More than $5M flows into Indiana governor's race

Hoosier taxpayers, businesses and political action committees have coughed up more than $5 million in a few short months toward the heaviest hitters in next year's Indiana gubernatorial race: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden.

Braun leads the pack with $4.6 million cash on hand, having raised $2.2 million during May and June, and Doden and Crouch are not that far behind, according to the latest filings. Though the semi-annual reports filed Monday cover the first half of the year, state law bars candidates for statewide office from collecting donations during the legislative session, which this year ended on April 29.

Former Attorney General Curtis Hill joined the race last week, which was too late for this reporting period. Former state schools superintendent Jennifer McCormick is running as a Democrat, and Donald Rainwater as a Libertarian.

Here's who donated to each campaign:

Mike Braun

Amount raised in 2023: $2.2 million

Cash on hand as of June 30: $4.6 million

Who donated:

• 488 individuals donated about $1.5 million, or nearly 70% of the total. That doesn't include another $26,500 in non-itemized donations, which comprise donations of $100 or less.

• About a tenth of those identified individuals donated between $10,000 and $50,000, and many of those were company CEOs.

• Notable individuals: Al Hubbard, founder of E&A Industries and former chair of Indiana Republican Party, donated $10,000; Stuart Reed, president of Magnolia Health Systems, donated $50,000; Scott Weaver, owner of SAW Capital, Safeway’s parent company, donated $50,000.

• Corporations, including many builders and automotive companies, donated $110,000.

• Many businesses, like real estate developers, fall under the "other organizations" category, which can also include other people's political campaigns. Under this category, he raised $419,000.

• Political action committees donated $158,500.

Noteworthy: While Braun started out in second place as of Jan. 1 ― having $2.9 million in his coffers compared to Crouch's $3.2 million ― Braun raised that much in just one month. Since he holds a federal office, he could only start fundraising once he officially filed to run for the statewide office on Nov. 30. That said, $900,000 of that came from his own Senate campaign. Overall, his campaign finance records show a diverse source pool from Main Street and individuals both large and very small, which Braun's campaign would say highlights his "grassroots" support network.

Suzanne Crouch

Amount raised in 2023: $1.1 million

Cash on hand as of June 30: $3.9 million

Who donated:

• 261 individuals donated $748,000, or nearly 70% of the total.

• About 8% of those individuals donated between $10,000 and $50,000, mostly from Evansville, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne.

• Corporations, including many small businesses in Evansville, donated $70,000.

• Political action committees, many representing trades, donated $131,000.

• Other organizations donated $166,000. Notably: U.S. Rep. Greg Pence's congressional campaign (older brother of Mike Pence) donated $35,000; U.S. Rep. Larry Buschon's congressional campaign donated $25,000; Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen's campaign donated $10,000; former Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma's reelection campaign donated $5,000.

Noteworthy: More than half of Crouch's individual donors gave between $1,000 and $10,000, reflecting her popularity with the professional party establishment. Her campaign has announced daily endorsements from county executives, sheriffs, state lawmakers and other Republicans from across the state.

Eric Doden

Amount raised in 2023: $1.8 million

Cash on hand as of June 30: $3.8 million

Who donated:

• 125 people donated $1.4 million, or nearly 80% of the total.

• About a quarter of those individuals contributed between $10,000 and $50,000, mostly from Fort Wayne and Hamilton County.

• Notably, Doden's father, Daryle Doden, CEO of investment company Ambassador Enterprises, donated $600,000 to the campaign.

• A handful of small corporations donated $18,000.

• Doden drew large donations from other organizations, including investment and development firms in Fort Wayne as well as some auto and grocery businesses. Those amounted to $403,000.

• The campaign did not report any contributions from political action committees.

Noteworthy: Doden is president of a building restoration company Pago USA and a founding partner of both Domo Development LLC, a development company, and Domo Ventures LLC, a private equity firm, so it makes sense that he secured some key donations from similar ventures. Both Doden and Braun raised roughly the same amount of money from individual donors, but Doden did it with far fewer of them, indicating his base of support may generally be wealthier. He has a decent business network to draw from, having previously chaired the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and Allen County's business chamber.

Jennifer McCormick

Amount raised in 2023: $207,000

Cash on hand as of June 30: $209,000

Who donated:

• 306 individuals donated $150,500, which doesn't include another $45,000 in non-itemized small donations.

• Almost all of those named individuals donated $1,000 or less, with the highest donations reaching $5,000.

• Her campaign reported no donations from corporations.

• Political action committees donated $8,000.

• Other organizations donated $3,800.

Noteworthy: McCormick only got started with her campaign launch in May, beginning with a few tens of thousands of dollars on hand. McCormick comes from an education background and was a Republican until flipping parties at the end of her term as state schools superintendent in 2021.

Donald Rainwater

Amount raised in 2023: $6,000

Cash on hand as of June 30: $7,000

Who donated:

• 103 individuals donated $5,800, the vast majority of which were donations of $100 or less.

Noteworthy: Rainwater appears to be riding the momentum created three years ago when he captured an unusually high 12% of the vote in the 2020 gubernatorial election, which is far greater than the Libertarian Party's typical 3%-4% showing. Rainwater championed the voices of those unhappy with Gov. Eric Holcomb's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Contact the reporter at kdwyer@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: More than $5M flows into Indiana governor's race