Research Update

This dive into Mike Braun's big donors is Titanic sub deep.

“Where ya been, Scott?”

Good Question.

During my last podcast, I said I was about halfway through researching Mike Braun’s big donors. Yeah, at least those who donated last year thru about March of this year. Then, as expected, we got the semi-annual reports at the FEC deadline a few weeks ago.

Y’all!

Federal elections are easy. Contribution limits cap the amount donors can give to a candidate. Not in Indiana! That’s why I saw a lot of $3300 and $6600 donations when researching my last piece on Jim Banks (which will be updated at a later date to include the most recent data).

IN INDIANA STATEWIDE ELECTIONS, THERE ARE NO CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMITS ON INDIVIDUALS OR PACS.

So I’ve had a Scrooge McDuck-sized silo of money to dig through. From the combined data of last year’s annual report and this year’s semi-annual report, I’ve got Braun down for 546 unique donors (not counting businesses entities or PACs). Not exactly a groundswell of support among the approximately 2 million registered Republicans in the state of Indiana.

But those 546 individuals gave just over $4800 on average.

$4800!

Do you have that kind of money available for political activism? Probably not. According to Pew Research, “of all Americans who reported donating to a candidate or group working to elect a candidate, 55% reported donating less than $100, while 32% reported donating between $100 and $250, according to the fall 2016 survey.”

What does that mean?

Even the most politically committed average American doesn’t spend more than about $250. Remember a few years ago when Bernie Sanders made a stir by raising vast amounts of cash with an average donation of only “TWENTY-SEVEN DOLLAHS?” He had a huge groundswell of support giving what little they could.

Braun’s situation is the opposite. The overwhelming bulk of his support comes from the wealthiest donors, while he has very little popular support. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic plays in the 2024 Republican primary, though I suspect that contest will come down to which candidate has the MOST exorbitantly wealthy donors.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep digging through this mountain of Mike Braun’s record campaign haul. A few hours here and there as I get the time. Again I ask for reader support. Paid subscriptions will allow me to hang less drywall, paint less houses, and take time off to research and publish more frequently.

With that said, I know when I get deep into a research project like this, and it takes several weeks to complete, I’m not posting frequently. It may not seem you’re getting your money’s worth.

And I get that. So I’m asking you, my readers, what you would like to see? Do you enjoy the long-form content or would you like to see smaller, more frequent posts. For example, when researching high dollar donors like this, would you like the profiles of a few donors at a time as I finish those? OR Would you like the whole thing at once.

I WILL say this. One thing I DO notice as I go through all of these are the networks and patterns that emerge. It’s not just ONE Elkhart County RV-industry tycoon financing Braun, but several. So maybe that’s one in the pro column for finishing the whole thing first.

Regardless, although I do indeed do this for my mental health, I also started this publication to reach Hoosiers, shake the Indiana left out of its stupor, and MAYBE one day make enough money to do this full-time. So, I want to hear from you. What will make you more likely to read, to subscribe, and - most importantly - to share? Hit me back by commenting here or, if you don’t want the whole internet to see, email me at scottrog78@gmail.com.

Thank you all. #LEO