Fundraising has been fast and furious in the two weeks since a pro-abortion rights initiative officially qualified for the ballot in Idaho, with high-dollar donors flocking to both sides of the issue.
If approved by voters in November, Proposition 1 would overturn the state’s near-total ban on the procedure. Currently, abortions are only allowed in cases of rape, incest and if the life of the mother is at risk.
So far, Too Extreme for Idaho has blasted off like a rocket ship with $1.2 million raised since its first recorded donation on July 17.
All of that money came from nine sources, including individuals, companies and political action committees, according to campaign finance records.
Angela and James Harrison donated the largest chunk of that total with a $500,000 gift. The Harrisons helped start Boise’s Catholic radio station, Salt and Light Radio, founded a remote medical clinic in Haiti and are involved with several Catholic charities in the Treasure Valley.
Dorothy Rebholtz, the widow of Agri Beef founder Robert Rebholtz, Sr., pitched in $300,000, with Homedale-based Nederend Farms and S3 Properties LP each adding $100,000.
S3 Properties is connected with Kirk Smith, who founded SSI Foods in 1984 in Wilder as a joint partnership with the J.R. Simplot Company. Smith also sits on the board of directors of Agri Beef, according to his company biography.
Right to Life Idaho comes in a distant second on the fundraising front so far, with $94,000 in ready-to-spend cash. Idaho Chooses Life, another anti-abortion group, has about $70,000.
All told, anti-abortion groups have $1.6 million cash on hand, factoring in the Idaho Republican Party.
However, the state GOP and others who’ve said they’d spend money to defeat the ballot initiative are also likely to direct their cash to other campaigns and issues on the ballot this fall.
Meanwhile, the group behind Proposition 1, Idahoans United for Women and Families, has $1.1 million to spend as of Monday.
That includes a reported $5,000 donation from married actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest.
The “Halloween” and “Freaky Friday” actress and her husband, one of the co-creators of the fictional band “Spinal Tap” and director of several mockumentary films, have spent time in Ketchum for decades.
These numbers only account for donations of more than $1,000, which are required to be reported within 48 hours, along with each organization’s cash on hand totals at the end of June.
A full accounting of smaller dollar donors is due to the Idaho Secretary of State in mid-August.
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