Georgia state Sen. Jeff Mullis took in more money from his district during the second quarter campaign reporting period than during the first, but he still raised nearly half his campaign funds from metro Atlanta.
The Chickamauga Republican brought in $83,000 in the second quarter, raising his total 2010 campaign chest to nearly $116,000.
On the first quarter finance report, Sen. Mullis reported $33,000 in contributions, with 85 percent of that coming from the metro Atlanta area and none from his district. At the time, he explained that one big fundraiser in Atlanta skewed the percentage, and he said subsequent filings would be more balanced.
The second quarter report includes $14,000 from the district and $42,000 from Atlanta.
Jeremy Jones and Jim Pope, who will face Sen. Mullis in Tuesday's Republican primary for the 53rd Senate District seat, did not report any contributions in the second quarter.
Mr. Pope has called out Sen. Mullis for accepting too much money from Atlanta, questioning whether the senator would be loyal to his constituents or contributors. Attempts to reach Mr. Pope on Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.
Mr. Jones said he had missed the filing deadline but had raised about $500, almost all from inside the district. He said as long as money was acquired legally, he didn't have a problem with where it came from.
"That's the reason that we have the ethics reports," he said.
ELECTION DATES* Primary: Tuesday* Primary runoff: Aug. 10* General election registration deadline: Oct. 4* General election: Nov. 2
In a phone interview, Sen. Mullis said many of his Atlanta contributors may have branches in the district. He said he has plenty of support inside the district lines.
"They agree with my record, and they support what I'm doing in the Legislature," he said.
It's not unusual for candidates to have large contributions from the state's largest population center, he said.
Sen. Jim Butterworth, who is seeking re-election to the 50th Senate District in the northeast corner of the state, also is drawing heavily from the metro area. About 59 percent of his $38,000 in second-quarter contributions came from the metro area, compared to 51 percent for Sen. Mullis.
Mr. Jones said it is important to realize that having money doesn't necessarily equate to support.
"People from outside the state and outside the district don't vote," he said.
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Article: Challengers say Mullis taking too much Atlanta money