Actions

Gov race: Gianforte adds another $1M from his own pocket

Bozeman Republican up to $2.55M for the race
Posted at 5:37 PM, Aug 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-20 21:02:36-04

Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has put another $1 million of his own money into his campaign – but his Democratic opponent, Mike Cooney, took in more money from donors the past two months.

Gianforte, a Bozeman businessman, has now loaned his campaign $2.55 million – just under half of the $5.4 million he’s raised for his campaign since June 2019.

His campaign also has spent nearly $5 million through last weekend, leaving him about $433,000 remaining – and only $334,000 of that can be spent on the general election.

Cooney, the state’s lieutenant governor, reported Thursday that he raised $725,000 during the past two months. Gianforte raised about $582,000 from donors during that same period, including about $64,000 from political-action and Republican Party committees.

Cooney also ended the period with $670,000 in his campaign account – about twice the amount of Gianforte for the remainder of the general election.

The two men are competing to succeed Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who is running for the U.S. Senate. Libertarian Lyman Bishop of Kalispell also is in the race.

Cooney has raised about $1.8 million since he entered the race in July 2019, entirely from donors, including a few PACs.