Tri-town residents donate most to Straus, Swift, Hall ahead of election
When the Massachusetts primary election on Sept. 6 narrowed the political playing field, area residents had the opportunity to narrow their support — and donations — to single candidates.
In the Tri-town, residents can cast a vote for candidates running for 10th Bristol Representative, Plymouth County District Attorney and Plymouth County Commissioner in the state election on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Here’s a look at each candidate’s finances as of Nov. 1, based on the most recent filing data from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Rep. William Straus (D-Mattapoisett), who is running for reelection as 10th Bristol Representative, saw $18,330.45 in donations from 63 donors between Sept. 6 and Nov. 1.
A single sum of $10,316.45 was transferred to Straus’ campaign account from the Bill Straus Committee's savings account, according to campaign filing data.
As of the latest filing report on Sept. 30, Straus had $36,495.77 on hand.
Not including the amount transferred from the Bill Straus Committee’s savings, $2,653 donated to Straus since the primary election came from Tri-town residents.
Republican challenger Jeffrey Swift had 14 donations totaling $1,405 between Sept. 6 and Nov. 1, according to campaign filing data. Tri-town residents have donated $730 to Swift since the primary election.
As of the latest filing report on Sept. 30, Swift had $7,021 on hand.
In Plymouth County, Republican incumbent Tim Cruz is running for reelection as Plymouth County District Attorney. Between Sept. 6 and Nov. 1, Cruz saw $42,209.22 in donations from 177 donors.
Only $700, about 1.7% of the money donated to the Cruz campaign, came from Tri-town residents. The highest concentration of Cruz donors since the state primary were from Hanover, Marshfield and Norwell.
As of the latest filing report on Sept. 30, Cruz had $86,048.61 on hand.
Democratic challenger for District Attorney, Rahsaan Hall, saw $63,277.98 in donations from 674 donors between Sept. 6 and Nov. 1, many of which came from Boston, Cambridge and Brockton. Only three percent of the money donated to the Hall campaign came from Tri-town residents.
As of the latest filing report on Sept. 30, Hall has $4,694.20 on hand.
Both candidates for Plymouth County District Attorney saw large out-of-state donations. A donor from Key Largo, Fla. sent $1,000 to the Cruz campaign and a donor from Seattle, Wash. gave $1,000 to the Hall campaign.
In the race for Plymouth County Commissioner, Republican incumbent Sandra Wright saw a 479% increase in her “cash on hand” during the month of September, going from $351 on Sept. 1 to $2,035 on Sept. 30.
Since the Sept. 6 primary, Wright saw $20,389 in donations from 26 donors. Around two percent of the money donated to the Wright campaign came from Tri-town residents.
Democratic challenger Alex Bezanson saw a similar jump in “cash on hand” during the month of September, going from $1,033 on Sept. 1 to $2,107 on Sept. 30.
None of the $12,070 donated to the Bezanson campaign from 54 donors between Sept. 6 and Nov. 1 came from Tri-town residents.