Big donations pour into Indiana governor's race

Big donations poured into the Indiana governor's race in the days before Tuesday's midyear fundraising deadline.

Gov. Mike Pence's re-election campaign received more than $800,000 in large contributions, primarily from conservative business executives inside and outside the state. That's nearly double what the next closest candidate — Democrat John Gregg — raised in large contributions. The former Indiana House speaker raised more than $400,000, mostly from local and national labor groups.

Candidates have until July 15 to report campaign contributions for the first half of 2015, but they have to disclose large donations — $10,000 or more — within a week of receiving them.

Those contributions are an important factor in establishing a candidate's credibility early in the race. They also offer a look at where candidates get their financial support and who might be interested in influencing them.

Gregg, who narrowly lost to Pence in 2012, announced Wednesday that his campaign had raised $1.73 million during the first half of the year, including large and small donations. The campaign ended the reporting period with $1.8 million in cash on hand.

"We have actually raised more in 60 days than in all of 2011," Gregg said Wednesday. "I think it shows the depth of our support across the state."

Gregg and other Democratic candidates — Indiana schools chief Glenda Ritz and state Sen. Karen Tallian — are seeking to capitalize on Pence's low approval ratings after a national firestorm over Indiana's new religious freedom law and clashes with Ritz over control of the State Board of Education.

The Pence campaign declined to release a preliminary fundraising figure Wednesday.

"It's premature for us to release our numbers," campaign spokesman Robert Vane said. "When the time is right, we will release all of our numbers, including the overwhelming percentage of both donors and donations that come from Hoosiers."

The Republican governor has collected at least $816,000 in large contributions alone this year, most of it during the past two weeks. His biggest contributions include:

•$100,000 from Fred M. Fehsenfeld Sr., CEO of The Heritage Group, which manages companies involved in highway construction and materials, environmental services, energy sales and marketing, and chemical refining.

•$50,000 from Boston private equity firm founder John W. Childs, who is also a board member of the conservative Club for Growth.

•$50,000 from Indianapolis nursing home executive Stuart Reed, who is also a board member of Hoosier Owners and Providers for the Elderly, which lobbied in favor of a moratorium on new nursing home construction that Pence allowed to become law without his signature in May.

•$50,000 from Connecticut hedge fund manager Thomas W. Smith, who also sits on the board of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.

Gregg has received $440,000 in large contributions — the vast majority of it from trade unions. His largest donations include:

•$150,000 from the Northern Indiana Operators Joint Labor Management PAC.

•$100,000 from the Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee in Washington, D.C.

•$50,000 from the Indiana Regional Carpenters Cope Account.

Those organizations opposed this year's effort to repeal Indiana's common construction wage law, which allowed local boards to set wages — often union wages — for workers on state and local government construction projects. Labor groups and other opponents said the change would drive down wages and open the door for low-paying, out-of-state contractors.

Pence, however, argued it would save taxpayers money on public projects. He signed the repeal into law in May. The change was supported by nonunion contractors, including the Associated Builders and Contractors. That organization's political action committee contributed $20,000 to Pence's campaign.

Two other potential Democratic challengers had little to show in the way of donations over $10,000.

Ritz, the superintendent of public instruction, reported no large contributions. Tallian, the third Democrat in the race, reported only a $20,000 transfer from her Senate campaign account.

That could spell trouble for the two campaigns, said Andy Downs, a political scientist at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Although grass-roots support and small-dollar donors are important, they're not usually enough to win a race, he said.

"Realistically, they need to be raising a lot of money, whether they want to or not, whether they have a great grass-roots organization or not," he said.

Gregg said that's a lesson he learned during the 2012 race.

"I learned the last time around when I got outspent 2 1/2 times to one that you need to be on television to get your message out," he said.

He attributed his improved fundraising performance this year to Pence's support for the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and other controversial issues, such as the common construction wage repeal.

"This time, he's got to run on his record," Gregg said. "Hoosiers don't want this divisiveness, they don't want this ideology. They want somebody who can bring us together. They want a leader."

Pence said during his re-election kickoff last month that he plans to tout his successes on issues such as job creation and increased education spending. He also backed off a long-standing pledge to avoid negative campaigning, promising to fire back if attacked.

"For those expecting a campaign like 2012, they will be disappointed," he said. "If our opponents choose to talk about our record, we will return the favor, and we will make sure that the choice in this election is clear."

The big contributions to Pence and Gregg were part of the fundraising frenzy that culminated Tuesday, the first reporting deadline in the race. Candidates blasted out emails throughout the day seeking last-minute contributions.

The campaigns must release a full list of all donations during the first half of the year by noon July 15.

Here's a full list of large contributions reported so far.

Call Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.