Addis, Schroeder lead legislative pack

No primary? No problem.

The biggest combined war chest in legislative races from Kootenai County so far belongs to two candidates who don’t even have a primary opponent.

Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to file their pre-primary election financial reports to the Elections Office. The reports are for the candidates’ financial activity from Jan. 1 through April 29. The primary election is next Tuesday.

So far, the race for House Seat A in District 4 has seen the most money spent, even though neither candidate faces a primary challenger.

In the race for House Seat A in District 4, Democrat Rebecca Schroeder has received $22,491.69 in total contributions in 2018, the highest amount of any statewide candidate from Kootenai County in that span.

Schroeder added those funds — including a $1,000 contribution from A.J. Balukoff, a Democratic candidate for governor — to $2,707.33 already on hand.

She has spent $22,370.73 to this point, leaving her with a balance of $2,828.29.

Her opponent in November, Republican Jim Addis, entered the year with $29,754.34 on hand and has received an additional $9,600 in 2018, bringing his total to $39,354.34.

To this point, Addis has spent $9,277.11 on his campaign — including a $2,651.54 fee paid to Engage NW Consulting — leaving him with $30,077.23.

He did report an outstanding debt of $23,128.80, but the debt is related to a loan Addis took out to help finance his campaign.

House Seat B in District 4 has also seen plenty of monetary movement, with incumbent Rep. Paul Amador, R-Coeur d’Alene, leading the pack.

Amador entered 2018 with $10,759.72 on hand and received $18,772.73 in contributions, giving him a total of $29,532.45 raised. He spent $9,281.92 of that.

Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer gave an in-kind contribution of $147.73 to Amador, who disclosed an outstanding debt of $4,160.78 from a previous reporting period.

His primary challenger, Republican Roger Garlock, began the year with no cash but received $3,060 in contributions this year, $1,450 of which Garlock donated to his own campaign.

He used $2,440.70 on expenditures, leaving him with a balance of $619.30.

On the Democratic side, challenger Shem Hanks also began 2018 with no cash on hand. Contributions to his election bid totaled $9,885.17, and he spent $6,520.09 of that to leave his campaign with $3,365.08.

Hanks contributed $584 to Dan Hanks, his brother and a Democrat running for House Seat B in District 3, and received a $500 contribution from Balukoff. He also reported an outstanding debt of $60 owed to himself.

In the District 4 Senate race, incumbent Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, began 2018 with $10,722.70 before adding $16,165 in contributions for a total of $26,887.70.

Souza has spent just $3,880 so far — more than $3,000 of which went to Engage NW Consulting — leaving her with a balance of $23,007.70.

Her primary challenger, Republican Michael Pereira, had no money to start the year but received $8,538 in contributions, mostly from local individuals.

Pereira has spent $7,189.55 on expenditures to this point, and holds a remaining sum of $1,348.45.

The Democratic challenger, Cory Jane English, added $7,666.10 in contributions — including $500 from Balukoff and $100 from Richard Kohles, Democratic candidate for seat B in District 2 — to the $100 she had entering the cycle.

English spent $4,987.10 of that, giving her a remaining balance of $2,779.

In District 3, Rep. Don Cheatham, R-Post Falls, is running for the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Bob Nonini.

Cheatham added $3,801.70 in contributions to the $850 he held entering 2018, for a total of $4,651.70.

He used a series of three outstanding loans from himself to pay for $801.70 worth of campaign expenditures, leaving him with a cash balance of $3,850.

His general election opponent, Democrat Patrick Lippert, has neither raised nor spent any money on his campaign yet.

Rep. Ron Mendive, R-Post Falls, is running unopposed in his re-election bid for House Seat A in District 3.

Mendive received a singular contribution of $200 from AGRA PAC in Boise to add to his existing funds of $3,349.96.

In total, he spent $506.39 of $3,549.96, leaving his campaign with $3,043.57.

Seat B in District 3 is more hotly contested, though, with three candidates vying for the spot.

Former Rep. Kathy Sims looks to return to Boise representing a new district. Sims, a Republican, raised $12,300 during the filing period, including a $10,000 personal loan to her campaign which she reported as an outstanding debt.

She entered the year with no cash and paid $10,192.97 in expenditures to Engage NW Consulting, giving her a balance of $2,107.03.

Sims’ primary opponent, Republican Tony Wisniewski, added $7,105 in local contributions to his existing funds of $986.48 for a total of $8,091.48.

Wisniewski used $2,647.58 on campaign expenditures, leaving him with $5,443.90. He also reported an outstanding debt of $5,000.01 from two separate loans paid by Wisniewski to his campaign.

Dan Hanks, the lone Democrat running for the seat, received $8,235.91 in contributions, including $2,400 of his own money.

Hanks has spent $3,692.45 of that to date, and holds a remaining sum of $4,543.46.

In the race for House Seat A in District 2, Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, led the way with $11,010 in contributions. When added to the $24,283.52 he began the year with, Barbieri raised $35,293.52.

He spent $3,288.25 of that — including a $1,000 campaign contribution to U.S. Rep. Raúl Labrador, a Republican running for governor — leaving him with $32,005.27.

His primary challenger, Fritz Wiedenhoff, received $615 in contributions, $400 of which was his own money. He spent $236 to give him a remaining balance of $379.

In the race for Seat B in District 2, Republican Doug Okuniewicz raised $10,591.40 and spent $5,889.87 to leave him with $4,701.53 going forward.

Okuniewicz reported an outstanding debt of $351.40 related to a personal loan he took out and donated to his campaign.

His primary opponent, John Green, received $4,167.50 in contributions, spending $3,637.89 of that to give him a remaining balance of $529.61.

Green also reported an outstanding debt, of $1,500, related to a loan he took out on behalf of his candidacy.

All but $30 of Green’s expenditures were paid to Engage NW Consulting.

Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, faces no primary challenge in his re-election bid.

However, Vick added contributions of $9,500 to his existing cash total of $13,365.64. He then spent $1,786.69 on campaign expenditures, including a $250 contribution to District 1 County Commissioner Marc Eberlein’s campaign.

Those expenses leave Vick with a balance of $21,078.95 to devote to the general election, where he will face Democrat Dale Broadsword and Libertarian Shon Luoma.

Neither Broadsword nor Luoma filed a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State’s office.

Finally, Judge John Mitchell raised $8,645 for his re-election bid for the First District Court. He spent $6,886.75 of that to leave him with $1,758.25.

Mitchell reported an outstanding debt of $6,000, the sum he personally loaned to his campaign.

His challenger, Douglas Pierce, received a total of $3,000 and spent $2,046.37 of that to give him a remaining balance of $953.63.

Similar to Mitchell, Pierce reported an outstanding debt of $2,500 owed by his campaign to himself related to a personal loan.