Brown election aided by surge of local donors

But the same phenomenon occurred in communities across the state. As it became clear to voters upset with events in Washington that the state senator had a good chance of beating Attorney General Martha Coakley, residents from places like Winchester and Marblehead opened their wallets.

People in those communities and others poured cash into Brown’s campaign coffers, helping him raise about $2.2 million of the $15 million total from across the country.

Communities north of Boston donated close to $370,000 to Brown in publicly recorded funds. More than three-quarters of that came after Jan. 1 as polls showed the race tightening.

In comparison, Coakley reported raising $9.6 million for the entire campaign, which included a four-way Democratic special primary in December.

Public campaign records of voters who gave $200 or more show that residents in Winchester and Marblehead gave about $32,000 and $29,000 respectively to Brown, the region’s highest totals.

More than half of the money Brown received came from donations of less than $200, and the identities and addresses of those people are not revealed.

Those who gave included lawyers, homemakers, chief executive officers, and retirees. Several gave $2,400, the maximum for the federal election cycle.

But unlike past elections, large donors appear to be moving away from ties to town Republican clubs or committees. In Winchester and Marblehead, not a single donor who contributed $500 or more to Brown’s campaign in January was formally affiliated with a Republican group.

“It’s a new way of giving,’’ said Bill O’Leary, chairman of the Winchester Republican Town Committee. O’Leary said he believes a different type of donor is emerging, one who conducts his or her own research and contributes without feeling the need to attend traditional fund-raisers or candidate nights.

“I think the electronic communications have made it so people can do what they want in private. I don’t have to go and meet Scott Brown; I can sit on my BlackBerry, read everything about him, and make a decision. It’s almost like having your own little voting booth,’’ said O’Leary, whose committee contributed $500 to Brown in January.

While the Winchester Republican Town Committee did not ask its members for contributions, the Women’s Republican Club of Winchester — which also gave $500 to Brown — did.

“A lot of us were sending e-mails to solicit people to contribute,’’ said Eleanor Dunn, the club’s treasurer, who gave $25 to the Brown campaign.

In Marblehead, 19 donors gave at least $500 and none were affiliated with the Marblehead Republican Town Committee.

John Smidt, who formerly worked in the leather industry in Peabody and is not a member of a Republican organization, said he gave $1,000 to Brown because he was fed up with Washington politicians.

“I became disenchanted with what the federal government was doing,’’ he said. “It seemed as if the basic fiber of the country was broken and we needed a new direction.’’

Amy Carnevale, chairwoman of the Marblehead Republican Town Committee, said her organization focused on getting out the vote. Her committee distributed more than 100 lawn signs and formed a phone bank to call about 2,500 independents the night before the election.

Michael Goldman, a Democratic consultant and Marblehead resident, said sections of the region, including Marblehead, Beverly Farms, and Winchester, have long been Republican strongholds. After Brown’s post-Christmas surge in the polls, longtime Republicans were eager to donate.

“There’s no mystery to this stuff,’’ he said. “If the candidate hadn’t resonated; if after Christmas he was perceived as not having a shot, then people wouldn’t have given.’’