Republican Bob McDonnell's campaign is touting his nearly $5 million in the bank and the number of donors to his campaign so far.
The fundraising period of May 28 to June 30 wasn't quite as kind to McDonnell as it was to Democrat Creigh Deeds, who was able to pull down $3.4 million. Deeds team has to be pleased with those numbers, but they also know that they had some make up work to do following the three way Democratic primary between Deeds, Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe.
Deeds stunning, overwhelming primary victory on June 9 was most certainly a windfall for his campaign because Democrats on the fence were finally able to get involved in the race against McDonnell, and the folks who had stepped up to back the other two contenders could put their collective eight behind Deeds.
But the Republicans are looking at this race for the long haul which is why they're focusing on the fact that they have a lot of donors ponying up to the table for less than $100. Partisan wranglers love the small donations because they give grassroots credibility to a campaign, coupled with the fact that McDonnell has a healthy reserve built up and you can probably bet that both sides are claiming victory right now - and belittling the numbers coming out fro m the other side.
The reality is that Deeds and McDonnell aren't hot and heavy on the campaign trail right now. Some of it may be that the campaigns need time to regroup and plot strategy and fill campaign coffers now that the official matchup is set. But you have to wonder if both campaigns aren't getting some of the feedback from politics weary voters who are working on two solid years in campaign mode in Virginia thanks to John McCain and Barack Obama.
Voter fatigue is a very real thing in Virginia right now, even some traditional Democrats weren't ready to get jazzed up about the Democratic primary. I'm gonna let the Democrats sort this one out," was a refrain we heard more than a few times on the campaign trail.
But you'll hear plenty of crowing from both sides about the fundraising numbers, and we haven't even gone through the names to see if any prominent folks are pledging odd allegiances. So here's the text of McDonnell's release.
The gubernatorial campaign of Bob McDonnell announced today that it has far more money in the bank, from far more donors, than its Democratic opponent. The McDonnell campaign has almost $5 million cash on hand as of the end of the last reporting period. This total is nearly double the amount reported by the Deeds campaign. Officially the McDonnell campaign brought in over $1.8 million this period from 3,452 donors. That is nearly 1,000 more donors than the Deeds campaign. The McDonnell campaign had 2,181 donors who gave donations of $100 or less. 75% of McDonnell's donors are from Virginia.
Speaking about the fundraising numbers, McDonnell for Governor Campaign Manager Phil Cox remarked, "Our campaign enters the final four months of the race in a strong financial position to carry our positive message of new jobs and more opportunities to every region of the state. Despite the fact that we were on television for over half of the period, we maintain a nearly 2 to 1 cash on hand advantage over our opponent. Even more remarkable is the difference in where campaign donations are coming from. While a significant amount of our opponents' money was drawn from the compulsory dues of union members nationwide and the Democratic Governors Association, we were receiving the voluntary support of over 2,100 individual donors who each gave $100 or less. That's the sign of a campaign that is winning over voters. Today's report is a further demonstration of the broad appeal, and growing momentum, of our campaign. Virginians are rallying around Bob McDonnell's positive message."
The McDonnell campaign did not receive any donations from the Republican National Committee or the Republican Governors Association during this most recent fundraising period. With officially $4.92 million cash on hand, the McDonnell campaign has more money in the bank than the 2005 Kilgore campaign had at this same time.
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