Incumbent state superintendent candidate Debbie Critchfield is far outpacing her two challengers in campaign fundraising — with heavy support from businesses.
Critchfield, a Republican, who’s seeking a second term as the state’s top education leader, has raised $156,062 this election cycle, according to the secretary of state’s campaign finance portal. Democrat Becky Sundin Mitchell has raised $21,230, and Constitution Party candidate Teresa Roundy hasn’t raised any money.
As of Wednesday, Critchfield has raised about $77,700 from companies and about $68,000 from individual donors and political groups. Many of the company donations came from the agriculture and forestry industries.
The state superintendent is a member of the State Board of Land Commissioners, or Land Board. This powerful commission manages millions of acres of state endowment lands and oversees the Department of Lands, a regulatory agency. Profits from endowment lands benefit public schools.
Here’s a breakdown of Critchfield’s biggest donors:
$10,000:
- Richard and Peggy Larsen Farms in Dubois
- Angela Marozzo of Post Falls
$9,799.70:
- Todd Brinkmeyer, CEO of Idaho Forest Group
$6,000:
- Potlatch Deltic
- Esto Perpetua, a political action committee
$5,000:
- Bennett Lumber Products
- Riley Stegner and Associates
- Ag Nutrients
- Plummer Forest Products
- Tamarack Food and Beverage
- Micron Technology
- Clearwater Paper
- Tom Luna
- Robert Rebholtz Jr.
For candidates running for statewide office like state superintendent, the maximum donation allowed by law is $5,000 per election — once during the primary and once during the general election — or $10,000 total.
Critchfield told Idaho Education News that her donors reflect her leadership around career-technical education.
“I have long maintained that preparing kids for life means also exposing them to local opportunities — bridging the gap between education and the rest of their lives,” she said by email. “Education should mean they are ready to move forward with their goals, and in a growing state like Idaho, they don’t have to look too far to see where they will fit in.”
Agriculture- and forestry-industry donors recognize that, as a Land Board commissioner, Critchfield supports “their efforts to grow and sustain our state land’s endowment fund,” she said. “When we support those that work state lands, we see the return come back to the endowment, that is how we invest (in) public schools.”
Both Critchfield and Sundin Mitchell have raised the vast majority of their campaign funds from in-state donors. Out-of-state donors represent just 7% of Critchfield’s total contributions and 1% of Sundin Mitchell’s.
Sundin Mitchell, meanwhile, has raised just $520 from companies. The remaining $19,510 in contributions have come from individual donors and political groups.
Her biggest donors include:
- Janet and Russell Buschert of Eagle ($2,000)
- District 10 Democrats ($1,000)
- Susan Multanen of Caldwell ($1,000)
- Idaho County Democratic Party ($1,000)
Sundin Mitchell noted to EdNews that she has received donations from “every region of our state” after she committed to visit all 44 counties on the campaign trail. She added that she’s running to represent students, teachers and taxpayers, not “corporations or industries.”
“Campaign money buys advertising, mailers and visibility,” Sundin Mitchell said by email. “But it doesn’t buy the conversations I’ve had with parents, teachers, students and community members from Boundary County to Bear Lake County. I’ve chosen to spend this campaign showing up, listening and learning what Idahoans want from their public schools.”
