Ada County voters: See which local candidate leads — by far — in campaign fundraising

In Ada County elections, it pays to be an incumbent — at least this year. In local races for county commissioner, sheriff and prosecutor, incumbent candidates are far outpacing their competitors on fundraising.

But as of Sept. 30, incumbent Republican Sheriff Matt Clifford was the only candidate whose campaign had broken six figures, bringing in about $103,000 compared with the Constitution Party’s Doug Traubel, who raised about $26,000.

Most of Traubel’s top donors were individuals, while Clifford received donations from local real estate businesses and a law firm, including $2,000 donations from Clearwater Home Services, Derden Law and Jennifer Navest Realty LLC.

The numbers may portend a repeat of the 2022 GOP primary election, when Clifford took over 65% of the vote in a match against Traubel. And they provided context to a video that Traubel’s campaign shared in September in which Clifford said he would not be open to a debate.

“I’m gonna win, and I don’t need to debate him,” Clifford told the person filming.

Traubel has been questioned by government officials about comments he’s made, including that “Islam is the culture of death,” and social media posts he’s written about the number of Black men who rape white women, the Statesman previously reported.

No Democrat is in the race. Democratic candidate Victor McCraw withdrew on Sept. 6, saying he’d accepted a job in Hawaii, the Statesman previously reported.

Real estate industry supports incumbent Republicans

Money isn’t everything, but in the absence of any reliable public polling data, the ability to pull in donations is perhaps the best available indicator of a candidate’s strength in the competition.

The county commissioners and coroner are the only Ada County offices that Democrats have won in recent years, but they haven’t achieved any success since 2018. Democrats held two of the three commission seats as recently as four years ago, but in November 2020, Republican Davidson defeated incumbent Democrat Diana Lachiondo. In 2022, Democrat Kendra Kenyon did not run again, and Republican Tom Dayley won her seat. Longtime Democratic Coroner Dotti Owens lost to Republican Rich Riffle in 2022.

In the race for county commissioner in District 1, incumbent Republican Ryan Davidson had raised nearly $50,000 as of Sept. 30, compared with challenger Democrat Jonathan Lashley’s approximately $12,000.

Both primarily attracted donors from within Idaho. Davidson drew in funds from the real estate industry, including $1,500 in donations from the Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho and $1,000 each from the Idaho Association of Realtors, SMC Properties LLC — owned by a precious metals dealer, the Idaho Capital Sun reported — and the Idaho Land Fund, an organization that Idaho Education News reported is affiliated with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation.

Lashley received a $1,000 donation from Instructure, an education-related software company in Utah, and $250 donation from Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea, of Boise. Most of the donations to his campaign came from individuals, including himself.

District 1 represents mostly Boise, roughly north of Interstate 84 and east of Idaho 55.

In the District 2 commissioner’s race, incumbent Republican Tom Dayley had earned nearly $60,000 as of Oct. 6, compared with challenger Devin Gutierrez’s approximately $4,500 by Sept. 30.

Gutierrez received mostly smaller donations from individuals, while Dayley garnered donations from the local real estate and construction industries, including $2,000 donations from Nampa Floors & Interiors, Price’s Guaranteed Doors Inc. and the Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho.

District 3 reaches from the Canyon County line east to the Elmore County line, encompassing southern parts of Meridian and Boise.

Incumbent Republican County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts had raised about $75,000 as of Sept. 30, while challenger Democrat Johnathan Baldauf hovered around $30,000.

Individuals, businesses and political action committees are limited to $1,000 in donations to candidates for local offices. These limits are separate for primary and general elections, so a contributor can give up to $2,000 to a candidate who runs in both.

This story was originally published October 14, 2024 at 2:11 PM.

Sarah Cutler

Idaho Statesman

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Sarah covers the legislative session and state government with an interest in political polarization, government accountability and the intersection of religion and politics. Please reach out with feedback, tips or ideas. If you like seeing stories like hers, please consider supporting her work with a digital subscription. Support my work with a digital subscription