State donations favored Clinton during campaign

She topped Trump threefold

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is shown greeting supporters in Durham, N.C., last month.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is shown greeting supporters in Durham, N.C., last month.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton may have lost the race for Arkansas electoral votes, but she won the race for Arkansas pocketbooks, according to postelection campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission.


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The former secretary of state reported donations from individuals from Arkansas totaling $2.4 million, three times the $812,000 listed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to the FEC.

Nationwide, Clinton gathered nearly $400 million in campaign contributions from individuals. Trump trailed with $131.4 million.

Including political action committee donations, political party funds and transfers from authorized committees, Clinton's campaign raised $563.9 million nationally through Nov. 28, compared with Trump's $328.4 million. The Democrat spent just over $563 million. The Republican spent $320.6 million.

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Clinton, pro-Clinton super PACs and other allies raised more than $1.2 billion during the 2016 campaign, according to an FEC data analysis by Politico, the Washington-based newspaper. Trump, pro-Trump super groups and other groups raised about $600 million, the paper said.

At the end of the reporting cycle, the Clinton campaign had $838,649 in its account. Trump had $7.6 million left over, according to the FEC.

Despite the fundraising gulf, Trump won a majority in the Electoral College, although trailing Clinton 48.2 percent to 46.2 percent in the popular vote.

In Arkansas, Trump crushed Clinton, 60.6 percent to 33.7 percent, in the Nov. 8 general election.

The New York businessman finished with a lead of more than 300,000 votes in Arkansas, topping Clinton 684,872 to 380,494, according to returns from the secretary of state's office.

Including donations to the primary-election candidates, the Arkansas contributions topped $5 million during the 2016 presidential campaign cycle, as of Nov. 28, according to reports on the FEC website.

Candidates for president and Congress were required to submit their post-general election reports by Thursday. Those filed are posted at fec.gov.

Federal candidates are required to disclose only the names of donors who gave more than $200 to their campaigns in any election cycle, so smaller contributors are often not detailed.

The Arkansas figures reflected a national trend. Nationwide, Clinton outraised and outspent Trump roughly 2-to-1 but went on to lose.

Hal Bass, a professor of political science at Ouachita Baptist University, said there are still plenty of Clinton loyalists in the Natural State who are willing to give.

"Because the Clintons have a long history in Arkansas, they've got a pretty well-established fundraising base here in the state. That doesn't necessarily translate into broad electoral support," he said.

Democratic Party of Arkansas spokesman H.L. Moody agrees that the personal ties led to higher giving.

"I think it shows that Hillary Clinton has a 40-year history here in Arkansas. The Clintons have been raising money since Bill Clinton ran for Congress [in 1974]," he added.

Republicans noted that Trump was less reliant on fundraising, spending less money on his campaign and funding it, in part, with $66 million of his own money.

Clinton, on the other hand, spent a lot of her time on the fundraising circuit, time that could otherwise have been spent actually campaigning, they said.

"You need enough money to ensure that you can pay for television, radio [and] what have you, to get your message out. But beyond that particular amount, whatever that amount is, a lot of time that money is wasted," said Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin.

Instead of flooding the airwaves with expensive commercials, Trump took advantage of the free airtime provided by cable news shows and other outlets.

"He capitalized on that, and that's just smart business, smart politics, smart strategy," Griffin said.

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