by Tom Brune
Fred Thompson today reported that he raised $3.4 million last month for his presidential exploratory committee, causing some supporters to start hand wringing because the amount fell short of the $5 million he was expected to raise.
But still, Thompson did considerably better than Rudy Giuliani during his exploratory days.
In two fundraisers in June, Thompson collected nearly three times as much as the $1.3 million Giuliani raised the first six weeks of his exploratory committee (most of it at one pre-Christmas fundraiser).
Thompson also had many more donors -- 9,167 in all 50 states -- than Giuliani, who had just 739 contributors. Nearly all of them were friends and business associates in New York and Texas.
Thompson poses a particular problem for Giuliani. The tall man with the Southern drawl is pushing Giuliani in the polls and conservatives look to him to represent the right in the fight for the White House next year.
Thompson's total, reported by his non-profit political "testing the waters" committee to the IRS, is dwarfed by former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney's prodigious fundraising feat of collecting $6.5 million in a day (Jan. 8, 2007). But as a possible harbinger of things to come, it's twice the $1.7 million reported in January by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
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Comments
Pro-Abortion Rudy Gigoloiani vs Pro-Abortion Lobbyist Freddy Thompson
Which one of these phonies is a loyal Republican Party weenie supposed to pick this time around?
.....uh?....uh?...HELP!
Posted by: John E | July 31, 2007 6:09 PM
A pre-nup?
Posted by: lochnessmonster | July 31, 2007 8:24 PM
Ever notice that the stories featuring the Repugs that Bruce, anon. and John D harp on incessantly never collect any hits?
Posted by: weinerdog43 | August 1, 2007 10:04 AM
Fred and Rudy are formidable candidates. And anybody who keeps Tony Rezko's friend, or Bill Clinton's spouse, out of the White House, will draw lots of support.
Posted by: Bruce | August 1, 2007 10:09 AM
Frank James says above: "Thompson's total... it's twice the $1.7 million reported in January by then GOP frontrunner Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)."
McCain may have been the most favored GOP contender among Democrat reporters, but he was NOT the GOP frontrunner in January of this year--or at any time near then. Pollster.com tracks the polls, and shows Giuliani consistently ahead of McCain throughout the last year. See
http://www.pollster.com/
McCain the frontrunner? Where do these reporters get their info on the Republican race?
Swamp Note: This is not Frank James' posting. But your point that McCain was not leading in the polls among his party's candidates in January is well taken. It was months before that he held any perceived lead. That's been fixed..
Posted by: Bruce | August 1, 2007 10:32 AM