South Carolina Ethics Commission reports were filed on Wednesday by Democratic nominee for SC House District 114 Michelle Brandt and they revealed that Brandt, a first-time candidate, outraised three-term incumbent State Representative Lin Bennett in the first quarter.
In the first quarter, (January 1 st to March 31st, 2022) Brandt raised $17,069, $4,315 more than Bennett's Q1 haul of $12,754. Brandt says her total cash-on-hand is $16,650.68 to Bennett's $10,728.99. This is a $5,921.69 advantage over the incumbent legislator. Additionally, the average donation to Brandt's campaign is $124, while the average donation to Bennett's campaign is $265.
“I'm really proud of this accomplishment and what it means for our campaign,” Brandt said. “Usually in these races, where a first-time candidate is facing an incumbent, the challenger has to deal with an opponent with higher name-ID and a bigger bank account. In the first quarter, we have evaporated Lin Bennett's fundraising advantage and now have nearly $6,000 more cash-on-hand than she does. I can't thank my supporters, donors, and campaign team enough for helping us reach this important milestone in our journey to defeating Lin Bennett in November and restoring sanity to the State House.”
