Oconee County’s three representatives in the Georgia General Assembly took in $86,040 in campaign contributions in the first days of the year leading up to the opening of the legislative session on Jan. 13, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.
Sen. Bill Cowsert received $42,775 from contributors. Rep. Houston Gaines received $27,065. Rep. Marcus Wiedower took in $16,200.
The three Republican legislators are sitting on $1,684,544 in campaign contribution in hand among them, a number that should not change until April 5, the day after the session is scheduled to end, when each is eligible to accept campaign donations again.
Gaines alone has $908,344 in his account, and that is second among the eight members of Republican Party leadership in the House only to the $984,251 that House Speaker Jon Burns has. Gaines is Majority Caucus Vice-Chairman.
An analysis of the final campaign finance report for 2024 shows that the three Republican legislators out raised the three Democratic seeking to unseat them in the November election 23 to 1.
On the local level, four candidates, all Republicans seeking re-election, filed Campaign Contribution Disclosure Reports at the end of 2024, according to Jennifer Stone, Assistant Director of Elections and Registration for Oconee County.
Sheriff James Hale raised $48,425 during 2024, Clerk of Superior Court Angela Elder Johnson raised $24,038, Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell raised $8,650, and Post 1 Commissioner Mark Thomas raised $7,796.
Independent District Attorney Candidate Kalki Yalamanchili raised $531,058 in his successful bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Deborah Gonzalez, who raised $68,800.
Jan. 31, 2025, Filings Cowsert
Cowsert, Gaines, and Wiedower each began a new two-year term in January.
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| Cowsert Official Photo |
Cowsert, who represents all of Oconee County in the 46th Senate District, recorded 41 contributions in the first 12 days of January, with three of them at the legal maximum of $3,300.
Contributing $3,300 were: Competitive Georgia Action Inc., which seeks legislation to limit jury awards in lawsuits; PMI (Philip Morris International) Global Services Inc., of San Rafael, Calif.; and SFAPAC Inc. of Atlanta, a conservative political action committee.
Cowsert received a $2,000 contribution from the Sports Betting Alliance.
Last year Cowsert led the effort in the Senate to legalize sports betting in Georgia, teaming up with Wiedower in the House.
This year, a Senate Resolution, SR 131, has been introduced to put sports betting on the ballot as an Amendment to the Georgia Constitution, but Cowsert is not listed as a sponsor.
Cowsert reported in his Feb. 7 filing of his Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report that he has a net balance on hand as of Jan. 31 of $343,310.
Jan. 31, 2025, Filings Gaines
Gaines reported 29 contributions in January leading up to the start of the legislative session on Jan. 13.
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| Gaines Official Photo |
Gaines represents the 120th House District, which includes Oconee Northeast Precinct, the newly merged Bogart and Marswood Hall precincts. House District 120 also includes parts of Barrow, Clarke, and Jackson counties.
Gaines received $3,300 from Competitive Georgia Action Inc. and two contributions totally $3,300 from GAPB Pac of Gainesville. Two $3,300 contributions are allowed, one for the primary and one for the general election.
Gaines received $2,500 from PMI (Philip Morris International) Global Services Inc. and $2,000 from Redspeed Georgia LLC, which provides traffic safety cameras.
Gaines reported in his Feb. 7 filling that he had $908,344 net balance on hand.
Jan. 31, 2025, Filings Wiedower
Wiedower, who represents the remaining three merged precincts in Oconee County in House District 121, reported 20 contributions from Jan. 1 to Jan. 11, in the report he filed on Feb. 8.
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| Wiedower Official Photo |
The largest of those contributions was $3,300 from Competitive Georgia Action Inc.
Wiedower received $1,000 from Redspeed Georgia and $500 from the Entertainment Software Association of Washington, D.C., which supports the video game industry.
Wiedower reported that he had a net cash balance on hand of $432,889 at the end of January of this year.
Local Candidates
Sheriff Hale entered the campaign year with $90,182 in his campaign fund, adding $48,425 as the year progressed.
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| Hale Oconee GOP 10/28/2024 |
Hale did not take in any money in the final campaign period, ending on Dec. 31 of last year. In the Sept. 30 Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report, Hale had reported receiving $6,250.
Hale had opposition in the campaign from Reginald Wade, who did not file a final campaign finance statement for the period ending December 31, 2024, according to Assistant Director Stone.
According to her campaign forms, Elder Johnson entered the campaign period without any money in her campaign fund, raising $24,038 during the year.
She reported not raising any money in the final filing period.
Elder Johnson had opposition in November from Laura King, who ran as a Democrat but did not have party support.
Daniell had opposition in the May primary but not in the in the Nov. 5 election.
Daniell reported he entered the year with $9,674 in his account and raised $8,650 during the year. He did not report raising any money in the final filing period.
Thomas filed paperwork in March indicating that he planned to accept campaign funds but that he did not expect to receive more than $2,500.
In his Dec. 31, 2024, filing, he indicated that he had received $2,521 in the Oct. 26 to Dec. 31 period, bringing his total for the campaign to $7,796.
Thomas had opposition in November from Suzannah Heimel, who ran as a Democrat without party support.
Candidates who received less than $2,500 did not have to file reports.
District Attorney Race
Incumbent Gonzalez entered the 2024 campaign year with $34,474 in her campaign fund.
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| Yalamanchili Oconee GOP 10/28/2024 |
During the 2024 campaign year, she raised $68,800.
Gonzalez reported that she raised $3,531 in the last filing period ending on Dec. 31.
Yalamanchili had not run for office before, so his $531,058 campaign contribution total represents monies he raised for his Independent 2024 campaign.
He reported raising $7,575 in the final filing period.
Gonzalez reported having $34,347 cash on hand at the end of the year.
Yalamanchili reported $37,529 cash on hand.
Contributions Comparisons 2024
Cowsert, Gaines, and Wiedower had Democratic opposition in the Nov. 5 election.
Gareth Fenley ran as the Democratic Party nominee for the 46th Senate District.
She did not file an October or December report. In her Sept. 30 report, she reported having raised $9,656. The last contribution she filed with the state was for $800 on Sept. 30.
Andrew Ferguson was the Democratic Party nominee for House District 120, and he reported raising $22,613 for that campaign.
Eric Gisler ran as the Democratic Party nominee for House District 121.
Gisler reported raising $14,106 for his campaign.
Ferguson reported raising $550 in the final campaign period, while Gisler reported raising $500.
Fenley, Ferguson, and Gisler together raised $46,376 for their campaigns compared with the $1,073,049 raised by Cowsert, Gaines, and Wiedower during the 2024 campaign.
That is a ratio of 23.1 to 1.
Incumbent Fundraising
As incumbents from safe districts, Cowsert, Gaines, and Wiedower have tremendous advantages in raising funds.
Cowsert is chair of the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Gaines is a member of Republican Party leadership as Majority Caucus Vice Chair. He also is vice chair of the Appropriations Committee.
Gaines also is being mentioned as a statewide candidate in 2026.
Wiedower is Chair of the Subcommittee for General Government of the Appropriations Committee.
Addresses Of Contributors
In the last 13 months, Cowsert listed 143 contributions. He did not list the address of 30 of them, though the amounts ranged from $250 to $3,300.
Of the 113 with listed addresses, 70 were from Georgia.
Cowsert’s District includes all of Oconee County but also parts of Clarke, Walton, Gwinnett, and Barrow counties.
Of the 70 Georgia addresses for contributors in the reports filed by Cowsert, three are from Athens. None are from Bishop, Bogart, Statham, or Watkinsville.
In the last 13 months, Gaines reported 700 contributions, with 484 of them from Georgia and 73 from out of state. No state is listed for 143 of the contributions, which are for $100 or less and do not require filing details.
Of those 484 contributions with a Georgia address, 80 are from Athens, Bishop, Bogart, Statham, Watkinsville, Attica, Arcade, and Nicholson.
In the last 13 months, Wiedower has reported 282 contributions, with 47 of them from out of state.
Of the 221 from within the state, 77 have an Athens, Bishop, Bogart, Statham, or Watkinsville address. Fourteen of the donations do not list an address. All are for $100 or less.
Gaines Stands Out
Gaines has demonstrated exceptional fundraising skills in his political career, which began even before he finished his university studies in 2017. He was first elected to the House in 2018.
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| Click To Enlarge |
In the last 13 months, Gaines had received contributions of $2,000 or more from 47 entities, with 16 at more than $3,000.
Gaines reported receiving $3,300 from: NextEra Energy Resources LLC, Juno Beach, Fla.; QuikTrip Corporation,Tulsa, Okla.; Community Choice Financial, Carrollton, Texas; and Altria Client Services LLC, Richmond, Va.
He also received $3,300 each from: Jacob Crowe of Lilburn, John Williams of Buford, Richard Bowles of Atlanta, Mike Hylton (twice) of Athens, Robert Wall, of Athens, and Apryl Hughes of Athens.
Based on the Jan. 31, 2025, Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report for each of the eight members of the Republican Party House Leadership, Gaines ranks behind only House Speaker Jon Burns in Net Balance on Hand, or funds in his campaign account, on Jan. 31 of this year.
Burns reported having $984,251, while Gaines reported having $908,344.
No one else is even close. Majority Whip James Burchett had $309,847, and Majority Leader Chuck Efstration had $302,701.
Jan Jones, Speaker-Pro-Tempore, had $272,864, and Majority Caucus Chair Bruce Williamson had $171,661.
Majority Caucus Chief Deputy Whip Rob Leverett had $91,094 Net Balance on Hand, and Majority Caucus Secretary/Treasurer Ginny Ehrhart had $55,025. Leverett did not file a report for January, so his figure is from Dec. 31, 2024.
Such a large reserve allows Gaines to fund other candidates.
In the last 13 months, Gaines has given $500 to Angie O’Steen for State House, $1,000 to Committee to Elect Elvia Davila, $500 to Elect Robert Dickey, $220 to Emory Dunahoo For State House, and $500 to Friends of Don Parsons. All were House candidates.
Only his biggest bet–on Elvia Davila–was not on a winner.
1 comment:
Thanks again, Lee, for your incredible reporting. “Safe districts” are not a feature of a strong democracy, and the current gerrymandering is 100% due to GA Republicans.
Gaines in particular amassing nearly 1M as a State Rep with virtually no real world experience is particularly disgusting. I hope Republican voters wake up soon and see how they are being fleeced to support the rich and powerful.
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