With less than a week until the state primary, Belmont residents have poured more than a quarter-million dollars into state and local campaigns since January.
According to from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), Belmont ranks the second highest zip code when it comes to individual contributions to campaigns. Belmont residents donated $253,611 from Jan. 1 to Aug. 16, based on deposit reports.
Of the top 10 zip codes, Boston took a majority of the spots, coming in first, fifth, eighth, and tenth. Cambridge, Wellesley, and Weston also made appearances. Under Massachusetts law, an individual can donate up to $1,000 to a candidate or candidate’s committee every calendar year.
Belmont residents voting in the Democratic primary on Sept. 1 will have their pick of candidates; there is a competitive race for candidates vying for a bid for State House and Senate, Middlesex District Attorney, and U.S. Senate. Incumbent state Sen. Will Brownsberger and DA Marian Ryan are both longtime Belmont residents, as is Nomita Ganguly, who is challenging Rep. Dave Rogers.
The number of candidates living within Belmont’s borders may contribute to the high number of donations, said Democratic Town Committee Chair Linda Levin-Scherz, but it isn’t everything. Local issues, including the 2024 $8.4 million override and increasing polarization at the federal level have both contributed to residents being more engaged, she added.
“I feel like a lot of voters have been engaged on this micro level, and I think people really start understanding how important it is to work for issues that you believe in, and I think that kind of kicks off another level of voter engagement,” Levin-Scherz said.
This year, over 500 people from Belmont donated to Brownsberger, and 178 donated to Gov. Maura Healey. 75 people donated to Rogers, while 58 donated to Ganguly. Daniel Lander, a former aide to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who is challenging Brownsberger, garnered donations from 30 Belmont residents.
Former Select Board member and Republican candidate for State Treasurer Elizabeth Dionne pointed to Belmont’s town volunteer base and its Town Meeting members as evidence of how politically invested the town is. Dionne received 73 donations from Belmont residents.
“It’s a very, very engaged community that really cares, and so that’s why it’s not surprising,” she said.
A Look At The Numbers
For local and statewide campaigns alike, every dollar matters. From yard signs and text messages to campaign staff salaries, costs can quickly add up over the course of an election cycle, Levin-Scherz said.
“These are dollars that are going to fund all of these ways to make campaigns more visible to voters, and it’s important for candidates to touch voters so that voters really understand where their candidates are coming from,” she said.
Since January, Dionne has raised over $90,000 from Belmont donations alone. Though she isn’t facing a primary challenge on the Republican ticket on Tuesday, she acknowledged the uphill battle against 11-year incumbent Deb Goldberg.
“When I receive donations from people in Belmont, that feels to me like a vote of confidence in the work that I did for 10 years to solve problems at the local level, and a vote of confidence that I will take that to the state level,” Dionne said.
She isn’t the only one Belmont residents are donating to. Data from OCPF shows residents have individually donated about $103,000 to Brownsberger, $12,500 to Rogers, and $46,500 to Gov. Maura Healey.
Belmont’s donations to Brownsberger make up a little under a third of the funds he’s raised from individual donors.
This year’s election newcomers, Ganguly and Lander, also brought in Belmont dollars. Ganguly has raised $11,675 and Lander has raised $9,980.
“I think it’s important for people when they donate to a candidate to see who that candidate is accepting money from, because the reality is, it does take money to run a campaign,” Dionne said. “You are influenced by those dollars. So I would strongly encourage Belmont residents and residents across the state before they donate, before they vote, look at a candidate’s donation history because that’s going to tell them a lot about whether or not this candidate is truly independent and truly interested in the public good.”
