Kurt Winstead, Beth Harwell lead in donations in Tennessee district 5 race
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Kurt Winstead slightly outpaced his top rivals in campaign donations for Tennessee's 5th congressional district race, while Andy Ogles received over half a million dollars in support from political action committees outside of the state.
Winstead, a Nashville lawyer and retired National Guard brigadier general, and former state House Speaker Beth Harwell, have a significant cash advantage over the field of nine candidates.
The campaign disclosure report for Ogles, the Maury County mayor, was filed on July 23, eight days passed the Federal Election Commission deadline. He's a distant third in total donations raised.
Winstead has spent the most money of any candidate in the race, and has the most cash on hand due to a net $680,000 personal cash infusion. Harwell has yet to loan her campaign any personal money.
Jeff Beierlein, a former U.S. Army aviator, also loaned money to his campaign, putting up $100,000.
State Senator Heidi Campbell, the only Democratic candidate in the congressional race, has raised nearly $300,000 and has a little over a quarter of a million dollars on hand.
Robby Starbuck, who's running a write-in campaign for the Republican primary nomination because he was removed from the ballot, is still raising money.
In total, Starbuck raised around $394,000 for the election, but most of that money came before his removal. He raised around $54,000 from April to June.
The Republican primary will take place on Aug. 4. Early voting for the primary started July 15. The general election is Nov. 8.
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Outside dark money groups drop half million in ads for Ogles
Ogles has received over $576,000 in support from super PACs outside of Tennessee.
Ogles has received around $397,000 in advertising from the USA Freedom Fund, a super PAC tied to the failed Senate candidacy of Josh Mandel in Ohio.
Americans for Prosperity has spent around $156,000 in support of Ogles. The Maury County mayor is the former Tennessee executive director for the organization. Ogles has also received $24,000 from the Volunteers for Freedom PAC.
On advertisements opposing candidates, the Club for Growth affiliated School Freedom Fund has spent $448,000 opposing Harwell and Winstead. While the Tennessee Conservative PAC, an organization initially created to support Morgan Ortagus, has spent $131,000 opposing Ogles.
Ortagus, along with Starbuck and Baxter Lee, were removed from the district race in April for not meeting the state Republican Party's bona fide requirements.
From candidates, Winstead's disclosure shows he spent around $430,000 on TV production with Smart Media Group. Harwell has spent $202,000 with FP1 Strategies on media placements.
How much has each candidate raised for the primary election?
Geni Batchelor: $5,422
Jeff Beierlein: $31,161
Natisha Brooks: $108,431
Heidi Campbell: $329,016
Beth Harwell: $775,287
Tim Lee: $36,457
Andy Ogles: $264,402
Stewart Parks: $6,864
Kurt Winstead: $901,605
Tres Wittum: $39,298
5th congressional cash on hand as of July 15
Geni Batchelor: $1,463
Jeff Beierlein: $79,146
Natisha Brooks: $20,913
Heidi Campbell: $247,929
Beth Harwell: $434,771
Tim Lee: $11,085
Andy Ogles: $283,338
Stewart Parks: $2,055
Kurt Winstead: $820,432
Tres Wittum: $26,368
Adam Friedman is The Tennessean’s state government and politics reporter. Reach him by email at afriedman@tennessean.com.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee district 5 race: Kurt Winstead, Beth Harwell lead donations