Written by Quarterly fundraising reports are due tomorrow but some reports have already been filed.
District 1 Republican Paul Gosar raised $43,540 in the second quarter (April 1 through June 30.) Gosar is a dentist and that is where it appears a lot of his support came from, in state and out of state. Either way, over $40,000 for the quarter is enough to make him a serious candidate in District 1.
We keep hearing about Bill Konopnicki getting in the race but if Gosar continues to raise this kind of money then he may have a six figure head start on Konopnicki. Plus the NRCC may want to identify a candidate before January 2010. Gosar is on the map.
Traveling south to District 5 we have the 2008 nominee David Schweikert and newcomer Jim Ward. We could not find Schweikert’s numbers yet but Ward filed last Friday and he did well. He raised $116,157. Granted he kicked in a significant amount but he still raised over $75,000 from other people. There are now two serious candidates in the primary, any more would be a waste of GOP dollars better spend on the general.
Southern Arizona District 8 has 4 candidates, Jesse Kelly, Brian Miller, Andy Goss, and Tom Carlson. Jesse Kelly seems to have taken the lead with $54,458 raised in the 2nd quarter. The next nearest candidate is Miller with only $10,989 raised. We could not yet find any numbers for Goss and Carlson has net yet registered with the FEC. If Kelly keeps out raising his nearest competitor at a nearly 5 to 1 ratio the primary will not be very close.
In District 1, Democrat Incumbent Kirkpatrick has a 1/4 of a million dollars already.
In District 5, Democrat Incumbent Mitchell has $230,000
In District 8, Democrat Incumbent Giffords has $280,000
I honestly don’t see you all winning any of these races.
Win or not I hope you don’t mind if we cover the news.
How much money did JD Hayworth have in the bank in the summer of 2005?
JD had over $ 2 million in the bank. He beat himself and changed his views on to many issues and lost his base. He also became money hungry and used too much of the campaign money for his expenses–very sad–he was a great congressman and should still be serving.
Konopnicki, if he runs, is said to be ready to start with $250,000 to $500,000. He gave back over $125,000 in his exploration campaign last time. He raised that amount in 60 days but I agree he has to decide soon.
Sandra Livingstone is said to be back in the race. A true carpet bagger. As soon as she lost last she left the state so fast that no one knew where she went.
That’s too bad to hear about Schweikert. I always liked him. I’m thrilled to see Kelly is doing so well though. I’ve heard him speak. GREAT stuff.
Giffords raised over $650,000 and has over $1.2M on hand. The PR machine is purring, as you’ve noticed.
X4mr,
I must have reported the old figures on Giffords. Thanks for the correction.
Oh, sorry Gila, I appreciated your post and the news. However, wish you had shared the news of what they are facing with their opponents figures as well.
We are not trying to discount the Democratic incumbents but as a conservative site we wanted to focus on the Republican primary challengers at this time.
I guess we took it for granted that most of our readers already know the incumbents were doing pretty well for money. As we get closer to November 2010 we will certainly cover both sides of the isle. At this time we are just trying to figure out who the challengers will be.
Kelly’s money is all from his Montana family and his own pocketbook. Drudge ad must not have brought in any bucks.
I love the lobster-in-the-bucket of our GOP. I can see it now. Kelly pulls ahead. The whiners complain until he quits. We lose again in a landslide. Sounds about right.