Arizona governor, others tapping Nantucket Island to boost fundraising
PHOENIX — Katie Hobbs is going to new lengths to finance her reelection campaign.
About 2,300 miles, as the crow flies.
Hobbs was on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts earlier this week for a fundraiser where $1,000 got you in the door as a “supporter.” A $2,800 contribution made you a “sponsor.”
And for $5,500 — the maximum an Arizona candidate for state office can take — you could be one of the “hosts.”
And it comes just three days after Ruben Gallego was hosted — also on Nantucket Island — for a fundraiser even though he is in only the first year of his six-year Senate term. In his case, what with different rules for federal races, the “suggested contribution” to be a host was $7,000.
But it isn’t just Democrats who find the tiny island — there are fewer than 9,700 housing units there — fertile ground for raising cash. Vice President J.D. Vance, who may be looking at the 2028 presidential race, reportedly raised $3 million there in July on behalf of the Republican National Committee with an event where tickets cost up to $250,000 per couple.
While Nantucket has been a go-to place for candidates for decades, there’s a new site that’s become popular, particularly among Republicans: Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort owned by President Trump.
Kari Lake made use of the space at least twice, once in 2021 when she was running for governor and again in 2024 in her bid to become a senator, with reports that she picked up $1 million from the latter event.
Earlier this year, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Karin Taylor Robson made a foray to Mar-a-Lago to raise cash for her campaign.
How much each picked up in their out-of-state forays isn’t known.
“The campaign does not comment on fundraisers,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesman for the Hobbs campaign. In fact, he wouldn’t even confirm that there had been a fundraiser Thursday night even though he knew Capitol Media Services already had a copy of the invite.
Nor were there fundraising haul figures from the Gallego or Robson campaigns.
But it all comes as campaigns, even for state-level offices, have become more expensive.
Hobbs raised more than $15 million for her first gubernatorial race in 2022.
So did her GOP foe, Kari Lake.
In her latest report covering through the end of June, Hobbs reported a cash balance of nearly $4.7 million more than a year before the 2026 election.
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No more hobbit!!! Anyone who still wants to vote for her is brain dead or a completely fabricated voter.
All of that is half the problem. Running for a state office shouldn’t allow any out of state money. That’s how they are beholden to “donors” and not the people. This whole campaign finance things needs a complete overhaul.
my exact feelings. Out of state funding is out of hand, I keep getting requests for donations from all over. Feds need to pass limits on how much out of staters can give ($100)
$$ for instate elections should be capped as this stuff is NOT THE WILL of the PEOPLE who have to survive on the results