Posted on 07/27/2005 3:44:30 PM PDT by Columbus Dawg
6,350 Contributors, $195 Average Gift, $1.1 Million Cash On Hand
(Columbus, July 27, 2005) More than six thousand people responded to Secretary of State Ken Blackwell’s campaign for governor in the last six months, boosting his campaign fund-raising report to an impressive $1.24 million dollars. Blackwell attracted a record 6,350 individual contributors with an average gift of $195, and will show cash on hand of more than $1.1 million. The report locked down Blackwell’s position as the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination for Governor and showed Ohioans’ strong support of his message of lower taxes, strong values and more jobs.
“All the elements are in place for a great victory,” said Blackwell campaign chair Lara Mastin of Dayton. “We have a grassroots tidal wave of support, a 15 point lead in the polls and more than $1.1 million cash on hand for a strong paid media campaign,” she added.
“We are ready to campaign on Ken’s anti-tax, pro-life and pro-marriage principles against any and all opponents.
“This report also shows Ken is supported by grassroots voters around Ohio, not special interests or party bosses,” Mastin said.
“Ohioans know our state has fallen on hard times, and they recognize that Ken will lead Ohio in the right direction. So when Ken asks people to help, they have responded.
“Our campaign will be very, very hard to beat,” Mastin concluded. “Given a choice, Republican voters will vote for the real Republican every time.”
Blackwell’s campaign report covering the most recent reporting period will show $1,241,272.20 in cash ($1,237,609.38) and other ($3,662.96) contributions, $224,027.20 carried forward from his last report, $1,465,299.54 available and $351,088.33 in expenses, leaving $1,114,211.21 in cash on hand.
This was much needed for him and is very good news for all Blackwell supporters.
It will be interesting to see Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery's reports. They did have significant amounts last report, we'll have to keep an eye.
He would make an excellent Governor and roll model.
Go Ken!
Good for him!
I urge everyone to contribute to Blackwell even if not a resident of the state. I'm from Washington, not Ohio, myself.. IMO, he is essential to helping prevent Ohio from sliding into Democrat hands. The Corruption must be cleaned up. Conservatism, such as lower taxes, must be practiced.
Still waiting someone to challenge DeWine.
Looking good!
Ken Blackwell has a good chance to beome POTUS if he wants to pursue it in about 8 years.
Ken and Mike Steele are the future of our party. The rats have osama whatshisface. No contest.
A shame neither has some military service but such is life.
Mike Steele rocks I met him at the NYC convention. Great man now if we can get Herman Cain elected to something in Georgia we might be doing better.
Possibly. Though eight years is a long time to uphold momentum.
I do think it's unfortunate the timing was off in respects. Had he been Governor one term running for re-election, he'd likely be the front runner for the nomination. Conservative, charismatic, Governor of a crucial state.
The most visible Govenor currently is Jeb, and he will not run.
Next on list are Romney, Pawlenty? but they don't have the same tier of qualifications that almost guarentee victory of the Rep nomination at this time. They aren't out of the running, but they'll have to work harder. We do have a number of prospective candidates for Governor in this next election that have potential to produce a strong stable come '12 and '16. Of course, first they must win. LOL
I am looking forward to a Mike Steele victory. He was very impressive at the Republican Convention. Now on to get Lynn Swan elected.
I can almost see Dean leading the rats into Whigdom for the next 50 yrs
I'm a big Blackwell fan, having contributed to his campaign war chest described in the article. However, I don't think he aspires to the Presidency, and will likely serve 2 terms as Governor and then take it easy.
By the way, not mentioned on his resume is that he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys after graduating from Xavier Univ. long ago. He tells a great story about being shown the door by Tom Landry. He's a very warm, endearing, and honest man. We'll get him over the top in the primary easily, and then hopefully the Dems will be dumb enough to nominate Jerry Springer.
Thank you for reminding me about Blackwell. A most impressive threesome. Dean certainly has his hands full.
Petro is reporting over $3 million cash on hand. Blackwell won't need as much money as Petro to win, but he's still going to have to pick up the fundraising. Petro is likeable and will be able to raise a lot of money. Blackwell will need a few million to hold his lead.
I hope Blackwell will able to keep the fundraising pace if he wins the primary. Soros and his ilk will pour tons of dough to defeat him in the general election.
Petro does have a very sizable war chest. However, he has been struggling in polls that have been made public.
Petro has the money and it appears has gained some well-known support (Boehner, Oxley, Tiberi most recently). Yet, it appears that he is still behind Blackwell and Betty in the polls. Betty still is in the middle according to public polls, yet her fundraising according to this past report tailed off. Blackwell's leading in polls that have been released to the public, and he raised $1.2 million in the last few months. It cannot be denied that he has some momentum.
What does this mean for Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery? They know they can run for re-election at their current position. With the way the political environment is in Ohio, do they look at that option? In 2010, they could look at potentially being the top candidate for governor should a Democrat win, or they can look at possibly replacing George Voinovich (I think it is safe to say Voinovich is in his last term).
This is an article from The Other Paper, a Columbus area weekly publication, on this exact subject:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1952/908/1600/Blackwell%20Article.jpg
Blackwell vs. either Petro or Betty one-on-one is a much tougher race for him than the current three-way matchup.
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