One thing’s for sure, Trump’s not in Maine for the money

As Donald Trump prepares to rally supporters in Bangor, it’s clear from his campaign finance reports that the visit isn’t for the money.

From the start of his campaign through the end of May, Trump has raised a paltry $7,356 in itemized donations in Maine. That’s just from donors giving $200 or more.

The tally excludes people who gave $5 and $10 there, but indeed paltry is an applicable word for the total. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — who dropped out in September 2015 — still had more itemized donations from Mainers than Trump did by the end of May.

Trump’s donations do have a little bit of geographic diversity, however.

While the Bangor visit isn’t about the money (the stopover before in Boston was, however), it makes electoral sense. BDN State House reporter Mike Shepherd laid out why in a blog post Monday about Trump’s Bangor visit.

Hillary Clinton’s fundraising machine continued to chug along at a steady clip through May (so did the Bernie Sanders campaign, which is practically over), continuing to far outpace Trump, who has relied heavily on personal loans and the Republican Party to fund his race.

And as the dealmaker knows, being the nominee gives him a lot of leverage there.

Darren Fishell

About Darren Fishell

Darren is a Portland-based reporter for the Bangor Daily News writing about the Maine economy and business. He's interested in putting economic data in context and finding the stories behind the numbers.