A Harvard professor making a run at the state's top office hauled in the most fundraising dollars last month after launching her campaign mid-way through June, according to new data filed with the state's campaign finance office.
Last month was pivotal in the gubernatorial race as two more candidates joined the competition. The field is quickly taking shape and as the race heats up the fundraising numbers for the month of June give a glimpse at which candidates are managing to draw in small and large donors.
Danielle Allen leads the field with the most total funds raised in June, hauling in $102,872 and topping the pack with $339,941 cash on hand, according to the state's campaign finance office. Her campaign told the News Service that the fundraising numbers bring the candidate's second-quarter total to over $260,000.
The Harvard professor has been in the race for a half-month, having launched her campaign outside the State House in mid-June where she critiqued the Baker administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said she held "core progressive values."
"We're excited by the growth of support for the campaign's and Danielle's mission to reimagine the future of Our Commonwealth and look forward to growing our organizing first campaign," Campaign Manager Allen Chen said in a statement to the News Service.
Seven-term state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz hauled in $33,362 during the same period, though she officially launched her bid on June 23. Her campaign said she raised over $53,000 in the first week after announcing her bid for governor and that 90 percent of the contributions were $100 or less. Those contributions were not all reflected in her monthly report due to lags in reporting of online donations.
"[Chang-Díaz] is setting the bar for small-dollar fundraising power, with the lowest average donation out of any of the 2022 governor candidates," Chang-Díaz’s Acting Campaign Manager Joshua Wolfsun said in a statement. "It’s clear that working families across the state are excited for a governor with the experience and urgency to tackle our Commonwealth’s biggest problems head-on.”
Former State Sen. Ben Downing, who was the first candidate to officially seek the state's top office in 2022, hauled in $39,408 in June and has $117,316 cash on hand, according to the state's campaign finance office.
Downing’s campaign said he raised $114,000 in the second quarter, with roughly three-quarters of his money coming from Massachusetts donors in contributions of $100 or less.
“These numbers are a reflection of the organic and energetic movement we are building across the state around climate action, racial equity, economic justice and the biggest policy challenges we face,” said Christina Gregg, the deputy campaign manager.
