First District candidates reveal finances

PARKERSBURG – A Republican candidate for the House of Representatives’ 1st District has raised about $300,000, his campaign said Tuesday.

At the end of the first quarter on March 31, David McKinley, a Wheeling businessman, said he is going into the last six weeks of the campaign with $275,000 on hand.

“We’re overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we have received from all over northern West Virginia,” McKinley said.

Deadline to file preprimary finance disclosures with the Federal Elections Commission is April 15.

Sarah Minear, another of the six candidates for the Republican nomination in the 1st District, filed her disclosure on Tuesday, according to the commission. Only Minear so far has filed a report with the elections commission.

She reported contributions of $272,000, but most of that was from a loan to herself of $252,000. She reported individual contributions of $19,830.

The loan shows Minear’s “commitment to get to Washington to help solve the problems of this nation,” said Jane Clark, Minear’s campaign manager.

Mac Warner, a Morgantown businessman and the third of the most visible Republican candidates for the district, has yet to finalize a report and won’t report contributions until the April 15 deadline, campaign manager Anthony Conchel said. Money is still coming in from March, he said.

“Our fundraising has been strong the past month,” Conchel said. “In fact, money is coming in every day and we are averaging about $300 per individual donor. This shows a very strong base of support for Mac and his candidacy.”

Richie Parsons, McKinley’s campaign manager, said contributors have donated from $1 to $4,800, the maximum allocation per couple. Most of the $300,000 raised came from 500 donors, he said.

“We’re proud to have over 500 pieces of evidence that David McKinley is the candidate of grassroots Republicans in northern West Virginia.”

Also running on the Republican ticket are Cindy Hall of Wheeling, Patricia Levenson of Wheeling and Tom Stark of Parkersburg. Democrats running are incumbent Alan Mollohan and state Sen. Michael Oliverio.

The primary election is May 11.