Letter: Small donor vs. Fat Cat

Concord Monitor | LTE by Barbara Keshen

The Monitor recently summarized the federal filings of the major candidates for US Senate in the upcoming elections. No surprise, Democratic candidate Chris Pappas has vastly outraised his primary opponent, newcomer Karishma Manzur. I was curious about what these numbers actually told us about who was supporting each candidate, so, for the very first time, I went to the FEC website. What I learned was revealing.

Chris Pappas has raised over $4 million from donors who gave him $1,000 or more. Karishma has raised $23,000 from donors who gave her $1,000 or more.

Chris Pappas has raised millions of dollars from out of state contributors. Most of Karishma’s support is from small donors right here in New Hampshire.

Why is this important? If Karishma is elected to the U.S. Senate, she will represent the people who sent her there –—every day folks from New Hampshire. If Chris Pappas is elected to the U.S. Senate, who will he represent?

Barbara Keshen, Concord