Alaska's 17 governor candidates have raised nearly $9 million. This chart shows who gave it.

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Money isn't everything.

But in politics, it sure helps. Candidates, generally, can't run effective campaigns without it, and those who raise the most are far more likely to win.

Donors' identities can also tell the public about which constituencies and stakeholders are supporting particular candidates, and they also can hint at which special interests a winning candidate might favor once in office.

In Alaska's gubernatorial race, scrutinizing donors is especially helpful in understanding and assessing the field of candidates because of its huge size: No fewer than 17 people are vying to be the next head of the state's executive branch.

Alaska currently has no individual limits on direct giving to campaigns, and with large donors stepping in to support their preferred candidates, the campaigns have collectively raised nearly $9 million. After an Aug. 18 primary, the field will be narrowed to four candidates and their lieutenant governor running mates.

Political campaigns in Alaska are required by state law to disclose their donors — and in fact, any anonymous cash a campaign receives must be forfeited to the state.

A recent round of fundraising disclosures filed last week offers new hints about the state of the race. This interactive chart, produced by data scientist and graphics developer Will Koeppen for the Anchorage Press, steps through campaign contributions, progressively adding categories of income until it shows the total raised by each candidate since they entered the race.

Note that independent Destry Payne Sr. and Republicans James William Parkin IV, Hank Kroll and Michael Gilbert aren't shown, as each has raised less than $5,000.

The next round of financial disclosures for Alaska's state elections are due on Aug. 11, seven days before the primary election.

Will Koeppen is a data scientist and graphics developer with deep Alaska ties. Read more of his work at willkoeppen.com.

Methodology

Raw financial disclosure data was downloaded from the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), the state's campaign finance regulator. We grouped individual contributions by donor, matching records that likely belong to the same person — a process that isn't always exact. Totals raised were checked against summaries provided by APOC.