I Viz RI Arriving a bit late on 2021-Q1 campaign finance data, which was released at the end of last month totalling $1,507,741.19 dollars received by Rhode Island statewide politicians, down from the $2,777,997.78 received during 2020-Q4. The data includes individual donations, PAC's, interest from bank accounts and loans. This first table shows a breakdown of the top 20 campaign accounts that gained the most money and the source of the funds.
| Individual | Interest Received | Loan Proceeds | PAC | total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SETH MAGAZINER | $286,460.00 | $1,943.18 | $0.00 | $12,750.00 | $300,403.18 |
| DANIEL J MCKEE | $280,995.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $3,125.00 | $283,020.00 |
| NELLIE M GORBEA | $150,002.40 | $697.08 | $0.00 | $8,850.00 | $159,549.48 |
| BRETT SMILEY | $105,558.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $2,650.00 | $99,458.00 |
| JORGE ELORZA | $86,218.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1,350.00 | $86,518.00 |
| GONZALO CUERVO | $57,959.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $57,959.00 |
| NIRVA REBECCA LAFORTUNE | $54,446.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $54,446.00 |
| DONNA M NESSELBUSH | $38,326.00 | $7.98 | $0.00 | $250.00 | $38,583.98 |
| PETER F NERONHA | $30,875.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $250.00 | $31,125.00 |
| SABINA MATOS | $23,445.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $5,450.00 | $28,895.00 |
| JOHN GONCALVES | $21,606.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $150.00 | $21,756.00 |
| THOMAS PAOLINO | $0.00 | $0.15 | $20,004.00 | $0.00 | $20,004.15 |
| MEGAN COTTER | $16,977.29 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $550.00 | $17,527.29 |
| BLACK LIVES MATTER RI PAC | $13,966.90 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $13,987.42 |
| K JOSEPH SHEKARCHI | $6,482.00 | $5,398.51 | $0.00 | $1,200.00 | $13,080.51 |
| MATT BROWN | $0.00 | $0.00 | $10,250.00 | $0.00 | $10,250.00 |
| MARIA A BUCCI | $8,000.00 | $0.00 | $1,500.00 | $0.00 | $9,500.00 |
| SAMUEL W BELL | $9,150.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $9,150.00 |
| JAMES A. DIOSSA | $8,050.00 | $0.67 | $0.00 | $1,000.00 | $9,050.67 |
| CYNTHIA MENDES | $8,092.93 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $8,092.93 |
Next, I decided to take a look at how these top 20 candidates differed from last quarter. In this table, the "difference" is the change from 2020-Q4 (ie: 2021-Q1 - 2020-Q4) so a positive number reflects a campaign earning more this recent quarter.
| 2020-Q4 | 2021-Q1 | difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SETH MAGAZINER | $93,936.83 | $300,403.18 | $206,466.35 |
| DANIEL J MCKEE | $72,350.00 | $283,020.00 | $210,670.00 |
| NELLIE M GORBEA | $103,960.63 | $159,549.48 | $55,588.85 |
| BRETT SMILEY | $180,410.00 | $99,458.00 | $-80,952.00 |
| JORGE ELORZA | $184,519.00 | $86,518.00 | $-98,001.00 |
| GONZALO CUERVO | $48,551.00 | $57,959.00 | $9,408.00 |
| NIRVA REBECCA LAFORTUNE | $40,820.00 | $54,446.00 | $13,626.00 |
| DONNA M NESSELBUSH | $4.05 | $38,583.98 | $38,579.93 |
| PETER F NERONHA | $80,025.00 | $31,125.00 | $-48,900.00 |
| SABINA MATOS | $120,050.00 | $28,895.00 | $-91,155.00 |
| JOHN GONCALVES | $8,075.00 | $21,756.00 | $13,681.00 |
| THOMAS PAOLINO | $7,711.14 | $20,004.15 | $12,293.01 |
| MEGAN COTTER | $9,853.29 | $17,527.29 | $7,674.00 |
| BLACK LIVES MATTER RI PAC | $18,195.50 | $13,987.42 | $-4,208.08 |
| K JOSEPH SHEKARCHI | $21,546.10 | $13,080.51 | $-8,465.59 |
| MARIA A BUCCI | $68,620.00 | $9,500.00 | $-59,120.00 |
| SAMUEL W BELL | $205.00 | $9,150.00 | $8,945.00 |
| JAMES A. DIOSSA | $1,750.88 | $9,050.67 | $7,299.79 |
| CYNTHIA MENDES | $1,404.16 | $8,092.93 | $6,688.77 |
These following 2 tables will only represent "Individual" and "In-Kind - Individual" donations, and will not include numbers from PAC's, loans or interest. The top 20 for these tables were adjusted to account for this. The first one takes a look at if the doner lives in Rhode Island or out of state.
| in_state | out_of_state | total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SETH MAGAZINER | $194,235.00 | $92,225.00 | $286,460.00 |
| DANIEL J MCKEE | $214,350.00 | $66,645.00 | $280,995.00 |
| NELLIE M GORBEA | $84,008.89 | $65,993.51 | $150,002.40 |
| BRETT SMILEY | $82,383.00 | $23,175.00 | $105,558.00 |
| JORGE ELORZA | $68,033.00 | $18,185.00 | $86,218.00 |
| GONZALO CUERVO | $54,379.00 | $3,580.00 | $57,959.00 |
| NIRVA REBECCA LAFORTUNE | $44,541.00 | $9,905.00 | $54,446.00 |
| DONNA M NESSELBUSH | $25,555.00 | $12,771.00 | $38,326.00 |
| PETER F NERONHA | $20,025.00 | $10,850.00 | $30,875.00 |
| SABINA MATOS | $20,095.00 | $3,350.00 | $23,445.00 |
| JOHN GONCALVES | $17,606.00 | $4,000.00 | $21,606.00 |
| MEGAN COTTER | $16,382.29 | $595.00 | $16,977.29 |
| BLACK LIVES MATTER RI PAC | $3,521.02 | $10,445.88 | $13,966.90 |
| SAMUEL W BELL | $5,150.00 | $4,000.00 | $9,150.00 |
| CYNTHIA MENDES | $6,536.15 | $1,556.78 | $8,092.93 |
| JAMES A. DIOSSA | $6,050.00 | $2,000.00 | $8,050.00 |
| MARIA A BUCCI | $8,000.00 | $0.00 | $8,000.00 |
| PANNONE LOPES DEVEREAUX & O'GARA LLC RI STATE PAC | $7,279.32 | $249.99 | $7,529.31 |
| RI ASSOCIATION OF ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS PAC | $6,000.00 | $750.00 | $6,750.00 |
| K JOSEPH SHEKARCHI | $6,482.00 | $0.00 | $6,482.00 |
Lastly, this table focuses on the amount donated per donation. I decided to go with the same definition that opensecrets.org uses for small vs. large donations. They consider anything $200 or less as a "small" donation so anything between 201 - 1000 is counted under "large".
| small_donation | large_donation | total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SETH MAGAZINER | $3,710.00 | $282,750.00 | $286,460.00 |
| DANIEL J MCKEE | $1,500.00 | $279,495.00 | $280,995.00 |
| NELLIE M GORBEA | $11,002.00 | $139,000.40 | $150,002.40 |
| BRETT SMILEY | $7,008.00 | $98,550.00 | $105,558.00 |
| JORGE ELORZA | $6,418.00 | $79,800.00 | $86,218.00 |
| GONZALO CUERVO | $8,310.00 | $49,649.00 | $57,959.00 |
| NIRVA REBECCA LAFORTUNE | $8,446.00 | $46,000.00 | $54,446.00 |
| DONNA M NESSELBUSH | $1,155.00 | $37,171.00 | $38,326.00 |
| PETER F NERONHA | $1,075.00 | $29,800.00 | $30,875.00 |
| SABINA MATOS | $2,195.00 | $21,250.00 | $23,445.00 |
| JOHN GONCALVES | $6,606.00 | $15,000.00 | $21,606.00 |
| MEGAN COTTER | $10,227.29 | $6,750.00 | $16,977.29 |
| BLACK LIVES MATTER RI PAC | $9,716.90 | $4,250.00 | $13,966.90 |
| SAMUEL W BELL | $400.00 | $8,750.00 | $9,150.00 |
| CYNTHIA MENDES | $3,742.93 | $4,350.00 | $8,092.93 |
| JAMES A. DIOSSA | $300.00 | $7,750.00 | $8,050.00 |
| MARIA A BUCCI | $0.00 | $8,000.00 | $8,000.00 |
| PANNONE LOPES DEVEREAUX & O'GARA LLC RI STATE PAC | $1,529.31 | $6,000.00 | $7,529.31 |
| RI ASSOCIATION OF ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL SURGEONS PAC | $0.00 | $6,750.00 | $6,750.00 |
| K JOSEPH SHEKARCHI | $50.00 | $6,432.00 | $6,482.00 |