Money isn't everything. But it's something. Especially when it comes to political campaigns. Candidates can reach a broader audience by using their campaign funds to repeatedly advertise, host events and more. So who's got the most money in the bank among the five Suffolk County District Attorney candidates?
Greg Henning, who left his assistant district attorney position at the Suffolk County DA's office to run for the job, has the most money in his campaign coffers with $124, 210.17 as of May 16. Twenty-seven of his last 100 listed donations are from individuals or organizations who list their profession as law enforcement, be it as a police officer, detective or other similar title. Those donations include $500 from both the Boston Police Patrolmens Association Political Action Committee and the Boston Police Detective Benevolent Society. These donations do not come as a surprise considering Henning's longtime work as an ADA and "handling more than 1,000 criminal cases and conducted dozens of jury trials at both the district court and superior court level."
Shannon McAuliffe, who is the only candidate of the five who announced she would run before current Suffolk County DA Dan Conley said he wasn't going to seek reelection, has the second most money in the bank with $95,801.66 as of May 17.
Rachael Rollins checks in with $61,757.47 as of May 17 in her campaign coffers. Rollins certainly has the support of the legal community, as 59 out of her last 100 reported donations list their profession as attorney. Some notable donors include former Massachusetts Governor William Weld who donated $50, and former Boston City Councilor Mike Ross, who donated $200.
Current state Rep. Evandro Carvalho, 5th-Suffolk District, previously announced he would run for an open state Senate seat, but changed his course to run for DA once that position became open. Carvalho has $40,374.61 in his campaign chest as of May 17. His donors include state Rep. Byron Rushing, D-9th Suffolk, who gave $1,000.
All five candidates certainly have abuzz about their campaigns with supporters across the city, state and country. Linda Champion definitely has her supporters, but it hasn't translated to receiving as much money in donations as her four opponents. As of May 3, Champion had $20,691.79 in campaign funds.
*All campaign data is according to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance (OCPF).
Editor's note: This article previously said that former West Roxbury District Court Judge Kathleen Coffey donated $500 to Greg Henning's campaign. That information was incorrect. A different Kathleen Coffey donated to Henning's campaign.