With just over a month until Election Day, only one candidate in the statewide race seems to be making a serious challenge to his incumbent opponent in terms of campaign fundraising.
According to campaign finance filings submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office on October 1, Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Rodgers raised $59,824 in the past month, which accounts for nearly half of his total fundraising this election cycle—$123,434.
In contrast, incumbent Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman entered this cycle with a financial advantage, carrying over $11,158 from previous campaigns. As of now, Zuckerman has raised a total of $192,160, surpassing Rodgers in overall fundraising.
However, since their last finance report, Rodgers has outpaced Zuckerman in monthly fundraising, bringing in $26,967 in September, more than double Zuckerman’s amount. This boost is primarily due to several large donations. Despite portraying himself as the son of a dairy farmer appealing to working-class Vermonters on the campaign trail, around 96% of Rodgers’ funds raised this month came from donations of $100 or more.
Notably, the Pizzagalli family, linked to the South Burlington real estate firm Pizzagalli Properties, donated a total of $3,000 to Rodgers this past month, more than all his small-dollar donors combined. In total, four family members—James, Angelo, Remo, and Donna Pizzagalli—have contributed $5,000 to Rodgers throughout this election cycle.
Rodgers also received support from other real estate developers, including $1,000 each from Bissonette Properties of Burlington and Scott Milne’s Masaii Properties. Additional donations came from the Vermont Automobile Dealers Association $500, the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association $750, and Casella Associates $4,000, a real estate holding company associated with Casella Waste Systems.
On the other hand, around 78% of Zuckerman’s contributions in September were from donations exceeding $100. While his financial reports did not show similar corporate or special interest support as Rodgers, he did receive substantial donations approaching the campaign finance limit of $4,480. Noteworthy contributors include Carol Boerner, an ophthalmologist, who donated $4,405, and Marion Mohri, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, who maxed out her contribution at $4,480. Alison Williams from Miami Beach, Florida, also reached the maximum donation limit, and Charles Zuckerman, David’s brother, contributed $2,000 this month.
Rodgers is receiving institutional support as well. The Orleans County Republican Committee and the Shelburne GOP each provided $1,000 to his campaign. Additionally, Governor Phil Scott’s campaign contributed $500 in polling services to Rodgers.
Four Republican state Senate candidates endorsed by the governor—Scott Beck, Pat Brennan, Sam Douglass, and Chris Mattos—also received $700 each in in-kind donations for polling from Scott’s campaign, which paid a total of $6,000 to an Illinois-based polling firm.
Scott’s campaign has also made significant media expenditures, including spending $117,500 on two television commercials aimed at reducing the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. The ads encourage voters to elect candidates who will work collaboratively with him.
Despite carrying over $332,000 from previous campaigns, Scott continues to attract donations from special interest groups and PACs. Notable contributions this month include maximum donations of $4,480 from Stand for America PAC, founded by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and the Georgians First Leadership PAC, established by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
Overall, Scott has raised $252,070 this campaign cycle, which is more than $100,000 above what he had raised at the same point in the previous election cycle.