District 20 Republicans outraise and spend Democrats

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There’s a large disparity in how much Mitchell-area legislative candidates have raised and spent on their campaigns.

State Rep. Lance Carson has raised more than $15,000 and state Sen. Mike Vehle has collected almost as much, while state Rep. Tona Rozum topped $13,000, according to reports filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office last week.

All three are Republican incumbents in District 20, which includes Davison, Aurora and Jerauld counties. They live in Mitchell.

Meanwhile, Democrat David Mitchell, of Mitchell, who is running for a District 20 House seat, has raised $135, including a $100 personal donation.

Fellow Democratic House candidate James Schorzmann, of Mitchell, had raised $4,650.48.

District 20 Senate candidate Quinten Burg, a Democrat from Wessington Springs who is seeking a return to the Legislature, raised $6,475.

Vehle and Burg are running for the district’s one Senate seat. Carson, Rozum, Mitchell and Schorzmann are running for the district’s two House seats.

Here are more details on how much the six candidates raised and who is giving them money, as well as how they are spending their money. The deadline for pre-general election reports was Oct. 26.

Carson

Carson had raised $15,448.33, according to his report. His biggest fiscal supporter was the Davison County Republicans, which gave him $3,458.33, including $1,958.33 in an in-kind donation of a billboard.

He also made a $3,000 donation to his own campaign. The biggest outside donation is $1,500 from the South Dakota Corn Growers Association Political Action Committee, part of the $8,490 he received from in-state PACs.

Carson also received $500 from the Peter Norbeck PAC, which is controlled by former Gov. Mike Rounds. He received another $500 total from three out-of-state PACs.

Carson had spent $4,989.91, including $3,767.02 on advertising, and listed $412.68 as administrative costs, $335.21 for travel and $300 for consulting.

He also donated $2,100 to three Republican PACS.

Vehle

Vehle reported collecting $14,994.83, including $2,000 from the South Dakota Senate Campaign Committee, and $1,500 from the Davison County Republicans, in addition to the $1,958.33 in-kind donation of a billboard.

He received $8,000 from in-state PACs, including $2,000 from the Norbeck PAC, and $1,950 from out-of-state PACs.

He had spent $13,090.15. Most of that, $9,603.07, was for advertising. He also spent $738.14 for campaign supplies and $711.06 on travel.

Rozum

Rozum had raised $11,300 in cash contributions and received a $1,958.33 in-kind contribution from the Davison County Republicans for a billboard.

The county party also gave her $1,500, and she received $500 from both Rounds’ Norbeck PAC and the South Dakota Retailers Association PAC. She collected $4,880 from in-state PACs and $450 from out-of-state PACs. Rozum reported spending $4,049.52. She spent $3,621.95 on advertising, and $376.33 on postage. Rozum donated $1,000 to other Republican candidates and committees, including $100 to Vehle.

Mitchell

Mitchell donated $100 to his own campaign and received another $35 donation. A $12.50 checking account fee is his only listed expense,

He added a note to his form, explaining that he was unable to run “a normal campaign.” His wife, Ann, died this summer, and Mitchell was hoping another Democrat would fill his slot on the ballot.

Mitchell received $1,000 from the Davison County Democrats, which he chairs, but he donated that to other campaigns, including $200 to both Schorzmann and Burg.

Schorzmann

Schorzmann received most of his money from the Davison County Democrats, which gave him $2,500. He also received $350 from the Wessington Springs Democrats. He took no PAC dollars.

Schorzmann had spent $3,760.19, including $1,831.40 for printing and $1,252 on advertising. He also lists $266.80 for “parade candy” and $193 for bags and seals.

Burg

Burg received $2,300 from the Davison County Democrats and $450 from the Jerauld County Democrats.

He also received $1,000 from the South Dakota Trial Lawyers PAC, part of the $2,150 he received from PACs, all in South Dakota. In addition, he received $250 for radio advertising from Mitchell City Councilman Mel Olson, a former Democratic legislator who has publicly endorsed Burg, and $250 from his brother Jim Burg, a former Wessington Springs mayor, legislator and Public Utilities Commission member.

Quinten Burg had spent $5,769.31, including $4,084.19 on advertising, and $1,360.39 on printing.

He also made a donation of $870.40 to the state Democratic Party.

Tags: election 2012, news, updates, legislature, local, davison