AUGUSTA — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is outpacing Republican rival Donald Trump at a rate of more than 15-to-1 when it comes to raising campaign cash in Maine.
The latest Federal Election Commission reports, which cover the month of September and were filed on Thursday, show Clinton collected $405,100 from donors in Maine, compared to Trump’s $26,269.
Nationwide, Clinton raised $73.8 million in September, compared with Trump’s $54.7 million.
The reports also show the former secretary of state and first lady has outspent Trump by about $12 million this period and still has more cash in her campaign war chest than the billionaire businessman and reality TV star has, with over $59.6 million on hand compared to Trump’s $34.7 million.
Overall, Clinton has raised $1.3 million from Maine donors, compared to Trump’s $152,600.
Clinton’s top donors included Cape Elizabeth real estate developer Robert Monks and Bangor horror writer Stephen King, who each donated $2,700 in September. Other major donors for Clinton include Portland-based consultant Benjamin Buxton, who gave $5,400, and Francis and Alexandra Jackson, also of Portland, who gave $5,400 and $5,000 respectively. Employment information for the Jacksons was not provided and was being requested by the FEC.
Federal law allows an individual to donate $2,700 for a primary and another $2,700 for the general election for a total of $5,400.
Also in the top-10 list for Clinton supporters are Portland attorney Anthony Buxton, who gave $2,700, and Megis Lodge innkeeper Joan Porta, who donated $2,700.
Mary Herman, the wife of Sen. Angus King, I- Maine, also donated $2,700 to Clinton’s campaign.
Trump’s top donors included Maine lobster maven Linda Bean of Belgrade, and Bangor insurance agent Timothy Varney, who each gave $2,700. Other major Trump donors include John Hathaway of Shuck’s Maine Lobsters, who gave $2,800, and Gorham retiree Yihui Yao, who gave $2,700.
State Rep. Karl Ward, R-Dedham, donated $800 to Trump’s campaign, as did the son of former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, Caspar Weinberger Jr., who lives on Mount Desert Island as a retiree.
The September reports also show that Maine financial support for Clinton’s campaign surged in September, cresting $400,000 after collecting $174,811 in August.
The trend for Trump was in the opposite direction. His best month for fundraising in Maine over the last four months was July, when his campaign collected $40,945 from Maine donors, about $14,000 more than the campaign raised in September.
According to the campaign-finance tracking website Open Secrets, about 42 percent of Trump’s total campaign cash came from individual donors, while Trump has spent about $56 million of his own money on his campaign. That compares to Clinton, who collected about 73 percent of her cash from individual donors and has spent $1.3 million of her own money on the campaign.
Mainers’ contributions to the campaigns make up a tiny portion of the nearly $1.2 billion the five candidates running for president have raised to date. Though Libertarian Gary Johnson, Green Jill Stein and independent Evan McMullin were included in the figures released by the FEC, the bulk of the money was raised by Clinton and Trump. Another $549 million has been collected by so-called “Super PACs” that are supporting or opposing the candidates.
Average donation amounts from Mainers to the Trump and Clinton campaigns were fairly even, with Clinton’s average donation so far at $116.35, while Trump’s average donation was $118.59.
But in September, Clinton’s campaign saw 2,868 transactions involving Maine donors, according to the FEC, while Trump saw just 74.
Content Producer Christian MilNeil contributed to this report.
Correction: This story was revised at 2:01 p.m., Oct. 21, 2016, to reflect corrected numbers. An earlier version of the story did not capture all of the data that had been reported to the Federal Election Commission.
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