Local donations to presidential campaigns lowest in 18 years

Logan citizens are contributing less in the current presidential election cycle than the city has in 18 years.

In the last election cycle, Logan citizens spent $1,081,516 — an all-time high for the city. However, contributions saw a dramatic drop this election cycle, in which Logan has only spent $31,935. According to OpenSecrets.org, that’s roughly one-fortieth as much as the average contribution per city.

Gina Worthen is the vice chair for the Cache County Republican Party. She thinks voters are choosing to wait for a single, strong candidate before donating their money.

“I don’t think it’s a lack of interest. I think it’s just almost an overwhelming number of candidates — good candidates,” she said.

Worthen said Logan is typically politically active, especially during presidential election years. While the city has a notable concentration of Democrats, Cache Valley consistently votes conservative.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has received 26.6 percent of the financial donations in Logan — more than any other candidate. He is followed closely by Ben Carson at 23.3 percent and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at 19.9 percent.

Figure 1. Credit: Center for Responsive Politics

“I think when you have upwards of 20 candidates all running for the same position — all vying for the same votes — I think people tend to hold onto their money,” said Matthew Clewett, assistant director for the Government Relations Council at Utah State University.

Clewett agrees with Worthen — there’s more uncertainty at the beginning of election season. Candidates could drop out any time, and it’s safest to contribute to a politician when he or she has the party bid.

Reid Stewart, however, contributed early on to the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee.

“I figured he needed some help to get started, and so I gave a few thousand dollars,” the 85-year-old Logan native said. “But I was going to wait to see who gets down to the final line and who the actual Republican guy is — or gal or whoever.”

Stewart put it simply: He votes for “good people.” He doesn’t consider himself partisan, but the candidates he likes most are Carson, Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump.

As far as college students go, low monetary contributions don’t necessarily mean low voter interest. Clewett said students carry lots of financial burdens, and so — while financial contributions are a good way to help a campaign — students often contribute to politicians in other ways.

“You can contact their offices. You can volunteer for them. You can man the phones for them. You can go attend rallies for them,” Clewett said. “We still want to have our voices heard, and there are many ways that you can do that.”

— brennakelly818@gmail.com

@bckelly8