With days to go before Tuesday’s primary election, the 13 candidates vying for the six seats on the Hamilton County Board of Education have collectively raised about $70,000.
As of Feb. 27, the last filing deadline before the election March 5, Republicans have received roughly double the campaign contributions of their Democratic counterparts — $40,006 to $19,670.
The most expensive school board race so far has been for the District 7 seat, where retired business executive Ed Garcia and attorney Jodi Schaffer are competing for the Republican nomination. District 7 includes the East Brainerd and Apison areas.
Schaffer has raked in the most with $8,510. Her donors include Hamilton County Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, and State Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge.