County party fund-raising and spending in 2019 was below comparable figures for 2015, which was the last time the Assembly led the fall ballot, according to reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).

The 42 county party fund-raising committees collectively raised $8.2 million and spent $8.8 million during the past year. Those figures were 11 percent and one percent lower than corresponding numbers for 2015.

Table 1
County Party Fundraising and Spending
through Fourth Quarter 2009-2019
YEAR RAISED SPENT STATE/ FEDERAL? OFFICE
2009 $13,854,662 $13,306,296 State G/A
2010 $ 7,591,065 $ 8,712,802 Federal H
2011 $ 8,449,211 $ 8,545,440 State S/A
2012 $ 6,407,139 $ 5,885,971 Federal P/S/H
2013 $ 9,908,851 $10,069,188 State G/S/A
2014 $ 7,633,924 $ 7,560,342 Federal S/H
2015 $ 9,161,877 $ 8,883,225 State A
2016 $ 8,389,170 $ 8,055,559 Federal P/H
2017 $14,564,574 $14,114,921 State G/S/A
2018 $ 9,709,931 $ 9,018,198 Federal S/H
2019 $ 8,191,320 $ 8,821,224 State A
2019 Versus 2015-$ – $ 970,557 – $ 62,002
2019 Versus 2015-% -11 -1
P=Presidential; S=US or State Senate; H=House; G=Gubernatorial; A=Assembly

Jeff Brindle, ELEC’s executive director, said party officials are continuing to have fund-raising difficulties that began after new laws sharply limited contributions from public contractors in the mid 2000s and independent special interest groups began competing for donor dollars about a decade ago. In 2019, there also was one special state Senate election in the 1st legislative district plus local races.

“Certainly, county parties spend more when more candidates are on the ballot. For instance, $14.1 million was spent during the 2017 election, when there were races for governor, the state Senate and the state Assembly,” he said.

“Despite these election-related fluctuations, the long-term trend is down. This decline may be reversed only with legislative changes, including bipartisan recommendations by ELEC,” he said.

Some of those changes include allowing parties to accept larger contributions from all donors, including public contractors; requiring independent groups to match the same level of disclosure as parties and candidate, and lifting a ban on county-to-county party transfers in primaries.

In 2019, Democratic county party committees raised and spent more than Republican committees and ended the year with more cash in the bank.

Compared to 2015, Democrats raised and spent less while Republicans raised less but spent more. Democratic cash reserves are nearly twice the 2015 levels while Republican reserves are down.

Table 2
Summary of Campaign Finance
Activity by County Committees
January 1 through December 31
2019 Versus 2015
2019 RAISED SPENT CASH-ON-HAND NET WORTH*
Democratic County Party Committees $5,281,716 $5,695,684 $2,018,930 $1,836,889
Republican County Party Committees $2,909,604 $3,125,540 $ 485,959 $ 888,015
Total-Both Parties $8,191,320 $8,821,224 $2,504,889 $2,724,903
2015 RAISED SPENT CASH-ON-HAND NET WORTH*
Democratic County Party Committees $6,075,026 $5,882,648 $1,134,676 $ 909,127
Republican County Party Committees $3,086,851 $3,000,577 $ 590,138 $1,343,584
Total-Both Parties $9,161,877 $8,883,225 $1,724,814 $2,252,711
Difference 2019 versus 2015 RAISED SPENT CASH-ON-HAND NET WORTH*
Democratic County Party Committees -13.1% -3% 78% 102%
Republican County Party Committees -6% 4% -18% -34%

Total-Both Parties -11% -1% 45% 21%

*Net worth is cash-on-hand adjusted for debts owed to or by the committee.

Among Democratic county party committees, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Passaic, Salem and Union all reported more than $100,000 cash-on-hand. Burlington, Cape May, and Hudson County reported negative net worth, meaning they owe more than their cash reserves.

Table 3

Campaign Finance Activity of
Democratic County Party Committees
January 1 through December 31, 2019

COUNTY RAISED SPENT CASH-ON-HAND NET WORTH*
Atlantic $ 167,015 $ 164,819 $ 8,703 $ 8,703
Bergen $ 738,530 $ 746,073 $ 32,434 $ 32,434
Burlington $ 282,321 $ 358,207 $ 5,652 $ (11,927)
Camden $ 440,682 $ 710,707 $ 341,797 $ 341,797
Cape May $ 112,409 $ 109,655 $ 3,714 $ (37,772)
Cumberland $ 94,742 $ 95,731 $ 4,402 $ 4,402
Essex $ 432,441 $ 454,221 $ 86,340 $ 86,340
Gloucester $ 436,154 $ 304,849 $ 549,081 $ 549,081
Hudson** $ 102,451 $ 153,815 $ 25,294 $ (113,851)
Hunterdon $ 47,704 $ 32,280 $ 30,205 $ 30,205
Mercer $ 170,070 $ 130,828 $ 197,366 $ 197,366
Middlesex $ 716,734 $ 685,683 $ 46,407 $ 46,407
Monmouth*** $ 178,102 $ 164,459 $ 18,112 $ 18,112
Morris** $ 123,747 $ 97,024 $ 33,662 $ 33,662
Ocean $ 45,149 $ 64,811 $ 23,328 $ 39,495
Passaic $ 445,802 $ 546,152 $ 286,598 $ 286,598
Salem $ 31,996 $ 34,638 $ 102,029 $ 102,029
Somerset $ 301,099 $ 309,898 $ 51,906 $ 51,906
Sussex $ 16,362 $ 27,148 $ 9,446 $ 9,446
Union $ 378,542 $ 489,133 $ 153,380 $ 153,380
Warren*** $ 19,664 $ 15,553 $ 9,073 $ 9,073
Democrats-Total $5,281,716 $5,695,684 $2,018,930 $1,836,889
*Net worth is cash-on-hand adjusted for debts owed to or by the committee.
**2nd quarter totals ***3rd quarter totals

COUNTY PARTIES 4TH QUARTER 2019 January 27, 2020
No Republican county committees reported more than $100,000 in cash-on-hand at the end of 2019.

Table 4
Campaign Finance Activity of
Republican County Party Committees

January 1 through December 31, 2019

COUNTY RAISED SPENT CASH-ON-HAND NET WORTH*

Atlantic $ 89,434 $ 108,443 $ 21,332 $ 21,332
Bergen $ 160,416 $ 151,675 $ 18,725 $ 18,725
Burlington $ 472,332 $ 505,461 $ 20,345 $415,222
Camden $ 23,798 $ 35,663 $ 8,004 $ 8,004
Cape May $ 141,997 $ 152,946 $ 22,654 $ 22,654
Cumberland $ 46,381 $ 88,617 $ 6,626 $ 6,626
Essex $ 19,244 $ 16,798 $ 21,954 $ 21,954
Gloucester $ 47,716 $ 55,304 $ 21,718 $ 21,718
Hudson*** NA NA NA NA
Hunterdon** $ 93,232 $ 105,552 $ 1,070 $ 1,070
Mercer $ 5,280 $ 27,446 $ 5,885 $ 5,885
Middlesex $ 20,345 $ 47,235 $ 16,385 $ 16,385
Monmouth $ 291,225 $ 279,323 $ 39,978 $ 39,978
Morris $ 79,069 $ 84,877 $ 10,210 $ 17,810
Ocean $ 159,391 $ 148,974 $ 16,668 $ 16,668
Passaic $ 327,076 $ 288,076 $ 57,490 $ 57,490
Salem** $ 261,959 $ 243,711 $ 36,845 $ 36,845
Somerset $ 411,533 $ 475,463 $ 93,186 $ 93,186
Sussex $ 65,212 $ 83,032 $ 16,665 $ 16,244
Union $ 95,198 $ 111,885 $ 44,205 $ 44,205
Warren $ 98,765 $ 115,058 $ 6,014 $ 6,014
Republicans-Total $2,909,604 $3,125,540 $485,959 $888,015

*Net worth is cash-on-hand adjusted for debts owed to or by the committee. **3rd quarter totals.
***Expects to spend less than $6,300 during year. NA= No reports available

The numbers in this analysis are based on reports filed by noon January 24, 2020. They have yet to be
verified by ELEC staff, and should be considered preliminary