DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Gov. Terry Branstad has received big campaign contributions from Iowa business leaders, special interest political committees and celebrity businessman Donald Trump, according to a campaign finance report filed Tuesday.
Branstad’s report showed that he had about $4.1 million on hand as of Dec. 31 for his re-election campaign. He raised $3.5 million in 2013, and spent about $793,000.
The report shows that Branstad received contributions ranging in size from as little as $5 to as much as $1 million, the latter coming from a political action committee affiliated with the Republican Governors Association.
Other top individual contributors include well-known Iowa businessmen Bruce Rastetter and John Pappajohn, who both gave more than $30,000 to the campaign. Trump gave Branstad $15,000.
Branstad spokesman Tommy Schultz said the campaign was proud of the mix of donors revealed in the report.
“The campaign believes it speaks to the record of accomplishment,” Schultz said.
Branstad’s likely Democratic opponent, Jack Hatch, reported Sunday that his campaign had nearly $237,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31. Hatch, a Des Moines Democrat and owner of the Hatch Development Group, raised about $300,000 from donors in 2013. Hatch and his wife, Sonja Roberts, loaned the campaign a total of $140,000.
Another Democrat who dropped out of the race also filed a report. State Rep. Tyler Olson, of Cedar Rapids, reported that he raised just more than $330,000 and ended the year with nearly $117,000 in the bank. Olson - who exited the race after announcing he and his wife would divorce - said his campaign was in the process of returning contributions, though he could not provide full details on how that would work.
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