Senate contender Brown receives significant out-of-state donations

Republican State Senator Scott Brown, who will be going head-to-head with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat on Jan. 19, has been gleaning a large part of his campaign funds from out-of-state donors, sources say.

30 percent of the $1.2 million in donations that Brown's campaign has received have come from out-of-state, culled mostly from Internet campaigning. "There's been a huge surge of online fundraising as people begin to focus on this race and understand that the next senator from Massachusetts will cast a crucial vote on the health care bill," Eric Fehrnstrom, an adviser for Brown, told the Boston Globe.

The Senate health care bill, which could determine, among other things, whether government-funded insurance programs could provide abortion services to subscribers, has become a hot button issue for the upcoming special election.

If elected, Brown (who is pro-life) would vote against the health care bill, citing the threats of higher taxes and lower quality of care. His rival in the race, Coakley (who is pro-choice) would vote for the health care bill if elected, in the interest of greater transparency of healthcare costs and quality care.

Brown's significant bankroll bump from out-of-state conservative donors could also be indicative of his negative stance on same-sex marriage.

"We've seen it again and again in the marriage fights in New England," Scott Gortikov, executive director of MassEquality, said of Brown's out-of-state assistance. "Out of state, anti-equality groups have a keen interest in squashing equal rights for LGBT families. Scott Brown has a record of voting against marriage equality and being personally antagonistic to LGBT families. Right-wing groups love that-they're eager to pay for a guy in a truck who supports discrimination."

The Coakley campaign has so far surpassed Brown in overall fundraising, collecting $5.2 million. "I am humbled by the incredible show of support, especially over the busy holiday season, from our contributors as well as the thousands of volunteers who have given their time and energy to this campaign," Coakley said.

Brown isn't the only one whose out-of-state bankroll has been growing, however. Coakley has been able to boast a longtime nationwide network of supporters, the majority from EMILY'S List, an organization that works to elect pro-choice Democratic women.

Fundraising details from both camps -- including donor lists -- must be submitted to the Federal Election Commission next week.