District attorney candidate Kalki Yalamanchili has raised nearly half a million dollars, which has to be a record for a single cycle in a local race.
Yalamanchili reported to the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission that he raised $86,725 during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, bringing his total haul to $471,028. Of that, he had $127,935 remaining at the end of last month. As incumbent Democrat Deborah Gonzalez has pointed out, Republicans are supporting Yalamanchili financially—he received $500 from the Oconee County GOP chapter and $2,000 from Charlie Upchurch, cofounder of the conservative group Athens Classic, for example—but so are Democrats. Among Yalamanchili’s supporters on the left are Democratic former Athens-Clarke County solicitor C.R. Chisholm and former ACC Democratic Committee chair Bill Overend.
Where is the money going? Mainly to Classic City Campaigns, an LLC with ties to Jordan Chinouth, a former aide to arch-conservative former Athens congressman Paul Broun.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez raised $12,946 during the most recent reporting period, bringing her total to $95,332. Her donors included the ACC Democratic Committee ($1,500) and Everytown for Gun Safety ($500).
Notably, 14 of Yalamanchili’s 87 contributions of more than $100 came from local lawyers, law firms and retired judges. Gonzalez also received support from some in the legal community, but primarily in the metro Atlanta area.
In addition to contributions both candidates received from outside the Western Circuit, a Republican-funded political action committee has been airing ads attacking Gonzalez. Safer Georgia had raised $323,000 as of Sept. 30, including $140,000 from two PACs formed by Gov. Brian Kemp and $25,000 from Republican former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Its treasurer is Paul Kilgore, who also served as treasurer for Broun’s campaigns. Safer Georgia is a client of Ascent Media, a company that employs former Kemp spokesman Cody Hall.
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