Past, future races: Obama's $750 million
Posted: Friday, December 05, 2008 8:58 AM by Domenico Montanaro
The AP: “Obama, who rewrote the book on presidential fundraising, amassed more than $745 million during his marathon campaign, more than twice the amount obtained by his rival, Republican John McCain. In his latest finance report, Obama reported raising $104 million in more than five weeks immediately before and after Election Day. It was his second biggest fundraising period and a fitting coda to a successful presidential bid that shattered fundraising records. Overall, Obama exceeded the combined finances of the two major parties' nominees four years ago. George W. Bush and John Kerry pulled in a total of $653 million in the 2004 primary and general election campaigns, including federal public financing money.”
The New York Times adds that Obama “spent more than $136 million from Oct. 16 to Nov. 24, the period covered in the report. By comparison, his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, who was limited to the $84 million allotted to him from the Treasury under public financing, spent $26.5 million during that time, according to his latest campaign finance report. Although Mr. McCain had $4 million left over, he had $4.9 million in debt, the report said.”
Buzz about Chris Matthews’ possible Pennsylvania Senate run continues to grow.
Virginia Republicans are already looking to remove their party chair who hasn't even held the job for a year.
Here's a fascinating tidbit from Las Vegas Sun's Jon Ralston: Harry Reid's closed-door fundraiser in DC on Wednesday night included one former Republican senator in attendance: Conrad Burns. Talk about an odd appearance after all the money the DSCC and the Senate Dems spent to get Burns fired in 2006.
And it looks like the nation's marquee senate race in 2010 may get candidates quickly. Alex Sink said she might run even if Jeb Bush runs. "Sink is the only Democrat on the state Cabinet and the only woman to hold a statewide post. Bush was the first Republican since Reconstruction to win back-to-back terms as governor and left office with high approval ratings. Bush's last win, in 2002, came against Sink's husband, Bill McBride, who lost by 12.8 percentage points."
