Minimal Spending Reported in Floyd County's Contested Races

Candidates in Floyd County's contested Georgia General Assembly races had until Oct. 7 to update their campaign finance reports through the end of September. The next filings will be due by Nov. 1 to reflect activity through Oct. 25.

The contribution limit is $3,300 per donor. Another $1,800 is allowed to help fund a runoff, but with only two candidates in each race, the elections will be decided Nov. 5.

State House District 12

Democrat Logan Johnson of Menlo filed paperwork in April to challenge Republican Eddie Lumsden for the state House District 12 seat in Floyd and Chattooga counties. He's missed all campaign finance reporting deadlines since then and could not be reached last week through email or by phone.

Lumsden reported $231,839 in his Eddie Lumsden for State House campaign account as of Sept. 30. His financial activity has been minimal for a contested state-level race, with $11,079 in contributions and $10,827 in expenses since his previous report through June 30.

The chair of the House Insurance Committee's biggest contribution, $2,500, came from the bipartisan American Council of Life Insurers in Washington, D.C.

Other major donors, at the $1,000 level, were Delta Dental Insurance Co.; Georgia Chiropractic Association; Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia; JM Family Automotive LLC; Merck pharmaceuticals; and The Doctors Company in Napa, California.

His biggest payments, totaling $10,300, went to Georgia House Republican Trust Inc. in Monroe. The entity appears to coordinate campaigns for members of the caucus.

State House District 13

Democrat Kevin Aronhalt is challenging Republican incumbent Katie Dempsey for the state House District 13, which represents about 60% of Floyd County.

Aronhalt reported $4,750 in his campaign account as of the end of September. He took in $9,290 in contributions during this reporting period (making a total of $21,285) and spent $10,407.

His biggest contribution this period, $3,300, came from The Fighting 50, a Decatur based political action committee formed to ensure Republican Georgia General Assembly candidates have Democratic opposition.

The balance of his contributions came from individual donors, including Robin Holt of Cave Spring; Brian Keefe of Rome; and Hal Storey of Armuchee.

Major expenditures included $3,400 to Comcast for a radio commercial; $2,000 to Lamar Advertising for a billboard and mailings; and $1,000 to Campaigns by Vincent in Rome for campaign paraphernalia. Aronhalt also fundraised and donated $509.99 to the local Walk A Mile domestic violence awareness and prevention event and spent $233.38 for a Rome High School Theatre ad.

Dempsey reported $56,194 cash on hand in the Friends of Katie Dempsey account she's maintained since she was first elected in 2006. Contributions totaled $23,250 since her previous report through June 30 and expenses were $13,782.

Major donors, at $1,000 each, included Autism Behavior Services Inc. out of Santa Ana, California; the Committee to Elect Butch Parrish, a colleague in the House; Friends of Jan Jones, another colleague; Georgia OB and GYN Society Inc.; Georgia Solidarity Network, headed by David Zalik, cofounder of Atlanta financial technology company GreenSky; Southern States Police Benevolent Association; and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Boston.

Her biggest reported expenses were monthly rent on an apartment near the state capitol and consulting fees. She also made several local donations: a $750 sponsorship of an event by Faith & Freedom Coalition of Cassville; a $500 sponsorship of the Floyd County GOP's Tillman Rally; and $500 donations to the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia and The Exchange Club Family Resource Center.

State Senate District 53

Democrat Bart Bryant initially thought to run for congress and filed his Federal Election Commission reports. He terminated that campaign in February after deciding to seek the District 53 state senate seat held by Republican Colton Moore.

The Georgia state ethics commission has no reports on file for Bryant and he did not respond to a request for comment about the status.

Moore's latest report on file is through June 30, when he reported $6,859 cash on hand and outstanding debt from his 2022 primary and general elections totaling just under $14,000.

U.S. House District 14

The filing deadline for the 14th District U.S. House race is Tuesday for reports that will cover activity through the end of September. The last filings from incumbent Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Democratic challenger Shawn Harris as of Friday were through June 30.

Greene's principle fundraising committee is Greene for Congress, based in Rome, but on Oct. 8 she updated her list of other committees authorized to accept and spend funds on her behalf. They are: Marjorie Taylor Greene's People Over Politics Committee, based in Roswell; Put America First Joint Fundraising Committee and MTG Victory Fund Inc., with headquarters in both Roswell and Washington, D.C; and Battleground Georgia Fund, based in D.C.

Harris has one authorized campaign finance committee: Shawn for Georgia, based in Cedartown.