One week ago, I wrote about former senator John Rodgers’ five-figure spend for ads on WDEV radio plus other candidates’ investments in mass media. Several candidates have since reported mass media expenditures; here’s a look at the highlights.

Reminder: The next campaign finance reporting deadline is August 1, but candidates are required to promptly report mass media buys of $500 or more when they occur close to an election.

Let’s start with Rodgers. I noted that if his WDEV buy was part of a broader strategy it could pay off, but by itself it’s a questionable move. It’s a lot of money to spend on a diminished medium and an outlet that only reaches a fraction of Vermont. Well, so far it stands alone: Rodgers has not reported any more mass media spending.

The biggest mass media report from the past week comes not from a candidate, but from the Child Care Victory Fund, a political action committee affiliated with Let’s Grow Kids Vermont. The Fund is apparently trying to protect incumbent lawmakers who supported Act 76, the 2023 bill that made a “quantum leap” in child care investments, and now face primary opposition.

CCVF has spent $8,525 for online advertising in support of several Democratic and/or Progressive incumbents who face contested primaries: Sens. Phil Baruth, Martine Gulick and Tanya Vyhovsky, being primaried in their three-seat district by former TV dude Stewart Ledbetter; Sens. Thomas Chittenden, Ginny Lyons and Kesha Ram Hinsdale, being primaried in their district by perpetual candidate Louis Meyers; and Reps. Tom Stevens and Theresa Wood of Waterbury and Emilie Kornheiser of Brattleboro, who face Democratic challengers with strong backing from business interests. The ads also support Sen. Irene Wrenner, who does not have a primary opponent but is likely to face a tough race against Republican Rep. Chris Mattos in November.

In case you’re curious, CCVF has raised a total of $23,500 so far in this campaign cycle, so it still has a fair bit of cash on hand. The money has come from a small number of big-dollar donors including Michele Asch of the Twincare Skincraft family business ($6,000), former National Life CEO Tom Macleay ($5,000), conflict mediator and early childhood education advocate Susan Titterton ($5,000), Derrick Davis, co-founder of the Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children ($3,000), former UVM faculty member and retired National Institutes of Health bigwig Alan Guttmacher and his wife Brigid ($1,500), and Montpelier lobbyist John Hollar ($1,000).

The big winner in the past week’s mass media reports is Charyk & Francis, the consultancy of former Vermont Democratic Party staffer Nick Charyk and Lachlan Francis, chair of the Windham County Dems. They took in another $8,070 from Ledbetter for what must be a very comprehensive postcard mailing (plus expenses and management fee, I trust) and $6,361 from Sen. Chris Bray for a postcard blitz. So far this year, Charyk & Francis have been paid a total of $11,570 by the Ledbetter campaign.

I know that politics makes strange bedfellows, but I wonder if Bray has any qualms about using the same consultancy that’s trying to defeat one of his three Senate colleagues in the Chittenden Central district. Just askin’.

That same primary has apparently prompted Baruth to end his lengthy abstention from spending any money on his re-election bids. Baruth just reported spending $3,133 for postcards, his first campaign expenditure since before the Covid epidemic.

Down south, state Rep. Seth Bongartz, now running for one of Bennington County’s two Senate seats, has ponied up $2,262 for brochures touting his candidacy and that of Rob Plunkett, deputy Bennington County state’s attorney and write-in candidate for Senate. The expenditure would seem to indicate a team-up of Bongartz and Plunkett for the seat occupied by the retiring Brian Campion and the seat vacated by the death of Dick Sears.

We’re getting down to the dregs, but I’ll mention one more: Rep. Caleb Elder, now running for Senate in Addison County, spent $1,152 for advertising on Front Porch Forum. Not especially noteworthy, but it gives me an excuse to report that one of Elder’s donors is Vermont musician and Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote him a check for $500. (Elder is himself a talented musician.)

That’s it for now. I’ll keep watching the mass media filings and report when developments warrant.