Fundraising in the race for Alaska House District 34 between incumbent Andi Story, D-Juneau, and nonpartisan challenger Ed King is decidedly lopsided in favor of the incumbent, according to campaign finance records.<\/p>\n
Campaign disclosure forms available from the Alaska Public Offices Commission<\/a> show Story with a significant lead in funding over King. The latest available disclosure forms were submitted in early August show Story’s entire campaign fundraising total at $35,242<\/a> with $6,929 in expenses. King on the other hand shows a total of $4,504 funds raised and $1,582 spent.<\/p>\n Much of Story’s funding comes from backing she’s received from Democratic Party groups and labor unions. Story’s largest single donation for this campaign and in her 2018 race was $5,000 from Tongass Democrats, a local fundraising organization for Democrats in House Districts 33 and 34 and Senate District Q, all of which cover Juneau and the surrounding area.<\/p>\n Other large donors include<\/a> political action committees for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; the Alaska State Employee Association\/Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees Local 52; and the National Education Association Alaska, each which donated $1,000. Story has a number of individual donors as well, most of which are over $100.<\/p>\n “I appreciate getting donations,” Story said in an interview Wednesday. “Lots of the union donations are all about good working conditions, wages and benefits for all people. I like to think I know what’s important to people in the private as well as the private sector; quality of life, high cost of living, people’s concerns are all very similar here.”<\/p>\n The Alaska Democratic Party also provides a party apparatus including consulting, media support, communications, publicity, voter file access, training and use of facilities to support its candidates, but that has to be paid for.<\/p>\n According to disclosure documents, King’s campaign hasn’t received any donations over $500 save for the $773 payment King himself made to the campaign.<\/p>\n “It’s been very challenging,” King said of being a first-time fundraiser during a pandemic. “I haven’t received any money from any special interest groups, I’ve only received money from individual donors.”<\/p>\n Most of King’s donors have been contributions of over $100. Of the 18 donors reported on King’s campaign<\/a>, only four have been under $100.<\/p>\n