But Greenville businessman Tim James, a Republican candidate for governor, has generated the most money — about $4 million — largely through $2 million in a personal loan to his campaign and $700,000 in loans from supporters.
Monday was the deadline for candidates for governor to file reports showing how much they raised in 2009.
Byrne reported collecting $2.6 million in contributions. He got large donations from political action committees associated businesses, including over $300,000 from the PAC of the Alabama Retail Association. He also received $25,000 each from Birmingham businessmen William E. Smith Jr. and Michael Thompson.
James loaned his campaign $2 million in 2008 and supporters added $700,000 in loans in 2009. His contributions totaled nearly $1.4 million. They included $250,000 each from Montgomery businessman Guice Slawson, who is serving as his finance chairman, and John McGinnis of Orange Beach, who helped James build a toll bridge to get vacationers to Orange Beach.
Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore reported $379,880 in contributions. They included $10,000 each from Michael Peroutka, the Constitution Party's candidate for president in 2004, and Stephen Peroutka, chairman of the National Pro-Life Action Center.
Moore also had a total of $9,000 in loans from himself and his campaign chairman, James Henderson.
Among the other Republican candidates for governor:
• State Treasurer Kay Ivey reported loaning her campaign more than $1.7 million and receiving $87,019 in contributions.
• Bill Johnson, a former member of Gov. Bob Riley's Cabinet, reported raising $80,405, with about half of that coming from a Birmingham-based PAC whose campaign finance report was not immediately available. He also made $40,000 in personal loans to his campaign.
• Robert Bentley, a state representative from Birmingham, reported $144,067 in contributions and $787,000 in personal loans to his campaign.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Artur Davis reported he received nearly $2.2 million in contributions during 2009. That included $1 million he transferred from his congressional campaign account.
Davis' contributions included $35,000 from HealthSouth CEO Jay Grinney of Birmingham; $25,000 from Books-A-Million executive Clyde Anderson; $15,000 from San Diego, Calif., attorney Patrick Coughlin; $10,000 from Montgomery attorney Jere Beasley, who's his campaign chairman; $10,000 from former BE&K Chairman T. Michael Goodrich of Birmingham; $2,500 from Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees of Montgomery; and $1,000 from Vernon Jordan Jr. of Washington, a former adviser to President Clinton.
State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks reported lending his campaign $500,000 and receiving $656,188 in contributions, but that total included many contributions made in 2010 rather than 2009. That made a comparison with Davis' total difficult.
Sparks, who has campaigned on a platform of taxing, regulating and expanding gambling, received about $100,000 from PACs that get most of their donations from gambling interests, including the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Macon County Greyhound Park, Jefferson County Racing Association and Greenetrack.
Sparks, an opponent of charter schools, reported $100,000 in contributions from the state teachers' organization, the Alabama Education Association, which is fighting Gov. Bob Riley's charter school plan.
