So you thought that Michael Skelly raised a mere $750K this quarter? I’m here to say he did better. Actually, his campaign and this press release say it:
With $796,809 raised in the first full quarter of 2008 and $666,506 cash on hand, the strength of Michael Skelly’s support in his bid for Texas’ 7th Congressional District is clear. Skelly has out raised his opponent, Congressman John Culberson, and is the leading fundraiser among Congressional challengers in the nation. Skelly’s fundraising totals show a better than two-to-one advantage over Culberson.
“I’m energized by the support across the District – not just in terms of financial support, but also in their willingness to knock on doors and to build a grassroots movement,” Skelly said. “We are gaining the support of Democrats, Republicans and independents throughout the 7th Congressional District.”
Houston Politics has more. For purposes of comparison, netroots hero and repeat candidate Darcy Burner corralled a bit more than $500K for the quarter, which is pretty darned impressive. This is even better.
Moving north and west of CD07, Larry Joe Doherty had a fairly decent three months as well. From his campaign:
Larry Joe Doherty, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 10th Congressional District, today reported receiving $108,680 from 141 contributors since his last filing on February 14, 2008, giving him $122,452 cash-on-hand.
“People are ready for change,” noted Doherty, “we saw it at the polls, we saw it at the caucuses, and we’re seeing it in our fundraising.” Doherty won the March 4th Democratic primary by 22 points, sweeping all eight of the district’s counties in an election that saw a record turnout of voters.
“On one hand, Mike McCaul is ignoring the fact that Americans want our troops home and out of a civil war in Iraq that has no end in sight,” Doherty stated. “On the other hand, McCaul is ignoring the economic crisis that’s squeezing middle class families with rising gas prices, rising food prices and health care costs that are out control.”
“Time and again McCaul has rejected bi-partisan efforts to provide practical solutions,” noted Doherty. “And if he’s not going to be a part of the solution, it’s time for him to step aside.”
Rep. McCaul can write his own check, so the playing field is a bit different here. But still, not too shabby. Look for all this money to start finding its way into media buys soon. The November campaign season is getting underway sooner than you’d expect.