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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (15121)	7/10/2009 8:14:35 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 103300

Gov. Crist smashes fundraising record in U.S. Senate race The governor amassed $4.3 million in 50 days By Aaron Deslatte Tallahassee Bureau 5:30 PM EDT, July 9, 2009 orlandosentinel.com TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist raised more than $4.3 million in his first seven weeks as a U.S. Senate candidate, an astonishing sum of money that is more than his likely Democratic challenger has raised in six months. The governor has been on a fundraising rampage since he announced May 12 that he would not be seeking re-election and wanted to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Orlando. Crist held more than 20 fundraisers in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York and Atlanta -- and raised on average $86,000 a day in the first 50 days after he declared his candidacy. "It's a lot of hard work and a lot of nice people," Crist told reporters Thursday. "Hard work and kind people obviously." By comparison, his Republican primary opponent, former state House Speaker Marco Rubio, reported raising just $340,000 for the fundraising quarter that ended June 30, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek reported $1.2 million. Meek has raised a grand total of $2.6 million all year. Crist's campaign made the announcement Thursday, a week before federal campaign fundraising reports are due for the quarter that ended June 30. The previous three-month fundraising high for a Florida U.S. Senate candidate was Martinez's $2.26 million in 2004 – a record Crist obliterated in the span of a few weeks. "Charlie is blotting out the sun in this first quarter," said Brian Ballard, a Tallahassee lobbyist and Crist fundraiser who hosted three events for the governor. The haul makes it clear Rubio's self-styled insurgent's campaign will have to perform a miracle to remain competitive in a primary against the governor, who has drawn national endorsements from GOP leadership and remains one of the most popular chief executives in the country. The West Miami lawyer downplayed Crist's financial edge – even before the actual totals were announced -- at a campaign stop Thursday before a West Orange Republican women's group at the Windermere Country Club. "The only people to raise that issue is journalists. We're building a donor base," Rubio said. Rubio's campaign later added that the governor "will need to spend every last cent" to defend his support of President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan and convince conservative GOP primary voters to elect a centrist who has gone out of his way to court independents and Democrats during his two-plus years as governor. Crist, as he normally does, refused to respond in kind. "This is a race about people and doing what's right for the people of Florida," he said. "I'm very pleased by the fundraising effort, and I'm grateful for it." Crist's tally is reminiscent of his first fundraising quarter in the 2006 governor's race. His GOP opponent, then-Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, raised $3.1 million – only to see Crist blow past him with a $3.8 million haul. The Gallagher camp never recovered. "He's picking up right where he left off in the last election," said University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said of Crist. He added that, while the early financial disadvantage isn't a death knell for Rubio's chances, it creates an avalanche of momentum among big check-writers around the state. "It's an important aspect of the campaign particularly in a big state like Florida," he said. "It does send a signal to all the movers and shakers in the state that if they haven't gotten on board yet, they need to." David Damron contributed to this report. Aaron Deslatte can be reached at 850-222-5564, or at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com. Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel