Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Big Bucks Flowing Into Indiana Governor's Race

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence looks to be the leader of the pack in raising money for his 2012 Republican bid for governor, but Democrat John Gregg isn't far behind. The AP is reporting that Pence will report more than $1 million raised as of June 30 compared to $717,000 for Democrat John Gregg, who is not presently facing a serious primary opponent. Pence's potential Republican primary opponent, political newcomer Jim Wallace, is claiming to have raised $500,000, a surprising sum for a political unknown.

In Indiana's Senate race, Sen. Richard Lugar raised three times as much money as his Republican opponent, State Treasurer, Richard Mourdock. Lugar raised $900,000 compared to Mourdock's $300,000. U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly raised $440,000 for his Democratic Senate bid next year. Mourdock's fundraising prowess looks underwhelming; however, his campaign is hoping he will make up in grassroots support what he is lacking in money. Many activists and party leaders believe thirty-six years is a long enough tenure for the incumbent senator.

3 comments:

Vox Populi said...

When it comes to actual cash-on-hand, I'm hearing Lugar has over $3 Million compared to Mourdock's $130,000 or so. That's a pretty big discrepancy.

So considering he's not raising any real money, and the elites who announced for him were defeated for reelection, and the fact that Lugar retains high poll numbers from Republicans and establishment support, do you still think Mourdock is going to win?

Tom Paine said...

I am hearing that Jim Wallace is actually going to report numbers closer to $1,000,000 than the stated $500,000. Are people presuming this race is over too soon?

Vox Populi said...

Wallace is raising no money. He's writing himself a check. That's not credibility.