On this deadline for campaign finance reports, I swung by the Secretary of State’s office around 1:30 to pick up any filings that had been turned in before the last minute.

The answer: not very many, and none of the biggies. No gubernatorial candidates, nothing from the two Dems running for AG. Tune in later today for an update. Here’s what I’ve got so far…

No good news for Jack “Six Teats” McMullen, the two-time loser who’s the Republican candidate for AG. After raising nothing through July 15, he managed to pull in $19,000 in the past month. Virtually all of it was in large donations, and all of those were from out of state. Yep, he may have lived in Vermont for a while now, but he’s still a political carpetbagger; no Vermonters are giving his campaign any money. He lists a total of 13 donors; there were seven max gifts of $2,000, and four more of $1,000. He reported a total of $220 in “donations of $100 or less.”

Now, there’s a broad-based candidacy.

If that’s not sad enough, McMullen also managed to spend nearly $10,000 in the past month, blowing more than half of his campaign kitty at a time when the Freeploid characterizes him as “waiting in the wings” for the result of the August 28 Democratic primary. He’s burning through a lot of cash for a candidate who’s just waiting around.

We can all have a good cackle about that. But here’s something that’s got me upset: Democratic Lt-Gov candidate Cassandra Gekas remains drastically underfunded.  

In the past month, Gekas raised a paltry $7,500 and spent over $6,000, leaving her very little money on hand. Her total fundraising to date is only $13,000. That’s entirely inadequate to take on incumbent Republican Phil Scott.

(He raised a solid $25,000 this time around, for a grand total of $52,000 overall. Minus expenditures, he still has over $30,000 on hand.)

As you may remember, Gekas is a first-time candidate who was reportedly recruited by Governor Shumlin. If so, I have to say that the Governor and the Party have completely failed to provide any tangible support for her candidacy. It’s looking like she’s nothing more than a sacrificial lamb — a placeholder, so the Dems could avoid the embarrassment of an empty slot on their ticket. I hope she at least gets a good job in the Administration after she loses in November.

If that seems harsh, well, the Dems can tell me how I’m wrong. Or better yet, show me — by pouring some resources into the Gekas campaign, and giving her at least a fighting chance.  

I realize that she has yet to hold her “campaign kickoff” — that’s happening tomorrow in Burlington — but it’s awfully late in the game for someone who faces a difficult, uphill struggle against the most popular Republican in the state.

The only other campaign report I have so far is from Democratic Treasurer Beth Pearce. She raised $11,540 in the past month, for an overall total of $95,000. The vast majority of her donations were between $100 and $500, and virtually all of her donors have substantial room for additional gifts under the individual limit of $2,000.

Which I’m sure they will provide, if it becomes necessary. Her Republican opponent, Wendy Wilton, reported a very low total in mid-July; as of 1:30, she had yet to submit her mid-August report.