McKee, Shekarchi, Ruggerio kick off fundraising. Here's what tickets to their events cost

PROVIDENCE – The fundraising calendar at the Rhode Island State House has a pecking order, and it begins this week with back-to-back money-raising events by the governor, the House speaker and the Senate president.

By tradition, the governor – Democrat Dan McKee – hosts the kickoff event with a fundraiser at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Warwick from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.

On Tuesday, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is hosting his first fundraiser of the year at the same venue, followed on Thursday by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio's fundraising event, same place. Tickets to both go for $200.

The McKee tickets go for anywhere from $1,000 for those categorized as "friend(s)," $500 "supporter(s)" and $250 as "guest."

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There is also a category for "sponsors," who are giving five and ten times more than the state's contribution limit of $1,000 per person, per year would seem to allow.

To be counted as a "Silver Sponsor," a donor would have to contribute $5,000, and as a "Gold Sponsor," $10,000.

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In the mid-1980s, then-Gov. Edward DiPrete created the equivalent of a donors' club. In that case, a "member" was promised an opportunity to meet with him quarterly.

Asked if there is an implicit or implied incentive for McKee backers to raise money from others for the governor, also known as bundling, his political spokesman, Mike Trainor, told The Journal: "There is no reward for voluntarily raising money for the governor."

But the creation of a donor category for "sponsors" left John Marion, executive director of the citizens' advocacy group Common Cause RI, perplexed.

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"I have never heard of such a thing. I know there are people who bundle contributions but I’ve never heard of a campaign calling them sponsors for a fundraiser," he said. "It would be illegal for any individual or PAC to give more than $1,000 to the campaign in a calendar year."

McKee won his first full four-year term in November after ascending from lieutenant governor to the top spot in March 2021 when Gov. Gina Raimondo quit mid-term to become U.S. commerce secretary.

Year-end reports for 2022 are due Jan. 31. As of his last report, McKee had $18,392 in his campaign account after spending $3.4 million in 2022 to defeat self-financed Republican challenger Ashley Kalus, who spent more than $4.9 million to lose by 19 points.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Political fundraisers for McKee, others start, McKee rolls out 'sponsors'