Washington’s total of $35.7 million in individual contributions to the Harris campaign ranks fourth nationwide, behind California, New York and Massachusetts.

Despite receiving roughly 4,000 more individual contributions countywide, the committees and campaign in favor of Trump still lagged behind the amount raised by and for the Democratic ticket, likely due to the large proportion of minuscule donations.

Small-dollar donors, many identifying themselves as retired in FEC filings, were responsible for the majority of Trump contributions in Spokane County. They often made numerous small donations, with hundreds with a value as low as a cent, over the past two years.

Trump’s donors in Spokane County are outliers in some regard compared to nationwide data.

The former president has had to rely more on large contributors as support from small-dollar donors has dwindled compared to his past two bids for office. In 2020, donations of $200 or less represented nearly half of his fundraising, but those donors represent less than a third this time around, as reported by the Associated Press.

Air Force Veteran and South Hill resident Gene Haas, 82, is one of the retired donors who’s contributed multiple times over the past two years for a total of more than $4,000.

Haas reached that figure through more than 1,500 individual contributions.

Haas is concerned over how the country has changed since he grew up in the ’40s and ’50s, and said he believes Trump is the right leader to get the country “back on track.”

He appreciates that Trump speaks plainly to his supporters, often using language “from another era” that may offend “but is more true to reality,” he said.

“Even though he’s a multibillionaire, he still talks regular human,” Haas said. “He’s not gonna blow smoke at you. In other words, he won’t just tell you something you want to hear, and that unfortunately, is what liberals are doing.”

Immigration is the top issue this election cycle for Haas, and Trump’s promise to forcibly remove millions of undocumented immigrants if elected is one of many reasons the former airman supports Trump.

Haas said he believes Democrats in power are purposefully inviting immigrants into the country to grow their voting base and disenfranchise Americans, a theory espoused by the former president repeatedly despite lacking evidence.

It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, and while leaders of both parties have agreed immigration reform is needed, Trump asked his allies in Congress block the passage of a bipartisan reform bill earlier this year.

Haas said he contributes directly through Trump’s campaign website when he has money available, and that his numerous low-value contributions are intended to indicate his vast support for Trump. He said his yearly fixed income of around $30,000 prevents him from donating in large amounts.

“It’s not a money thing for me,” Haas said. “I do make contributions, but the size of my contribution is not necessarily related to actual support.”

The ZIP code that raised more money for Harris than any other, accounting for a fifth of the candidate’s countywide total, encompasses much of the South Hill.

Former Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue, 85, was one of the neighborhood’s top contributors, giving more than $5,400 over the course of 16 contributions.

Donohue, who served on the bench for more than two decades before retiring in 2003, said contributing is his way of supporting the candidates and causes he believes in. He’s not able to knock on doors or do other campaigning measures, and donating also helps make up for the many years he was unable to participate in the political process due to his position.

“It’s kind of nice to have my freedom back,” Donohue said.

Donohue said his concern over Trump’s ability to maintain international relations, and approval of the Biden administration’s handling of the post-pandemic economy, are just a handful of the reasons he supports Harris.

As reported in the Guardian, the unemployment rate fell during Biden’s term from 6.4% to 4.1% as of Oct. 1, while an average of 399,000 and 225,000 new jobs were added on a monthly basis in 2022, and 2023, respectively. All the major stock market indexes have hit new highs under Biden, as well. While food prices and inflation rose dramatically post-pandemic, both have stagnated or changed course in recent years, with the inflation rate falling from 9.1% in June 2022 to 2.4% this month.

While he’s given to campaigns for the past 20 years or so, Donohue said he’s donated “considerably more” to Harris than he’s donated in years past.

It’s equal parts support for his candidate and opposition to the one he disavows, a perspective and approach shared by folks of all political stripes across the country in today’s divisive era of politics.

“I am just very much impressed by her, by her background, by her approach to campaigning,” Donohue said. “And I’m very, very concerned about Trump.”