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Capitol Impact Article on Disclosures
Apr. 11, 2006 -
Capitol Impact - Ralph Reed was considered to be the candidate with the best ability to tap Republican Party funding sources when he entered the race for lieutenant governor last year.
But after a strong start in the first reporting period, Reed’s flow of money has slowed somewhat in the face of a strong challenge from state Sen. Casey Cagle (R-Gainesville), who is battling Reed for the GOP nomination.
The latest campaign disclosure reports for the three-month period ending March 31 illustrate how the money momentum appears to have shifted from the nationally known political consultant Reed to the lower-profile state legislator Cagle.
Reed reported raising $269,461 during the period from Jan. 1 to March 31, or about twice as much as Cagle, who gathered $132,937 (about $100,000 of that total was raised on March 31, the last day of the reporting period).
Reed had a significant advantage over Cagle, however, because Reed could legally solicit funds during the entire reporting period. Cagle was barred from raising money while the General Assembly was in session, which meant he could only ask for funds for a total of nine days during January, February and March – compared to 90 days in which Reed could solicit contributions.
"Given that Ralph Reed raised a significant portion of his funds from out of state, we raised roughly as much in Georgia in one day as Ralph raised in three months,” said Cagle spokesman Brad Alexander. “The momentum in this race continues to move in Casey's direction.”
A look at the last three reports for the two GOP candidates shows that Reed’s fundraising has slowed while Cagle’s has been more steady. Reed raised $1.38 million during the first six months of 2005, an amount that dropped off to $386,718 during the second half of last year. Cagle raised $626,228 during the first half of 2005 and upped that to $657,315 during the second half.
“At the beginning of the race, no one would have believed that Casey would have raised $1.4 million at this point in the campaign,” said one of Cagle’s legislative colleagues. “Ralph remains dangerous because of his pre-scandal fundraising success, but Casey has the momentum.”
In the all-important category of cash on hand, Reed still enjoys a big lead over Cagle – his campaign had $1.44 million in the bank as of March 31 compared to just over $881,000 for Cagle.
“Our campaign will be well funded, but 2002 taught us that is not enough,” said Reed’s campaign manager, Jared Thomas. “We are going to win this nomination on the ground at the grassroots.”
In the governor’s race, the three major candidates basically ran in place for the three-month period because all three were subject to the fundraising ban while the legislature was in session.
Republican incumbent Sonny Perdue still has more money available to spend than both of the Democratic candidates combined. Perdue had nearly $8.3 million in his campaign bank account as of March 31 while Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor had $4.18 million and Secretary of State Cathy Cox had $2.92 million (Taylor’s total includes $1 million of his own money that he loaned the campaign on Dec. 30).
Cox actually had the most fundraising success during the nine days that she, Taylor and Perdue were allowed to ask for money.
Cox raised $185,891, which included $36,096 in interest earned on idle campaign funds. Perdue raised $141,985 (including $67,228 in interest income) and Taylor raised $98,531 (including $19,819 in interest).
On the Democratic side of the race for lieutenant governor, Greg Hecht and Jim Martin (both of whom are attorneys and former legislators) continued to raise comparable amounts of money from outside contributors. Hecht has the overall lead in available funds because of money he has either borrowed or paid out of his own pocket into the campaign.
Hecht raised $238,174 during the most recent three-month period, which includes a $58,000 loan to the campaign. He reported $789,865 cash on hand as of March 31, a total that was bolstered by $234,000 in loans over the past 15 months.
Martin, who has not put his own money into the race, raised $157,098 during the period ending March 31 and has $469,297 still available to spend.
In the race to replace Cox as secretary of state, Fulton County Commission Chair Karen Handel has opened a wider funding lead over state Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton), who was restricted from raising funds for most of the reporting period.
Handel raised $172,506 during the period and now has $309,758 on hand, compared to $33,675 raised by Stephens during the period and an overall campaign balance of $143,308. Handel’s campaign noted she now has a two-to-one advantage in available funds
“As Karen continues to travel the state the campaign grows in momentum and support,” campaign manager Marty Ryall said. “We look forward to building on this momentum in the coming months.”
Stephens continued to keep his campaign organization in place during the three-month period that he was largely forbidden from raising money, spokesperson Katie Grove said.
“It was the right thing for Bill to do, but it would certainly put us behind in cash on hand,” Grove said. “I can assure you we’re on the way to catching up with an aggressive fundraising effort. We’re going to make up for lost time, that’s for sure.”
Although Handel and Stephens have captured most of the media attention in the secretary of state’s race, the candidate with the most available money to spend is actually one of the Democrats, Atlanta lawyer Shyam Reddy.
Reddy raised $151,624 during the period that ended March 31 and now reports $408,461 cash on hand, a total that exceeds the amounts disclosed by Handel and Stephens.
Former state senator and parole board member Walter Ray of Douglas, who got into the race late, raised $36,075 in contributions and took out a $50,000 loan during the last reporting period. He now has $78,343 on hand. Scott Holcomb raised $61,897 and has $73,927 on hand, while Darryl Hicks raised $26,800, borrowed another $100,000, and has $131,023 available.
Agriculture Commissoner Tommy Irvin, the longtime Democratic incumbent, has not raised as much money over the past 15 months as his Republican challengers, but money left over from earlier campaigns still leaves him with $586,152 available to spend.
GOP candidate Gary Black, the former head of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, raised $104,430 over the last three months and has a campaign balance of $353,204. Sen. Brian Kemp (R-Athens), who was legally restricted from money-raising during most of that period, pulled in $20,395 and has $164,178 on hand.
Democratic Attorney General Thurbert Baker has a big lead in fundraising over Douglasville lawyer Perry McGuire, the Republican challenger.
Baker raised $23,451 during the short period of time he could legally ask for money and how has more than $1.25 million on hand. McGuire, a former state senator, raised $77,161 and has $111,810 cash on hand.
Republican Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has a similar edge over Cobb County Democrat Guy Drexinger in the race for insurance commissioner.
Oxendine, who is running for a fourth term in office, raised $60,655 during the three-month period and has a balance on hand of $1.18 million. Drexinger, former chair of the Cobb Democratic Party, raised $53,929 and has only $130,656 on hand.
Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond, the Democratic incumbent, has a campaign balance of $72,427 in his race for a third term in office. Republican challenger Brent Brown has $91,414 available. No report was available for state Rep. Chuck Scheid (R-Woodstock), who has announced he will run for labor commissioner.
Tom Crawford
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