By PETER HUSSMANN
Incumbent Rep. Dan Kelley, D-Newton, raised 45 times the amount of his opponent in this November's election for the new House District 29 seat but enters the fall campaign period well behind his challenger in the amount of cash on hand.
Kelley, who will again be challenged by Republican Gabe Swersie in the November election, a race Kelley won by a slim margin two years ago, reported cash contributions of $2,280 in the latest campaign finance reporting period, state records that were required to be filed by Thursday show.
Kelley received campaign contributions from 19 donors during the period, the largest of which was a $1,000 contribution from the Operating Engineers Local 234 Political Fund in Des Moines.
Kelley had $1,124.75 in campaign cash on hand at the start of the reporting period, the records show.
Swersie received just one campaign contribution for the period, a $50 donation from Coretha Rozendaal of Monroe. He started the reporting period with $1,686.74 in cash on hand.
It was on the expense side of the ledger where the money on hand advantage changed.
Swersie spent just $234 for candy distributed at local parades and campaign merchandise from DC Sports in Newton, the records show, leaving him with $1,502.44 in cash on hand heading into the fall election.
Kelley reported expenditures of $3,136.76 for the period ending July 19 leaving him with $267.99 in cash on hand.
The majority of the expenditures reported went to the candidate himself, including $2,293.20 in mileage associated with his work as a state representative and another $400 for his monthly cell phone charges. He also reported expenses for such things as candy for parades, office supplies, web fees, printing and a $75 charitable contribution to the Hoover Library Association in West Branch.
Kelley also reported indebtedness totalling $1,457.46, all but $500 of which is owed to himself.
The campaign finance reports filed by the two candidates seeking to represent the majority of Jasper County residents cover the period from May 15 to July 14. The next report, which covers the time frame from July 15 to Oct. 14 are due Oct. 19.
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