Candidates look near and far in search for campaign cash

Due to a new addition to the extended MPG family (Rosalie Ruth Koczela, born 3 weeks ago), we are a bit late on the April fundraising roundup. Rather than rehash the monthly fundraising totals, which have been reported elsewhere, we have summarized the full fundraising data, from January 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014,  in the chart below.

The candidates are relying on several different fundraising strategies. Republican Charlie Baker and Democrats Martha Coakley and Steve Grossman are relying on a more traditional formula of large checks from Massachusetts donors. Democrats Juliette Kayyem and Don Berwick have raised considerable chunks of change from out of state. And independents Evan Falchuk and Jeff McCormick along with Republican Mark Fisher have each contributed the majority of their dollars to their own accounts.

1. Charlie Baker leads the pack in every category but self-funding. This is not entirely surprising, given that the five Democrats must compete for similar groups of Massachusetts donors, while Baker mostly has the state Republican donor base to himself. Baker has also raised more money from Massachusetts donors, and more in increments under $200 than any of the other candidates. While Mark Fisher is now on the Republican ballot for the September primary, he has not yet shown an ability to raise money in a way that would threaten the Baker campaign's haul.
2. Steve Grossman and Martha Coakley have similar fundraising totals, but Coakley has picked up steam in recent months. Until November of 2013, Grossman raised more most months. Since then, Coakley has maintained a consistent edge, mirroring her lead in the last several polls of the Democratic primary.
3. Most of the money is coming in large chunks rather than from small donors. Campaigns love to emphasize the amounts that come from small donors. But at this stage, small donors don't make up nearly as important a source of dollars as the big checks. This ratio will change somewhat as we get closer to Election Day and everyday voters tune in and write checks to their preferred candidate. But even as small donors start giving, don't look for these ratios to flip. Large donors typically make up the majority of the contributions through Election Day. 
4. Candidates have poured in $2 million of their own money and are showing no signs of slowing. Independents Evan Falchuk and Jeff McCormick have given the most to their own campaigns or any candidates. But Democrats Kayyem, Berwick and Avellone have also chipped in significant dollars of their own. Republican Mark Fisher has recently picked up the pace of self-funding, depositing just over $140,000 of his own money since March 31.