Thompson / Hunter - Hunter / Thompson
2008 The Ticket to Beat
Posted on 10/16/2007 1:59:54 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Before Tennessee Republican Fred Thompson began running for president, the South did not have a top-tier Republican candidate in the field — even though that region is fertile political ground for that party.
Thompson, an actor and former U.S. senator (1994-2003), last month formally joined a field in which the best-known Republican contenders were either from the Northeast (former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney) or from the West (Arizona Sen. John McCain). So it was not exactly shocking that a detailed campaign finance report Thompson’s campaign filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has a distinctly Southern tinge.
Eight of the ten states in which Thompson reported raising the most money from individual donors in this year’s third quarter are in the South — topped by the $2.7 million he raised from donors in Tennessee. Thompson also raised at least $1.2 million from Texas residents in the third quarter and at least $524,000 from residents of Florida. Thompson raised more from donors in Virginia ($481,000), which abuts Tennessee, than from donors in California ($460,000), the nation’s most populous state.
The report that Thompson’s campaign filed Monday was the first detailed report that it has submitted to the FEC. In June, Thompson’s campaign organized a “527” political organization — so named for the section of the Internal Revenue Code under which such groups are incorporated — that collected donations and made expenditures during a “testing the waters” phase that ended with Thompson’s declaration of candidacy Sept. 5. The Thompson campaign filed a campaign report with the IRS in July that covered receipts and expenditures through the end of June; that financial activity was also included in the third-quarter FEC report Thompson’s campaign filed Monday.
Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson
• Total receipts, June 4 to September 30: $12.8 million
• Total receipts to date: $12.8 million
• Total disbursements, June 4 to September 30: $5.7 million
• Total disbursements to date: $5.7 million
• Cash-on-hand, September 30: $7.1 million
• Debts, September 30: $678,000
Notable contributions from individuals
• Trace Adkins, entertainer: $2,300
• Howard H. Baker Jr., a former U.S. senator from Tennessee and a former Senate Majority Leader: $2,300
• David Bossie, president of Citizens United: $2,300
• David G. Bradley, chairman of Atlantic Media Company: $2,000
• Michael Campbell, chairman and chief executive officer of Regal Entertainment Group: $2,300
• Winfield Dunn, a former governor of Tennessee: $2,300
• Robert Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer of Mattel Inc.: $2,300
• Bill Frist, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee and a former Senate Majority Leader: $2,300
• Mark Gerson, chairman of Gerson Lehman Group: $2,300
• James A. Haslam II, chairman of Pilot Corporation: $2,300
• Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts professional football team: $2,300
• Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. senator from Georgia: $2,300 • David M. McIntosh, a former U.S. House member from Indiana: $1,300
• Robert C. McNair, chief executive officer of the Houston Texans professional football team: $2,300
• Pat Sajak, television personality who hosts the game show “Wheel of Fortune”: $2,300
• Dick Wolf, producer and the creator of the NBC drama “Law and Order” that featured Thompson as New York district attorney Arthur Branch: $2,300
Top 10 states in third-quarter campaign receipts*
• Tennessee: $2.7 million
• Texas: $1.2 million
• Florida: $524,000
• Virginia: $481,000
• California: $460,000
• Georgia: $407,000
• New York: $385,000
• Louisiana: $270,000
• Alabama: $203,000
• Mississippi: $183,000
Note: Totals are rounded and refer to funds that were itemized, or those that aggregate to more than $200. They do not include unitemized funds.
Notable third-quarter campaign expenditures • Payroll: $744,000
• Web service: $731,000
• List management service: $485,000
• Payroll taxes: $429,000
• Travel: $413,000
• Postage: $331,000
• Equipment purchase: $302,000
• Fundraising phone calls: $290,000
• Rent: $199,000
• Staging/Equipment Rental: $180,000
His start wasn’t nearly as shaky as some here and elsewhere tried to pretend, and if that’s as wobbly as his campaign gets, he’s going to get the nomination. He is working steadily on getting his message out, and people are hungry for someone who seems intelligent, sane, honest and decent.
I guess my measly little contribution did not show up on the list but some big names did and I was surprised.
Dang, another reason to like Peyton. Now if he could do a few AD spots for Fred...
It’s looking pretty good for him. I know it’s probably due to professional courtesy and not politics, but Dick Wolf from L&O doesn’t seem like a Republican from his shows’ content, and he gave a healthy amount.
Don’t forget Pat Sajak!
FRED VETS, SIGN UP TODAY AT:
I LOVE YOUR WAY OF THINKING!
Duncan, for whatever reasons, can’t gain traction even among Republicans. I would love to know why, and I have an idea that it is the fact that he is unknown and he is not quite ready for a national audience of people from across the whole spectrum. Duncan supporters don’t take this as a hit, it just seems to be the only thing that keeps him in the 1-3% range, because with few exceptions his positions are superb.
If we get a ticket with Thompson and Hunter we get Hunter elevated, in the mix as far as policy, and give him the new credentials and exposure to mount a serious and I feel a very successful, campaign next go around. Indeed, and I’ll say it, if worse came to worse and Fred, God forbid, has to leave office for health reasons etc. we get Hunter anyways.
Running with Fred would give both Thompson and Hunter teams what they need and what the country needs.
The Duncan folks should keep fighting, I will never deny them that since they are backing the only other Conservative in the race, but keep an eye on the numbers and begin to promote Hunter to Fred as needed.
This is exactly why I have stated that the Thompson-Hunter Ticket is such a strategically correct choice. It is not only a winning choice, it is a "can't loose" choice as well.
Thank you. So do I. LOL
I agree with your sentiments, but I guess Hunter is actually older than I had thought. In eight years, I’m not sure he’ll still be up to running.
Who the heck pays three quarters of a million Dollars for 4 months of web hosting!? That's pretty strange. He paid more in web service than he paid in renting actual office space. He paid more in web service than he paid in purchasing equipment. I don't think that's normal. Deserves some digging...
The fact that his site is #1 among GOP candidates in individual visits wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would it?
I thought it was Thompson/Allan?
I don't think so. It doesn't cost that much to design and host a website as far as I know. And I served as the webmaster, etc. for a conservative Republican congressional campaign. I know it can be expensive, but that's WAY out there. I'll have to compare with the other candidates and see where they ended up on this expense category. I was just blown away by $.75Million being spent on web services.
like-e dis...
THOMPSON-HUNTER 2008
Me too! Glad to see Florida moving up (I hope) in donations. We are third under TN and Texas! :)
I’ll buy that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.