September Small-Donor Showdown: Acton and Ramaswamy

In September, Acton pulled in more dollars from tiny donations than Ramaswamy did. Her campaign reported that 38.7% of individual contribution money came from transactions of $100 or less. Ramaswamy’s share from the same size gifts was only 29.5%. That means Acton attracted a bigger chunk of her funding from small givers.

But that doesn’t mean Acton got most of her money from small gifts. In fact, the bulk of both candidates’ individual dollars came from bigger transactions. Acton’s contributions over $100 totaled about $3.42 million. Ramaswamy’s topped $2.02 million. So even with more small gifts, she still relied heavily on larger checks.

When it came to where contributors lived, both campaigns drew heavily from Ohio. About 63% of Acton’s individual dollars came from Ohio addresses, compared to roughly 57% for Ramaswamy. That’s a majority for each, but the records don’t confirm those givers were actually Ohio residents or registered voters. The data just shows the state listed on the contribution.

There’s also a difference in organizational support. Acton reported around $500,000 from groups, while Ramaswamy reported about $201,000. Add those in, and Acton’s September total rose to roughly $6.07 million, Ramaswamy’s to $3.06 million. Keep in mind this snapshot only covers one month. It doesn’t show the full picture of cash on hand, long-term fundraising, or how many unique people actually pitched in.