UPDATED: It doesn't add up for Hay

Federal Election Commission records are at odds with a claim by 1st Congressional District candidate Sydney Hay that she raised $100,000 at a single fundraising event in early April.

In an email to supporters sent April 3, the Hay campaign said:

"At a fundraiser held last evening hosted by longtime friends Karen and Bob Hobbs at their historic home, the restored home of Barry Goldwater, attended by Barry Goldwater, Jr., we were overwhelmed by the great response that resulted in $100,000 raised! Thank you to all who helped make the event a huge success."

However, Hay reported $95,033 raised for the entire second quarter, which included the date of the event. However, as invitations went out at the beginning of March, donations that could have counted toward the event may have started rolling in throughout that month. Also, there may have been a few days' lag after the fundraiser in committments materializing.

Still, for the period from March 1 through April 7, Hay's total itemized contributions from individuals was less than $67,000. Even if all unitemized contributions - those totaling less than $200 - were counted toward the event for both quarters, Hay still didn't bring in enough to meet the $100,000 mark. Only by adding in political action committee donations for March and the beginning of April does Hay show a total of just over $102,000.

To reiterate: for Hay to have raised the amount from the fundraiser her campaign claimed it did, every itemized contribution from March 1 to April 7 must have counted toward the event, in addition to every unitemized contribution over the entire six-month period from January 1 to June 30, plus $9,500 in PAC contributions.

For the Arizona Democratic Party, the discrepancy, first reported by PolitickerAZ.com's Wally Edge, is an opening for attack.

"What happened to the $100,000?" asked Emily DeRose, the Arizona Democratic Party communications director, in a press release. "Did Sydney Hay mischaracterize her campaign event or is there a problem with her bookkeeping? After six years of Congressman Rick Renzi's ethical transgressions, Arizona voters deserve the truth."

U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Flagstaff) is under a 35-count federal indictment on charges stemming from a land swap deal Renzi tried to use his congressional influence to effect, which would have enriched him to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He is not seeking re-election.

Renzi's troubles and a national voter disaffection with the Republican Party makes the 1st district a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats.   

Hay has the backing of most Republicans in the state, including the state party and the entire Republican delegation to the U.S. House in her primary against underfunded rivals, but she was not the party's first choice. The state and national parties tried unsuccessfully to recruit numerous other potential candidates, to no avail. With Hay the most prominent candidate in the field after all other prospects declined to run, the Arizona GOP has put its full support behind her.

The Hay campaign was contacted repeatedly for a comment on this story, but calls were neither answered nor returned. 

UPDATED 7/19 9:00 p.m.: Sydney Hay telephoned PolitickerAZ.com to give her response to the story that ran Thursday on the site.

"What came in and what was pledged - that all came in. It was what we said," Hay said. "It's all there."

Hay reiterated that some of the $100,000 came in before the event, and some that was pledged came in afterward. "The invitations went out really early," she said.

When asked when first invitations went out, when the last checks came in, and any other corroboration of her campaign's claim, Hay said, "You know, we've just got to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other." Pressed on the lingering discrepancy, Hay said, "I can't pay attention to all that."

Hay repeated that she wanted to put the controversy behind her and "move on" with her primary campaign.