Friday, November 5, 2010

Dollars equals votes?

Reports show correlation between donations, success

---

By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

In the case of the races for District 25, it seems as though money talks—or at least, it votes.

Campaign finance disclosures for the 2010 state elections reveal a striking correlation between the number and amount of voter donations and a candidate's success.

Among the three candidates for state Senate, Democratic candidate and current Sen. Michelle Stennett far outstripped her opponents, collecting $6,600 in funding for the general election alone. The money came from nine District 25 voters, mostly in Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Republican Jim Donoval collected $2,000 from two district voters, and Constitution Party candidate Randall Patterson received $100 from one voter.

Stennett, who won 58 percent of the vote, had 76 percent of total voter donations for this year's state Senate election. Donoval received 29 percent of contributions and 36 percent of the vote, and Patterson had 1 percent of donations and 6 percent of votes.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

acheter viagra
comprar viagra
buy viagra