Coleman has almost double campaign funds on hand over Franken

[CatholicEdHead]

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/senate/17545964.html



WASHINGTON - DFL Senate candidate Al Franken says he's raised around $2.2 million in the first quarter of the year, edging Senator Norm Coleman but falling further behind in cash on hand.

Earlier this week, Coleman, a Minnesota Republican, said he had raised over $2 million in the period. Coleman also said he had nearly $7 million in the bank — double the nearly $3.5 million that Franken has on hand.

Overall, Coleman has raised about $12.4 million for the race, compared to around $9.2 million for Franken.


Comments:
http://ww2.startribune.com/user_comments/comments.php?d=asset_comments&asset_id=17545964


What I am interested in is how does this compare to the Klobuchar/Kennedy race. Is Al getting money just from his base? I would assume Amy was able to get money from her base and many in the middle while Kennedy was only able to get money from his base. Given the recent ads and flames towards Coleman at the local county convention level, Coleman may be reaching moderates that Franken is not. If so, what can Al do to reach those swing people for funding to be competitive (even though I hate the influence of money in politics). Or is it that most of Norm's funding is out-of-state money and not reflective of how his actual constituents in the state feel about him?

[trotsky]

1. National GOP knows this is one they MUST hold on to.

To try and staunch the bleeding. Normie will no doubt be getting a huge share of his funds from out-of-state.

I don't worry about this too much; let the DFL get an official candidate and then the real race will start.

[CubFan7125]

3. Al Goes Hollywood

A big problem with fund raising is the are few rules to it. I could be wrong but Al has raised a lot of money from outside of Minnesota. I really wish there was a likeable liberal who could win. That Jack guy is good but he just can't win.

[Mister Ed]

4. Bear this in mind when you hear about the influence of out-of-state money in this race:

There's a big difference between a donation from one of Al's wealthy showbiz pals and a contribution from an out-of-state corporation. The difference is that those celebs will not be looking for favors at taxpayer expense. The Senate won't be deciding whether Susan Sarandon gets cast in that part she wants, or George Clooney gets to do more directing this year.

In contrast, a Monsanto or an Exxon or a GE makes campaign contributions with the expectation that they will be repaid a thousandfold, one way or another. There are always matters before the Senate that make a huge difference to their bottom line. It's that sort of out-of-state money that will be flooding the coffers of the Coleman campaign this year.

[Mnpaul]

5. efyoust is doing a good job of spanking the righties

in the comments section

"where does the money come from? Al seems to be holding a lot of out-of-state (LA, NYC) fundraisers."
Money raised out of state:

Coleman - $3,606,984.....
Franken - $2,358,315.....

Top Metro Areas of contributions:
Coleman - Twin Cities, Washington DC, LA, New York, Miami.....
Franken - Twin Cities, New York, LA, Chicago, San Francisco.....

Money raised from LA:
Coleman - $376,033.....
Franken - $386,696.....

:rofl:

another rightie talking point crash and burn

[dflprincess]

6. Excellent points Mister Ed

And, if there is anyway I could show George Clooney my gratitude for any contributions he may make to Franken's campaign, I would be more than happy to do so. :evilgrin:

[Eric J in MN]

2. In early June, we'll have a DFL nominee.

I wish we chose the DFL nominee in March or April instead, but we should finally have someone to rally behind in June.