For the first time in 17 years, county political party committees collectively raised more than $5 million in the first half of the year, according to reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
Between January and June, district parties raised nearly $5.2 million.
The parties have not seen such a surge since 2007, when they collectively raised just over $5 million in the first six months.
The total amounts of donations and expenditure to date are 40 percent higher this year than the average for the six months 2014 to 2024.
The increasing success of the district parties is largely due to the passage of the Election Transparency Act (PL 2023, c.30) sixteen months ago. Also helpful was the influx of funds from candidates facing federal elections this fall.
The new law doubled the regular annual contribution limit for county party committees from $37,500 to $75,000. In addition, the law created new “budget accounts” that further increased the maximum annual contribution for county parties.
A donor can transfer $75,000 to accounts used directly for campaign purposes, plus an additional $37,500 to new accounts designated for general administrative purposes, for a total of $112,500 per year.
Budget accounts are intended for expenses such as mortgages, rents, taxes, compliance costs, legal fees and collective bargaining expenses. Only the two state parties and the 42 district parties can set up such accounts. National parties also have budget accounts under federal law.
So far this year, the Gloucester County Democrat Executive Committee has received $112,500 from one donor. The Middlesex County Democratic Organization has received two checks for $75,000, while the Passaic County Democratic Committee has received one check for $75,000.
The new law also ended strict caps on public contributions to party committees. Before the law took effect on April 3, 2023, contributions to county parties had to be under $300 since the mid-2000s to avoid risking the loss of public contracts. Contributors can now donate up to a maximum of $112,500, like other grantmakers. In the first six months of 2024, contributors to county parties donated $1.1 million. Half of that amount came from the following ten companies:
Limited liability companies (LLCs) cannot make direct contributions, but individuals who are members
The list includes seven engineering companies, two law firms and one insurance agency.
To date, 23 percent — nearly one in four dollars — of the funds received by county party committees has been provided by government contractors.
In the first year of the new law in 2023, county parties raised more than $1.4 million from public contractors, according to an ELEC analysis, representing about 11 percent of total fundraising.
While the cash infusion from contractors is clearly filling the coffers of county parties, it is still far below the record $6.1 million that contractors paid county parties in 2003. County parties also raised a record $27.2 million that year.
In addition to benefiting from the 2023 legislative changes, district parties will also receive unexpected funding from candidates vying for a U.S. Senate seat and all 12 House seats this year.
Candidates for the House of Representatives have donated $156,134 through June 30, while candidates for the U.S. Senate have donated $61,720.
Overall, Democrats have raised and spent nearly twice as much money as Republicans and have more than three times as much cash in the bank.
Of the Democratic county party committees that filed their reports, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Somerset and Union counties reported cash balances of over $100,000. Hudson County reported a negative cash balance when accounting for outstanding debts.
TABLE 4
Campaign finance activities of Democratic county party committees
1 JANUARY TO 30 JUNE 2024
DISTRICT REVENUE SELECTED CASH NET VALUE*
Atlantic
37,322 USD
$29,336
$10,334
$10,334
Mountains
$773,327
$267,828
830,939 USD
830,939 USD
Burlington
132,300 USD
30,778 USD
156,116 USD
149,741 USD
Camden
$213,273
324,925 USD
170,661 USD
$44,513
Cape Town
$24,096
13,631 USD
$28,169
$28,169
Cumberland
28,140 USD
17,140 USD
$29,650
$29,650
Essex
387,095 USD
366,048 USD
$270,479
$270,479
Gloucester
$231,537
116,381 USD
328,289 USD
$309,937
Hudson
123,175 USD
115,397 USD
36,373 USD
$ (116,476)
Hunterdon
14,600 USD
33,760 USD
$6,882
$6,882
Mercer
29,010 USD
$24,000
345,726 USD
345,148 USD
Middlesex
621,511 USD
911,066 US dollars
69,063 USD
69,063 USD
Monmouth
97,062 USD
$97,389
$5,536
$5,536
Morris
$77,350
80,724 USD
$54,814
54,813 USD
ocean
$17,496
11,452 USD
$42,792
$58,959
Passaic
$649,765
794,794 USD
$97,856
$97,856
Salem
$21,098
41,481 USD
46,281 USD
46,281 USD
Somerset
148,016 USD
168,828 USD
$206,632
$206,632
Sussex
$2,953
8,501 USD
33,461 USD
33,461 USD
union
$205,898
185,599 US dollars
419,943 USD
419,943 USD
Labyrinth**
$2,965
$1,417
3,365 USD
$2,469
Democrats-Total
$3,837,988
$3,640,477
3,193,362 USD
$2,904,330
*Net assets are cash balances adjusted for debts owed to or by the Committee.
**First quarter total.
Among the Republican county party committees that filed their reports, Cape May County reported a cash balance of over $100,000. Hudson had a negative balance, while Somerset County said it would have a negative balance if it had paid off its outstanding debts.
TABLE 5
Campaign finance activities of Republican county party committees
1 JANUARY TO 30 JUNE 2024
DISTRICT REVENUE SELECTED CASH NET VALUE*
Atlantic
95,480 USD
73,277 USD
$97,936
$97,936
Mountains
64,951 USD
61,084 USD
14,995 USD
$4,994
Burlington
$21,836
28,162 USD
10,685 USD
520,100 USD
Camden
$17,892
$24,691
$1,326
$1,295
Cape Town
131,834 USD
90,469 USD
409,101 USD
409,101 USD
Cumberland
60,210 USD
$28,671
73,828 USD
73,828 USD
Essex
10,000 US dollars
$7,503
$5,307
$5,307
Gloucester
$25,715
35,384 USD
$2,038
$2,038
Hudsons**
$0
$725
($725)
($725)
Hunterdon
$74,489
$67,597
17,351 USD
$7,351
Mercer
1,700 US dollars
$3,156
$6,240
$6,240
Middlesex
60,117 USD
$28,766
$51,684
51,556 USD
Monmouth
102,146 USD
144,405 USD
$65,669
65,669 USD
Morris
61,709 USD
$76,682
$8,295
$3,095
ocean
305,631 USD
$299,973
$15,882
$15,882
Passaic
134,220 USD
112,725 USD
40,428 USD
$13,659
Salem
38,025 USD
12,512 USD
64,022 USD
64,022 USD
Somerset
$23,555
41,500 US dollars
$1,183
($47,571)
Sussex**
11,645 USD
$8,821
14,161 USD
$13,890
union
32,120 USD
88,215 USD
$366
$366
labyrinth
63,426 USD
69,177 USD
28,320 USD
28,320 USD
Republican-Total
1,336,700 USD
$1,303,494
928,091 USD
1,336,352 USD
*Net assets are cash balances adjusted for debts owed to or from the committee. **First quarter totals.
The totals included in this analysis are based on reports submitted through August 19, 2024 at 12:00 noon. They are subject to review by ELEC staff and should be considered preliminary.
Individual reports can be viewed on the ELEC website (www.elec.nj.gov).
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