Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego is not the only one benefiting from the party's mega donors. Tens of thousands of dollars from Democratic-linked sources have also gone into the Arizona Green Party's Senate primary, according to campaign finance filings.
Allegations of spoiler candidates have hung over that primary for months. Last week, Mike Norton, one of two candidates who will appear on the ballot, acknowledged that outside interests are backing the campaign. Norton said both Democrats and Republicans are supporting the effort to stop fellow candidate Arturo Hernandez from winning the nomination, and accused Hernandez of being a closet Republican.
The Norton campaign had already received tens of thousands of dollars from donors and political action committees tied to Democratic politics. A new campaign finance report filed this week shows that Democratic funding has continued.
The report lists nearly $27,000 for Norton from individuals connected to Ron Conway, a California billionaire and Democratic mega donor. That total includes maximum contributions of $3,300 each from Conway, his wife and his adult children.
Norton also took in $3,300 from Donalyn Mikles. Mikles was among the top donors to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022 and has given $90,000 to the Arizona Democratic Party since that year.
The financial picture for Hernandez is far less clear. The campaign has not reported any contributions or expenses since launching in March, even though it likely incurred at least nominal costs in that time. Hernandez missed a July 15 deadline to file a report covering April 1 through June 30.
Hernandez did not respond to a request for comment on how the campaign paid to collect signatures to qualify for the ballot, or how it paid for a high-profile attorney to defend against a lawsuit challenging the candidacy. That attorney, prominent Arizona Republican lawyer Kory Langhofer, also did not respond when asked who is paying for the representation.
Green Party write-in candidate Eduardo Quintana says both men on the ballot are spoilers. "Most people in the Green Party in Arizona now know that these two people that are running as Green Party candidates are not Green Party candidates, and they're frauds," Quintana said last month in an online conversation with party members.
Quintana said his campaign has mailed postcards to all Arizona Green Party voters, encouraging them to write in his name on the ballot.
