In the final weeks before Election Day, wealthy candidates on both sides of the political spectrum are relying on their individual fortunes to strengthen their campaigns.
On Monday, Joe O’Dea, a Republican running for the Senate in Colorado, put $1 million of his own money into the cause. On the same day, Missouri’s Democratic Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine contributed $2 million from her personal wealth to her campaign.
O’Dea contributed after he added another $500,000 to his campaign on October 28. All four candidates in the Senate and gubernatorial races have declared incomes of at least $1 million per year. This indicates that many candidates for Colorado’s highest offices have substantial personal fortunes.
In addition, Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz has contributed nearly $27 million of his own money to his campaign against Democrat John Fetterman.
In the race for governor of Washington, where Nike co-founder Phil Knight has backed opponents of Democratic candidate Tina Kotec, personal wealth has also emerged as a key factor.
The 84-year-old Knight assisted Betsy Johnson, a former Democrat running as an independent and posing a significant threat to Kotek, in launching her campaign.
Republican Christine Drazan now has the chance to win over a liberal electorate that is losing faith in the state’s recent far-left policies thanks to Johnson’s candidacy.
Since 1982, Oregon has not elected a Republican governor, but polls indicate Drazan has a good chance of winning. Drazan and Kotek have a 3-point advantage in a FiveThirtyEight polling average from October 13 with 37.4% and 34.3%, respectively. Johnson has just 16.4% support at the moment.
