shocker1
04-21-2007, 01:57 AM
Tennesseans, Georgians begin to throw money at 2008 White House race
Saturday, April 21, 2007
By Edward Lee Pitts
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The crowded 2008 presidential field raised more than $550,000 in Tennessee and more than $1.6 million in Georgia, according to first quarter fundraising reports released this week by the Federal Election Commission.
The 10 announced GOP candidates for the White House brought in $367,125 from Tennessee donors, while hauling in $628,239 from Georgians. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the GOP pack in both states, with his $237,800 Tennessee total nearly doubling the cash taken in by his nine opponents, according to the FEC.
On the Democratic side, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina did take in more than double the Tennessee money of the rest of the Democrats. His $134,650 was followed by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's $26,629. But Sen. Obama topped the Georgia list by raising more than $477,000 in the Peach State, reports show.
Despite the totals, current lawmakers and political strategists agreed that there is a lot more money to be had in the two states for an election that is 19 months away.
"In a state like Tennessee this is not much fundraising," said U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "The money is overstated at this point. There are several turns in the road left in this campaign."
Still, the ability to raise money early is considered an important indicator of a candidate's likelihood for success, many observers agreed.
"I actually think too much attention is paid to it," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., himself a former presidential candidate. "It ought not to be a money race. It ought to be a race about qualifications."
But Sen. Alexander said he is not surprised that Mr. Romney has turned out to be a good fundraiser in the Volunteer State.
"I know a number of Tennessee Republicans who are very impressed with him," Sen. Alexander said.
Romney's supporters include Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Welch, a longtime Tennessee GOP fundraiser and supporter of Sen. Alexander.
Mr. Romney reached out to Southern Republicans early, observers say.
"His whole philosophy coming from Massachusetts and being a Mormon was, 'You better go South, and you better go early,' " Rep. Wamp said.
Lawmakers and political observers attributed New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton's poor showing in the state -- she raised just $7,870 -- to the fact that her attention has been focused elsewhere.
"I think a lot of candidates pick the low-hanging fruit at first and then kind of branch out," said Ed Cromer, editor of the Tennessee Journal, a political newsletter. "I doubt that (Mrs. Clinton) devoted much time and attention to raising money in Tennessee or she could have brought in a lot more than that."
Meanwhile, some Tennessee Republicans say that both former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have overlooked the state.
"I don't see any evidence of any kind of McCain or Giuliani camp in this state," said Stephanie Chivers, who represents Tennessee as a committeewoman in the Republican National Committee.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Edwards' early money lead can be attributed to the time he spent living in Nashville, said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
"He's the only announced candidate with deep roots in the state," he said of Sen. Edwards.
Sen. Edwards also has been able to tap into Tennessee resources he developed as the Democrats' candidate for vice president in 2004, said John Rowley, a Democratic political consultant based in Nashville.
"Edwards has a number of ready-made donors," he said.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said Sen. Obama should increase his Tennessee dollars significantly thanks to the connections and goodwill he made while stumping for then-Democratic Senatorial candidate Harold Ford last fall.
That Senate race between then-Rep. Ford and eventual winner Bob Corker drained a lot of political dollars from the state and may be a key reason why Tennessee presidential fundraising has barely passed the $500,000 mark, Mr. Cromer said.
"It's pretty early, and I think people here just haven't really focused on it yet," he said. "People are just now starting to turn their attention to the race."
The wild card in the race is former Tennessee GOP Sen. Fred Thompson, said Stephanie Chivers, National Republican Committee chairwoman from Tennessee.
"Quite frankly, if Fred were to get in the race then Gov. Romney's support, both politically and financially, would diminish considerably," she said.
Many Tennessee Republicans are not committing or raising more money right now until they know what Mr. Thompson is going to do, Mr. Cromer said.
Mr. Rowley said the contributions would ramp up significantly as soon as the field is whittled down to two or three candidates per side.
In Georgia, Sen. Obama's lead can be attributed to Atlanta's large population of affluent blacks, said Charles Bullock, a political scientist with the University of Georgia.
"Studies show that many upwardly mobile African-Americans consider Atlanta the place to go," he said.
And, like in Tennessee, Mr. Romney has jumped out to a big Georgia lead thanks to his successful wooing of influential federal and state lawmakers, Dr. Bullock said.
E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com (lpitts@timesfreepress.com)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=14180&zoneid=77
Saturday, April 21, 2007
By Edward Lee Pitts
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The crowded 2008 presidential field raised more than $550,000 in Tennessee and more than $1.6 million in Georgia, according to first quarter fundraising reports released this week by the Federal Election Commission.
The 10 announced GOP candidates for the White House brought in $367,125 from Tennessee donors, while hauling in $628,239 from Georgians. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the GOP pack in both states, with his $237,800 Tennessee total nearly doubling the cash taken in by his nine opponents, according to the FEC.
On the Democratic side, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina did take in more than double the Tennessee money of the rest of the Democrats. His $134,650 was followed by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's $26,629. But Sen. Obama topped the Georgia list by raising more than $477,000 in the Peach State, reports show.
Despite the totals, current lawmakers and political strategists agreed that there is a lot more money to be had in the two states for an election that is 19 months away.
"In a state like Tennessee this is not much fundraising," said U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "The money is overstated at this point. There are several turns in the road left in this campaign."
Still, the ability to raise money early is considered an important indicator of a candidate's likelihood for success, many observers agreed.
"I actually think too much attention is paid to it," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., himself a former presidential candidate. "It ought not to be a money race. It ought to be a race about qualifications."
But Sen. Alexander said he is not surprised that Mr. Romney has turned out to be a good fundraiser in the Volunteer State.
"I know a number of Tennessee Republicans who are very impressed with him," Sen. Alexander said.
Romney's supporters include Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Welch, a longtime Tennessee GOP fundraiser and supporter of Sen. Alexander.
Mr. Romney reached out to Southern Republicans early, observers say.
"His whole philosophy coming from Massachusetts and being a Mormon was, 'You better go South, and you better go early,' " Rep. Wamp said.
Lawmakers and political observers attributed New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton's poor showing in the state -- she raised just $7,870 -- to the fact that her attention has been focused elsewhere.
"I think a lot of candidates pick the low-hanging fruit at first and then kind of branch out," said Ed Cromer, editor of the Tennessee Journal, a political newsletter. "I doubt that (Mrs. Clinton) devoted much time and attention to raising money in Tennessee or she could have brought in a lot more than that."
Meanwhile, some Tennessee Republicans say that both former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have overlooked the state.
"I don't see any evidence of any kind of McCain or Giuliani camp in this state," said Stephanie Chivers, who represents Tennessee as a committeewoman in the Republican National Committee.
On the Democratic side, Sen. Edwards' early money lead can be attributed to the time he spent living in Nashville, said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
"He's the only announced candidate with deep roots in the state," he said of Sen. Edwards.
Sen. Edwards also has been able to tap into Tennessee resources he developed as the Democrats' candidate for vice president in 2004, said John Rowley, a Democratic political consultant based in Nashville.
"Edwards has a number of ready-made donors," he said.
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., said Sen. Obama should increase his Tennessee dollars significantly thanks to the connections and goodwill he made while stumping for then-Democratic Senatorial candidate Harold Ford last fall.
That Senate race between then-Rep. Ford and eventual winner Bob Corker drained a lot of political dollars from the state and may be a key reason why Tennessee presidential fundraising has barely passed the $500,000 mark, Mr. Cromer said.
"It's pretty early, and I think people here just haven't really focused on it yet," he said. "People are just now starting to turn their attention to the race."
The wild card in the race is former Tennessee GOP Sen. Fred Thompson, said Stephanie Chivers, National Republican Committee chairwoman from Tennessee.
"Quite frankly, if Fred were to get in the race then Gov. Romney's support, both politically and financially, would diminish considerably," she said.
Many Tennessee Republicans are not committing or raising more money right now until they know what Mr. Thompson is going to do, Mr. Cromer said.
Mr. Rowley said the contributions would ramp up significantly as soon as the field is whittled down to two or three candidates per side.
In Georgia, Sen. Obama's lead can be attributed to Atlanta's large population of affluent blacks, said Charles Bullock, a political scientist with the University of Georgia.
"Studies show that many upwardly mobile African-Americans consider Atlanta the place to go," he said.
And, like in Tennessee, Mr. Romney has jumped out to a big Georgia lead thanks to his successful wooing of influential federal and state lawmakers, Dr. Bullock said.
E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com (lpitts@timesfreepress.com)
http://www.timesfreepress.com/absolutenm/templates/local.aspx?articleid=14180&zoneid=77