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To date, the state GOP has received over $2.6 million in pledges from its Campaign 2010 fundraising effort, state GOP chair Mike Hubbard will announce at the state party’s winter dinner tonight. Campaign 2010 was started last year to raise money for GOP candidates in the 2010 legislative campaigns. Contributors to the campaign’s “Governor’s Circle” are asked to give $10,000 per year for four years, or $40,000.
“This is the most aggressive, the most comprehensive and the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the Republican Party,” Hubbard told the Parlor. “I’ve been travelling the state, prospecting, explaining how the money will be used. So far, we have 67 people who have pledged $40,000. Our goal is to have 100.”
“It’s not just money that we will be giving the candidates [in 2010]. We will be actively involved in campaigns, helping them be effective and efficient. Helping with mail, radio, polling, consultants. By combining like this, we’ll be able to benefit from economies of scale. Instead of paying for one poll at a time, we can go in and say, ‘We want 15 polls’ and get a better rate.
“Part of what I’m telling people is that we can’t count on the business community to do our job for us, and it’s probably been unfair to count on them to do our job for us. We’ll work with them when we can, but we have to go out and raise the money and do the job of electing Republicans.”
“I hope people will be excited by the announcement. All this has been done under the radar screen so far. Del Marsh [the party's Finance Chair], the Governor and I have all been engaged in this.”
“We are getting some pushback from people in the party who don’t believe we should be running campaigns, but what else should we do? Our job is electing Republicans.”
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Might be a little presumptuous to say they’ve raised $2.6M. More like they’ve gotten commitments for $2.6M. As anyone who’s ever raised money knows, that’s a big distinction.
Still kudos for the GOP for getting on the ball early. I doubt the Dems are well enough organized to match this.
O, I bet Joe Turnham has the phone lines over at the Democratic Party office so busy you can’t get through b/c he is raising so much money….thats a joke.
Anonymous #1, your point is well taken. I have changed “the state GOP has raised over $2.6 million” in the first line to “the state GOP has received over $2.6 million in pledges.” Thanks.
Dems will just have AEA raise the teachers Union Dues to make up the difference.
I agree with the first comment, but in either case, the Dems will lag behind in fundraising. For the moment, Dem candidates who can do a good job of bringing/raising their own resources will be some of the only ones to succeed for ‘08 and beyond until the tide changes.
Congressional candidate Ben Lodmell is a good example of a Democratic candidate who might actually be able to play the resource game well enough to win. Check him out at http://www.benjaminlodmellforcongress.com and feel free to donate if you’d like to help out.