McMaster holds steady fundraising lead over Cunningham in SC governor’s race

Gov. Henry McMaster is starting his reelection campaign with a large financial lead over his Democratic opponent Joe Cunningham, even though the two candidates only had a $13,000 difference in what they raised last quarter.

McMaster raised $465,000 between April 1 and June 30, bringing his total haul to $5.5 million for the cycle. Cunningham received $452,000 during the second quarter, which brought his total haul for the cycle to $2.2 million.

With less than four months until the general election, McMaster has almost 10 times more cash in the bank as Cunningham.

“Henry McMaster didn’t have a competitive primary, Joe did,” said Tyler Jones, Cunningham’s senior campaign consultant. “It’s next to impossible to out-raise a sitting governor but we have plenty of time to raise the necessary resources to win in November.”

During the cycle, McMaster has received nearly 17,000 donations with the average contribution at about $325.

Cunningham has more contributions of smaller amounts, receiving 26,300 donations during the cycle. His average contribution is less than $84.

Michelle Backus, McMaster’s campaign spokeswoman, said she’s not concerned Cunningham has more individual contributions than the governor.

“The governor, who has outraised liberal politician Joe Cunningham and has 10 times more cash on hand, has been overwhelmed by support from across the state — from donors small and large, all of whom understand that under his leadership, we are moving in the right direction,” Backus said.

Among McMaster’s contributors are $3,500 from Suzanne Prosser, the chairwoman of the Juvenile Parole Board, and $500 from Dr. James Lemon, the chairman of the Medical University of South Carolina Board.

Some notable contributions to Cunningham came from former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who gave $1,000, and former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Deval Patrick, who gave $6,000 during the quarter. That included $3,500 before the primary and $2,500 after the primary.

Looking ahead to the general election

McMaster’s financial advantage comes as he received more support in the primaries. Cunningham will have to climb up a steep hill in order to win in November.

Twice as many people voted in the Republican primary than in the Democratic primary. As a result, McMaster garnered 125,000 more votes in his primary election victory than total votes cast in the Democratic primary for governor.

Cunningham’s campaign downplayed those turnout discrepancies.

“Primary turnout is not an indicator of general election outcomes. If it were, Joe would have never been elected to Congress in the first place,” Jones said in a statement. “Voters didn’t show up on June 14th to vote for Henry McMaster, they showed up to vote in the dozens of Republican primaries across the state, including two competitive primaries for Congress.”