His past donations to Democratic candidates were based on friendships, not on politics, GOP gubernatorial hopeful Christian Fong said in an e-mail to the Iowa Independent.

Since entering the race for governor last week, Fong has faced repeated questions surrounding campaign contributions to Democratic state Reps. Tyler Olson and Elesha Gayman in the months leading up to the 2008 election. Republican activists and conservative bloggers pounced on the donations, saying they are evidence that he should not be the GOP’s nominee to take on incumbent Gov. Chet Culver in 2010.

“I have served alongside many friends, on boards and commissions, who loyally worked the problems set before Iowa,” he said. “In a couple of cases, I gave nominal amounts to those friends for their campaigns.”

Fong said that in retrospect, he would not make those donations again, because “on several issues I have a completely different opinion about how to move the state forward.”

Christian Fong

Christian Fong

“I simply viewed my small contributions as an act of friendship and an attempt to build bridges with people I’ve worked with,” he said. “If you look at my record, it is a long history of donating money and time, whether [literature] dropping, door knocking or hosting fundraisers for Republican candidates.”

According to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, Fong contributed $575 to campaigns last year, with only $150 going to Olson and Gayman. Records showing a $50 donation to ActBlue Iowa, an organization charged with expanding Democratic majorities in the legislature, has caused the most concern from many conservative activists, but Fong said that money was simply his donation to Gayman.

“They administrated the online system for Elesha’s Web site – so this was a direct donation to her,” he said. “Though Elesha and I are far apart on many issues, it was a very small donation given as an act of friendship and an attempt to build bridges with those I work with.”

Craig Robinson, a conservative blogger and former political director for the Republican Party of Iowa, said in a recent interview with controversial radio host Steve Deace that the contributions cannot be dismissed as easily as Fong would like.

“I know some people say, ‘Well, he gave $50 here and $100 here. It’s no big deal.’ But the thing is, it’s all relative,” he said. “Not many people make political contributions. A small universe of people gives money to political candidates. We should not underestimate these contributions.”

The topic is sure to be addressed again tonight, as Fong is scheduled to be a guest on Deace’s WHO-AM radio program.