A pro-Donald Trump Republican candidate in New Jersey has collected thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from donors who don't even know who he is, a report claimed Monday.
Talk radio host Bill Spadea, a Republican candidate for governor in the Garden State, and his affiliated group Elect Common Sense have gotten small-dollar donations from other Trump fans through the fundraising platform WinRed. But Politico spoke to more than a dozen frequent donors who didn't realize they were making the contributions.
”I don’t understand it,” said Margaret McLendon, an 85-year-old retiree from Georgia, who said she doesn't recall ever hearing Spadea's name. “It bothers me a lot. I don’t remember him … [I]t’s my personal money and my funds are limited. In fact, I’m totally out right now.”
Some of Spadea's fundraising solicitations don't even mention him until some fine print at the bottom, and his campaign has been using automatic recurring donations, which Trump and other candidates have done in the past.
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“Having a recurring donation box is a really important setting and strategy for campaigns because it helps supporters sustain a campaign,” said GOP digital strategist Eric Wilson. “But it’s important that you are communicating that really clearly to your donors and supporters, because one, it doesn’t set up a good relationship if someone is surprised that they’re contributing to you, and two, it causes real damage to your fundraising program, because you get dinged with chargebacks and complaints.”
Laurie Daiger, a 73-year-old who lives in Washington state, was confused when Politico asked her about more than 20 donations she had made to the campaign in the last year, totaling more than $1,000.
“It made me feel like I don’t trust human beings anymore,” said Daiger, who had been unaware that she made those donations and $3,000 more to other candidates. “It’s so dirty and rotten to do that.”
It's not unusual for candidates to solicit donations from donors who had given to related causes and campaigns in the past using a national message that's less focused on the candidate in question, and sometimes doesn't mention their name at all, and some of Spadea's fundraising appeals included defaulted checkboxes to make recurring donations.
Mike Hahn, who manages the Spadea campaign’s digital fundraising program, said "donors are contributing because Bill’s pro-Trump, conservative message is resonating with them on a national scale," but some of those contributors expressed surprised when asked about the donations.
“That’s amazing that I gave 34 times – I better stop that,” said Roger Hahn, an 84-year-old retiree from Nebraska, who at first did not remember hearing Spadea’s name.