
Sen. Hillary Clinton received the most in contributions from rural America in the third quarter of this year, according to the Daily Yonder’s analysis of campaign records.
The New York Democrat received $1,165,000 in campaign contributions in the quarter, which included July, August and September. She raised more than her chief rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who collected just under $1 million. Obama led all fundraisers in rural communities in the second quarter.
Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, a Republican, placed a close second to Clinton in rural fundraising during the quarter. Thompson, who has had a lackluster campaign until recently, had $1,040,000 in donations from people living in rural counties.
The rural contributions don’t reflect the quite sudden rise of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is now near the lead in most Republican polls. Huckabee had the least in contributions from rural America among the major candidates. Huckabee, however, received his contributions from rural communities that hardly qualify as resort areas, places such as Texarkana, Arkansas; Boston, Texas and Forsyth, Missouri.
The top fifty rural counties in total contributions can be found here.
Contributions from rural residents were higher in the third quarter than in previous reporting periods. Rural residents in the third quarter contributed a total of $6.95 million. In the first quarter, rural donations tallied $6.05 million; in the second quarter, rural contributions totaled $5.7 million.
Although total donations from rural counties were higher in the latest reporting period, rural America still gave proportionately less to presidential candidates than metro regions. Rural America is home to about 25 percent of the nation’s population, but only donated nine percent of all the money contributed to candidates in the third quarter.
As in previous reporting periods, the counties and towns that gave the most money to candidates were largely resort areas: Aspen, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Charlottesville, Virginia. (Pitkin County, Colorado, home to the ski slopes of Aspen, was among the top five counties in contributions for Republican Rudy Giuliani, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Democrat John Edwards.)
Below are the candidate’s top five counties in contributions:
Candidate | County | County Seat | State | Total Contributed |
Hillary Clinton (Dem) | ||||
Albemarle County | Charlottesville | VA | $71,480 | |
Dukes County | Edgartown | MA | $59,160 | |
Avery County | Newland | NC | $43,300 | |
Pitkin County | Aspen | CO | $41,400 | |
Steuben County | Bath | NY | $29,350 | |
Fred Thompson (Rep) | ||||
Marion County | Jasper | TN | $45,550 | |
Bolivar County | Rosedale & Cleveland | MS | $41,850 | |
Dickson County | Charlotte | TN | $28,750 | |
Campbell County | Jacksboro | TN | $25,350 | |
Blount County | Maryville | TN | $25,250 | |
Barack Obama (Dem) | ||||
Summit County | Coalville | UT | $87,277 | |
Windsor County | Woodstock | VT | $61,958 | |
Nantucket County | Nantucket | MA | $54,700 | |
Dukes County | Edgartown | MA | $52,500 | |
Merrimack County | Concord | NH | $43,900 | |
Rudy Giuliani (Rep) | ||||
Pitkin County | Aspen | CO | $45,500 | |
Pontotoc County | Ada | OK | $42,800 | |
Florence County | Florence | SC | $42,450 | |
Blaine County | Hailey | ID | $41,450 | |
Montgomery County | Conroe | TX | $27,200 | |
Mitt Romney (Rep) | ||||
Sumter County | Bushnell | FL | $91,500 | |
Teton County | Jackson | WY | $76,550 | |
Summit County | Coalville | UT | $33,450 | |
Montgomery County | Conroe | TX | $25,700 | |
Iron County | Parowan | UT | $20,244 | |
Bill Richardson (Dem) | ||||
Lea County | Lovington | NM | $97,200 | |
Chaves County | Roswell | NM | $44,350 | |
San Juan County | Aztec | NM | $27,200 | |
Teton County | Jackson | WY | $23,050 | |
Grant County | Silver City | NM | $20,300 | |
Ron Paul (Rep) | ||||
Charles County | La Plata | MD | $9,450 | |
Hardin County | Kountze | TX | $9,200 | |
Bartow County | Cartersville | GA | $7,800 | |
Montgomery County | Conroe | TX | $7,485 | |
Jefferson County | Brookville | PA | $7,400 | |
John McCain (Rep) | ||||
Blaine County | Hailey | ID | $47,800 | |
Coconino County | Flagstaff | AZ | $11,305 | |
Union County | Monroe | NC | $9,700 | |
Camp County | Pittsburg | TX | $9,200 | |
Talbot County | Easton | MD | $8,900 | |
John Edwards (Dem) | ||||
Pitkin County | Aspen | CO | $13,250 | |
LaPorte County | La Porte | IN | $12,000 | |
Anderson County | Anderson | SC | $10,050 | |
Chatham County | Pittsboro | NC | $9,400 | |
Fillmore County | Preston | MN | $9,200 | |
Mike Huckabee (Rep) | ||||
Miller County | Texarkana | AR | $30,950 | |
Bowie County | Boston | TX | $26,600 | |
Coweta County | Newnan | GA | $9,700 | |
Parker County | Weatherford | TX | $5,000 | |
Taney County | Forsyth | MO | $5,000 |