David Williams HAULS In Half A Million Dollars From First Gubernatorial Fundraiser. WOW.
Republican takes in $500K at Lexington fundraiser
By ROGER ALFORD
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Republican David Williams raised about $500,000 for his gubernatorial bid in a Lexington fundraiser on Wednesday, his campaign says.
Campaign manager Scott Jennings said Thursday that contributions were still being counted from Williams' first fundraiser some five months before the May primary election.
"I think that it reflects the fact that people in Kentucky get very excited about governors' races, and they're particularly excited about this ticket," Jennings said.
Williams is running on a ticket with former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer, a Clay County native who has served two terms as the state's agriculture commissioner.
He is vying for the GOP nomination with tea party favorite Phil Moffett of Louisville, both of whom had pledged to wait until after Republican Rand Paul's U.S. Senate campaign had ended to begin fundraising. Both Republican candidates need to play catch up with Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who campaign finance reports show had raised $3.1 million as of Sept. 30.
Moffett was borrowing Thursday from the playbook of Paul, now a senator-elect, in looking outside Kentucky for contributions to kick-start his campaign.
Moffett, a Louisville businessman and political newcomer, spent the latter part of the week at the Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego, Calif., seeking fresh sources of campaign cash and trying to build his stature with a national GOP that will be closely watching Kentucky's governor's race, one of only three in the nation next year.
"There wasn't a lot of fundraising before the general election," Moffett said. "Now that that's over, and people have taken a deep breath, fundraising will pick up."
On the Democratic side, Beshear has drawn only token opposition from Harlan County scrap metal dealer Otis Hensley for his party's nomination. Beshear's running mate is Jerry Abramson, a longtime Louisville mayor. Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith is running as an independent candidate.
Beshear's sizable bank account will likely deter potential Democratic challengers.
The candidates won't report again until January.
Campaign finance reports filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance show Williams loaned his campaign $100,000.
Moffett, owner of a telemarketing firm, has pledged $50,000 to his campaign. It's unclear whether he will commit more.
"I'm hoping I don't have to," Moffett said. "Right now, it looks like I'm not going to have to. That's my confidence level."
Paul found in-state fundraising difficult in his GOP primary race against an establishment Republican, forcing him to tap into the national tea party movement for funding that came largely from Internet fundraisers. Paul's former campaign manager, David Adams, said Moffett is running into similar difficulties.
Adams, who now heads Moffett's campaign, predicted that a strong grass-roots movement will help Moffett overcome this fundraising barrier.
By ROGER ALFORD
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Republican David Williams raised about $500,000 for his gubernatorial bid in a Lexington fundraiser on Wednesday, his campaign says.
Campaign manager Scott Jennings said Thursday that contributions were still being counted from Williams' first fundraiser some five months before the May primary election.
"I think that it reflects the fact that people in Kentucky get very excited about governors' races, and they're particularly excited about this ticket," Jennings said.
Williams is running on a ticket with former University of Kentucky basketball star Richie Farmer, a Clay County native who has served two terms as the state's agriculture commissioner.
He is vying for the GOP nomination with tea party favorite Phil Moffett of Louisville, both of whom had pledged to wait until after Republican Rand Paul's U.S. Senate campaign had ended to begin fundraising. Both Republican candidates need to play catch up with Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who campaign finance reports show had raised $3.1 million as of Sept. 30.
Moffett was borrowing Thursday from the playbook of Paul, now a senator-elect, in looking outside Kentucky for contributions to kick-start his campaign.
Moffett, a Louisville businessman and political newcomer, spent the latter part of the week at the Republican Governors Association meeting in San Diego, Calif., seeking fresh sources of campaign cash and trying to build his stature with a national GOP that will be closely watching Kentucky's governor's race, one of only three in the nation next year.
"There wasn't a lot of fundraising before the general election," Moffett said. "Now that that's over, and people have taken a deep breath, fundraising will pick up."
On the Democratic side, Beshear has drawn only token opposition from Harlan County scrap metal dealer Otis Hensley for his party's nomination. Beshear's running mate is Jerry Abramson, a longtime Louisville mayor. Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith is running as an independent candidate.
Beshear's sizable bank account will likely deter potential Democratic challengers.
The candidates won't report again until January.
Campaign finance reports filed with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance show Williams loaned his campaign $100,000.
Moffett, owner of a telemarketing firm, has pledged $50,000 to his campaign. It's unclear whether he will commit more.
"I'm hoping I don't have to," Moffett said. "Right now, it looks like I'm not going to have to. That's my confidence level."
Paul found in-state fundraising difficult in his GOP primary race against an establishment Republican, forcing him to tap into the national tea party movement for funding that came largely from Internet fundraisers. Paul's former campaign manager, David Adams, said Moffett is running into similar difficulties.
Adams, who now heads Moffett's campaign, predicted that a strong grass-roots movement will help Moffett overcome this fundraising barrier.
Labels: GOP, Kentucky politics, Republicanism
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 10:04 AM
1 Comments:
I think that widget on your page about Senate race costs doesn't include Jack's last expenditures. His report isn't up on the FEC site yet, per pageone (and I followed the pageone link, and it wasn't). However, after paying himself back hundreds of thousands of dollars, he apparently went into debt according to an email that is floating around. So I think in the end your widget will be different.
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