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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (33420)	3/8/2004 1:40:13 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793905

RF is "pro-liberal", M. Lot's of money in Texas. HoustonChronicle.com -- houstonchronicle.com \| Section: Politics March 7, 2004, 11:26PM Bush's Houston fund-raiser expected to raise $1 million By JOHN WILLIAMS Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Political Writer Some of the business and political leaders who see President Bush tonight at the Hilton Americas will be paying tribute and campaign money to the president for the fourth time since July. But even though many have opened their wallets and purses before, event planners estimate the $2,000-a-plate dinner will add another $1 million to the slightly more than $150 million raised so far. The re-election campaign of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney has set a fund-raising goal of $170 million. As many as 1,000 people are expected tonight, said Fred Meyer of Dallas, the Texas Finance Chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign. "The response is unbelievable," Meyer said. "We're struggling to accommodate all the people who want to attend. It's going wild." Houston and Texas have been good to the state's favorite son and former governor. Texas has provided the re-election campaign more than $13 million, not including tonight's event in Houston and one earlier today in Dallas. Two neighborhoods in Houston alone -- River Oaks and Memorial -- have provided Bush with almost $900,000. In July, a fund-raiser attended by Bush raised an estimated $3 million. Since then, Cheney and the president's father, former President Bush, both have headlined Houston fund-raisers. During the same time, the number of Houstonians who have reached the status the campaign designates Pioneer -- those who have raised $200,000 or more -- has grown from one to seven. The list includes investor Peter Coneway, former Enron executive Nancy Kinder and businessman Fred Zeidman. Houston also boasts seven campaign Rangers who have raised $100,000 or more, including Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. and businessman Corbin Robertson Jr. Ranger Jeff Love, the managing partner of the Houston law firm Locke Liddell Sapp, said that interest in the re-election campaign has grown since it became apparent John Kerry would be the Democratic nominee. "We have seen a precipitous up-tick over the past two to three weeks," Love said. CenterPoint Energy lobbyist Jim Grace said he hopes to bundle the needed $75,000 in contributions to achieve the campaign's Maverick designation. The campaign designed the western-themed titles to recognize supporters for raising money from others, since individual contributions are capped by law at $2,000. Grace said that because of the three recent fund-raisers, it's harder to tap the usual sources. "I'm talking with people who have never participated in campaigns," Grace said. "I'm going outside the normal sphere of politics. The money is there, it just takes a little longer to find it." This article is: chron.com