Massive amounts of money are pouring into the race for a Senate seat in Alaska from Outside -- $4 of every $5 originated somewhere other than Alaska in the last fundraising quarter -- with one hopeful raking in much of his cash from Ohio and the Democratic incumbent tapping into a vast network of political action committees across the nation.
Reports detailing contributions in the last three months of 2013 also show that Sen. Mark Begich and Republican challenger Dan Sullivan have established themselves as clear frontrunners in the fundraising race, while two other candidates vying for the Republican nomination, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and tea party darling Joe Miller, lag far behind.
Collectively, the four candidates raised $2.4 million in the last three months of 2013, with Begich and Sullivan raising more than $2 million of that, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission. At least $1.9 million of that money came from Outside.
Sullivan, who has been referred to in Cleveland news accounts as a "Fairview Park native" for his strong ties to the Ohio town bordering Cleveland, raised at least 30 percent of his total cash from donors who listed Ohio addresses.
His brother is Frank Sullivan, the chief executive officer of RPM Inc., the Ohio-based company that makes a wide variety of paints, from Rust-Oleum to Varathane, and many industrial products.
Dan Sullivan received 104 contributions of $2,600 each from Ohio donors, the maximum amount that an individual can give for the primary, along with dozens of smaller contributions from other Ohio residents.
He also received $5,000 from the RPM Manufacturing in America PAC and $5,000 from the Timken Good Government Fund. His brother is on the boards of RPM and Timken.
Sullivan also received $176,066 from Friends for an American Majority, a Virginia-based committee set up to raise money for Sullivan and two GOP contenders in Montana and Arkansas.
While Begich is the target of a national Republican campaign to oust him from office, he's also received a broad array of nationwide support in terms of fundraising.
Begich raised $849,364 in the fourth quarter. Of that, $702,070 came from outside of Alaska, or 83 percent.
Begich received 1,011 donations from Alaska residents, raising $147,294 in the state. Some of those Alaskans gave multiple times.
Unlike the other candidates -- who chose not to itemize all of their donations below $200, something they're allowed to do under federal law -- Begich listed all of his contributions, including one for just $1, from a retiree in Dillingham.
For Begich, dozens of political action committees from outside Alaska reached deep, giving $272,750. Those groups represented a broad range of interests. Examples include the Friends of Israel PAC, the Princess Cruises and Tours PAC, the ConocoPhillips Spirit PAC, and the Barrick Gold of North America Employees PAC.
Begich's biggest donation came from the Alaska-Arkansas Senate Victory Fund, a $37,760 boost from a campaign committee based in Washington, D.C.
Of the $1.28 million Sullivan brought in, at least $1.13 million came from outside Alaska, or 89 percent.
Sullivan provided details on 130 donations from Alaska who gave $133,077. Sullivan reported another $19,262 in donations of less than $200 that were not itemized in the report. Those smaller donations may or may not have come from Alaskans.
Treadwell and Miller raised far fewer funds. Treadwell's campaign has touted his Alaska donations, saying 80 percent of his donors were from Alaska.
As far as actual fundraising dollars, of the $228,125 Treadwell took in, at least $83,375 of those donations came from outside the state, or 36 percent.
Miller, who won the Republican nomination from Sen. Lisa Murkowski four years ago, raised $30,490 during the quarter. At least $9,425 came from outside Alaska, or 31 percent.
Reporter Jill Burke contributed to this report. Contact Alex DeMarban at alex(at)alaskadispatch.com. Contact Dermot Cole at dermot(at)alaskadispatch.com.