Romney leads in local campaign contributions

With both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in the spotlight recently, it’s interesting to look at which presidential candidate has taken in the most local campaign donations from major contributors.

That honor goes to Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who leads the way in presidential campaign contributions of $200 or more made from Whitefish-area residents. Romney has pulled in about $25,850 of local donations during the 2012 presidential election cycle, according to the most recent data from the Federal Election Commission.

President Barack Obama has tallied $9,562 locally in donations of $200 or more. Smaller contributions are not itemized so they can’t be tracked geographically. Nationally, most of Obama’s contributions are $200 or less, while most of Romney’s are $2,000 or more.

At least 14 Whitefish residents have donated more than $1,000 to Romney’s campaign. One resident contributed $22,500 to the Republican National Committee.

While Romney leads in Whitefish, he trails in total statewide individual contributions, having pulled in $476,607, compared to Obama’s $493,182, according to FEC data. Montana ranks 45th nationally in the amount of money donated to presidential candidates, and pales in comparison to the $55 million contributed by California residents.

In the race for Montana’s Senate seat, Democrat Sen. Jon Tester has more than triple the amount of Whitefish-area donations of $200 or more compared to Republican candidate Rep. Denny Rehberg. Tester has seen $31,040 in local donations, compared to Rehberg’s $8,150, based on FEC data from Aug. 6.