Republican candidate for governor Michael Williams filed his campaign financial disclosure leading the pack with the most individual donors of any Republican candidate during the latest reporting period. Just as Donald Trump out-paced his opponents with small-dollar donations, Michael Williams is doing the same in Georgia.
During the current reporting period (July 2017 - January 2018) Team Williams had over 3,500 individual donors from 131 counties across Georgia. The campaign raised $728k and has over $1.3 million cash on hand. The overall average donation was just $77 with the average small dollar donation ($200 or less) being $34. Team Williams received more donations than any other Republican rival and maintained the lowest average contribution amount of any candidate, having the most grassroots and working-class supporters in the race.Of the “itemized contributions” Michael Williams received a whopping 1511 small dollar donations compared to 528 for Brian Kemp, 268 for Hunter Hill, 267 for Campaign Casey, and a measly 18 Clay Tippins.
Williams stated, “After I filed my July 2017 disclosure, the mainstream media mocked a $3 donation to my campaign from a bartender, comparing it to a $6600 lobbyist donation to “Campaign Casey” Cagle. That insulting attack on my supporters defined my campaign. I am the candidate for working-class Georgians while my opponents are the candidates for lobbyists and big corporate special interests. I’m thankful for the $3 donation from Debra, a Bojangles biscuit maker in Carroll County, and the $10 donation from Colton, a farmer in Decatur County. They’re more important to me than any lobbyist donating big bucks in exchange for favors.
“As a small businessman, CPA, and the candidate with the most small dollar donors, I’m extremely conscience of how we use their hard-earned money. Like President Trump, our campaign has spent the least amount of money while gaining the most supporters. At the same time, my opponents are burning through their lobbyist cash on out of state consultants from Washington DC to Hollywood, California. How they spend their campaign money tells you a lot about how they will spend your tax dollars: like Popeye on leave. Our campaign is doing more with less. This is the same way I will treat our state budget as governor.”
Today’s announcement from Team Williams sends a strong message to the establishment, big corporate, and special interests; their days are numbered.