Republican attorney general candidate Leslie Rutledge had more than double the contributions of her runoff election opponent, David Sterling, since the May 20 primary, according to campaign-finance reports filed Tuesday.
The reports were due to be filed with the secretary of state's office one week before the June 10 primary runoff.
Early voting began Tuesday; turnout was light. The runoff includes contests for the Republican nominations for attorney general and a state Senate seat in north-central Arkansas, as well as a Democratic nomination for a state House seat in south-central Arkansas and a few dozen local-level offices.
Rutledge of Little Rock reported $58,945 in contributions between May 21 and May 31. She reported spending $56,000.
Leading up to the primary election, Rutledge had $229,124 in contributions, loans of $6,516 and $138,006 in expenses.
Wes Manus, a spokesman for Rutledge, said the campaign has seen an "influx of funds" since the primary election. Manus said voters were likely driven to donate to the campaign because they see Rutledge as the front-runner and did not approve of the negative ads running against her.
"What you'll see as a result of these negative ads, you'll see more support [for Rutledge] ... This attempt to buy the attorney general's office is not OK in Arkansas," Manus said.
Sterling, also of Little Rock, reported raising $24,750 in contributions between May 21 and May 31. Sterling reported spending $1,504.
For the primary election, Sterling reported $188,469 in contributions, $9,703 in loans and $190,007 in expenditures.
Sterling said his campaign has received an outpouring of support since the primary.
"Our campaign has the resources we need to communicate our message of stopping federal overreach, supporting a Stand Your Ground law, and protecting our Arkansas values. Arkansans are responding to our message, and I'm optimistic about a great result on June 10," Sterling said in a statement
Laura Labay, a spokesman for Secretary of State Mark Martin, said 3,708 voters went to the polls by 3 p.m. Tuesday, which was the first day of early voting in the runoff elections. Of that number, 2,617 voted in the Republican runoffs while 663 voted in the Democratic runoffs. Another 263 cast absentee ballots.
Martin predicts between 3 percent and 4 percent of the state's 1.62 million registered voters will cast ballots in the June 10 runoff.
In the 2012 primary runoff, 39,889 voters cast ballots, while 259,161 voted in the 2010 runoffs, according to the secretary of state's office.
Early voting will run until the county clerk's office's close of business the day before Election Day .
Senate District 17
Scott Flippo of Mountain Home and state Rep. John Burris of Harrison are vying for the Senate seat currently held by Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, who is not seeking re-election.
Flippo, owner of an assisted-living facility, reported $22,250 in contributions between May 21 and May 31. He also reported $20,932 in expenses and $11,383 in personal loans.
Burris' campaign-finance report was not available from the secretary of state's office Tuesday afternoon.
Candidates also can file electronically, fax or mail in their reports and will be counted as timely if postmarked on Tuesday.
House District 16
The lone runoff for a House seat is between Pine Bluff Democrats Kenneth Ferguson and Win Trafford. The seat is currently held by James Word, a term-limited Democrat from Pine Bluff.
The winner will be unopposed in the Nov. 4 general election.
Trafford reported $2,449 in contributions from May 21 to May 31, boosting his total contributions to $25,066. He reported spending $2,534, increasing his total expenses to $25,900 with total loans remaining at $1,618.
Ferguson's campaign-finance report was not available from the secretary of state's office Tuesday afternoon.
Metro on 06/04/2014