Politics

Democrat Steve Lindbeck has big fundraising quarter in race to unseat Don Young

WASHINGTON — Democrat Steve Lindbeck brought in more than $400,000 in his first several months of fundraising for his campaign to unseat longtime Alaska congressman Don Young.

Lindbeck brought in three times the funds Young raised in the second quarter, though Young still has substantially more on hand as the race begins.

The Democrat, a former Alaska Public Media executive and one-time editorial page editor at the Anchorage Daily News, raised $418,771, and has $324,658 on hand, according to his campaign. The campaign also said 90 percent of campaign donors came from within Alaska, and 85 percent of the total funds came from in-state.

Lindbeck attributed his success to dwindling support for Young, who has held his office since 1973.

"The outpouring of support from across Alaska has been incredible," Lindbeck said. "Our grassroots campaign is funded by people across Alaska who know it's time to elect a congressman who will face our economic challenges head-on and work to build a sustainable future for our state."

But Lindbeck still has an uphill climb if he wants to unseat Young.

Young raised a relatively light $135,046 between April and June, but he has $640,000 in cash on hand — twice his Democratic challenger's holdings.

ADVERTISEMENT

And in a recent poll conducted for Alaska Dispatch News by Alaska Survey Research found Lindbeck had anemic name recognition: 78.2 percent of those polled did not recognize his name, and another 12.7 percent who did know him had a "neutral" opinion of the candidate.

Nevertheless, 27.9 percent of those polled said they would vote for Lindbeck if elections were held that day, and 50.5 percent said they would vote for Young.

Young's campaign manager Jerry Hood touted the second quarter fundraising totals as a sign of "a wide-ranging group of enthusiastic supporters" who support "the principles of a limited government, a strong Second Amendment and protecting our economy from job-killing rules and regulations." And he noted that "money doesn't win elections," no matter how much there is, citing the more than $57 million spent in Alaska's 2014 Senate race.

This article has been updated for clarity regarding in-state donations to Steve Linbeck.

Erica Martinson

Erica Martinson is Alaska Dispatch News' Washington, DC reporter, and she covers the legislation, regulation and litigation that impact the Last Frontier.  Erica came to ADN after years as a reporter covering energy at POLITICO. Before that, she covered environmental policy at a DC trade publication and worked at several New York dailies.

ADVERTISEMENT