Raised more than $21 million; have $9.2 million on hand
The Republican Governors Association released details of its 2007 end of the year financial report today. 2007 is the first year of the four year, gubernatorial election cycle that culminates in 2010 with 36 races. RGA won 2 of the 3 races in 2007.
RGA reported raising $21.59 million for the year, an increase of $5.61 million from the $15.98 million RGA raised in 2003 and more than $13 million more than the $8.59 million it raised in 1999.
More important than the money RGA raised was the cash it retained heading into 2008. Heading into 2008 RGA reports $9.23 million on hand, an increase of $8.26 million, 8.5 times more than four years ago, and twice as much as any other year.
“RGA has developed a four year strategic plan to lead our Party and donors are responding to it,” said RGA Chairman Governor Rick Perry. “Thanks to their support, we set a new standard for the amount of money raised for the first year of the four year cycle and far surpassed our previous cash on hand record.”
“Leadership for our Party starts with Governors,” Governor Haley Barbour said. “While we have a lot of work to do, we’re off to the right start.”
Governor Barbour is the 2008 Finance Chairman for RGA. It is the first time that a Governor is chairing the Finance Committee.
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Evansville Courier & Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mitch Daniels' re-election campaign war chest is more than three times the size of his nearest opponent's, and his fund-raising efforts in Southwestern Indiana have dwarfed those of his competitors.
Last week was the deadline for gubernatorial candidates to file campaign-finance reports listing their campaign contributions from the second half of 2007.
Those reports showed the Republican governor began 2007 with nearly $2.6 million on hand and reported raising more than $5.8 million in 2007. Daniels spent about $1.7 million, leaving more than $6.7 million in the bank as of Dec. 31.
While the governor's total underscores the advantages of incumbency, some of the money he raised from donors in the Evansville area comes from firms that will work on the Interstate 69 extension, which he has advocated, and from prominent area business executives.
One of those businessmen is Steven Chancellor, a former owner of Evansville-based Black Beauty Coal. Chancellor, who has contributed to Republican candidates in the past, kicked $50,000 into Daniels' re-election coffers, according to Indiana Election Division records.
That contribution alone is more than five times what the governor's nearest competitor raised from within Evansville.
Messages seeking comment were left for Chancellor at Black Beauty Coal and with the American Patriot Group LLC, a lobbying firm he now leads.
The candidates battling for the Democratic nomination are Indianapolis architect Jim Schellinger and former U.S. Rep. Jill Long Thompson.
Schellinger had more than $1.8 million on hand at the end of 2007 after raising nearly $2.5 million and spending about $637,000. Long Thompson had about $436,000 in the bank after raising $634,000 and spending about $198,000.
From within Evansville, Daniels raised at least $200,000. Schellinger raised about $9,000 and Long Thompson raised about $6,000.
Larry Dunigan, a former interim CEO of Old National Bank and an Old National board of directors member, donated $25,000 to Daniels' campaign, public records showed. The bank's political action committee gave $15,000.
The top Evansville-area individual contributor for both Schellinger and Long Thompson was James R. McKinney, the top executive at real estate development firm Regency Properties. McKinney gave $2,000 to each.
But McKinney also gave $10,000 to Daniels.
McKinney said his firm has commercial real estate properties in eight Indiana cities, and, therefore, closely follows political developments in the state.
A dialogue about the future of the state occurs in gubernatorial races, he said, and contributions to candidates of each party are merely an effort to enable that dialogue.
McKinney said his firm will contribute more to a select candidate later this year.
Attorney Bill Woods, with the Evansville-based law firm Woods & Woods, chipped in $1,000 for Long Thompson's bid.
He said she's a qualified candidate whom he thinks would be a fiscal conservative if elected.
Two executives at Evansville-based VPS Architecture were among Schellinger's top Southwestern Indiana contributors.
President Michael R. Shoulders gave $1,250 to the campaign last year, and chairman Scott Veazey gave $1,000. Veazey also gave $500 to Long Thompson's campaign.
The head of an Evansville engineering firm that does work on I-69, Keith Lochmueller, gave $4,500 to Daniels in the second half of 2007. Bernardin Lochmueller & Associates Inc. is serving as project management consultant for the Indiana Department of Transportation on "Tier 2" of the I-69 project to extend the interstate from Evansville to Indianapolis.
Messages seeking comment were left for Shoulders, Veazey and Dunigan.
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Governor Matt Blunt told his fellow governors today that he would not seek re-election. After more than twenty years of public life the Governor said he was ready to spend more time with his family. He will remain as the Republican Governors Association’s Vice-Chairman.
“Governor Blunt made the decision that he would not run, just to run,” said RGA Chairman Rick Perry. “He accomplished great things as Governor. He cut taxes and still turned a deficit to a surplus. He improved education and fixed Medicaid. A state that was losing jobs just four years ago, added 90,000 jobs during Governor Blunt’s time. He’s an important example of why Republican leadership is so important.”
The Missouri governor’s race was expected to be one of the most hotly contested gubernatorial races in the nation and remains so today.
“Governor Blunt is leaving a positive legacy for Missouri,” said RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers. “It will continue to be difficult for any Democrat to gain traction when voters continue to contrast the state today with where it was four years ago, after 12 years of Democratic rule. Before Governor Blunt took office the state was hemorrhaging jobs, education funding was slashed, and state was facing a billion dollar deficit. No Democrat will be able to run away from that record.”
Governor Blunt will work with the Republican Governors Association to see a new Republican elected Governor of Missouri.
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Times-Picayune
Standing on the sun-soaked steps of the state Capitol, Gov. Bobby Jindal set soaring standards for Louisiana Monday in his inaugural address.
He spoke of the untapped promise of our state and of this community, of the chance to finally do right by Louisianians. "Under the spotlight of the world, with generosity from many and a clear call to common purpose . . . we have the opportunity to make lasting and positive change," he said.
He conjured up a vision of a New Louisiana that "will be a magnet for dreamers, the risk-takers, the adventurers, the leaders of America's new economy."
As he pointed out, that is as it was two centuries ago, when Louisiana and its largest city were the economic focal point of the nation. Why shouldn't this place, so rich in natural resources and human potential, be an economic leader today?
Every inauguration begins with lofty language but few hold as much promise as Gov. Jindal's. The 36-year-old, Oxford-educated chief executive is a new generation of leader. Unlike most recent governors, he is not a product of the Legislature. He has worked inside state government but has been in Washington representing the 1st Congressional District.
He understands how things work in Baton Rouge, but he is not wedded to the old ways. He is ready to shed them, in fact. His long-discussed special session on ethics reform will begin Feb. 10. He promises comprehensive changes that will polish Louisiana's tarnished image.
Once higher ethics standards are in place, he will move on to remaking the way Louisiana deals with businesses. Instead of being an impediment, the state will be an ally to companies that invest here, he said Monday.
Louisiana's economy has long relied on abundant natural resources and the hard labor it took to extract those resources from the earth and the sea. Some of those traditional industries will continue to be important components of the economy, particularly the oil and gas reserves that are fueling the state's budget surplus.
But Gov. Jindal wisely recognizes the need to diversify and to develop the brainpower of our children. A state whose people figured out how to take oil from beneath the Gulf of Mexico can surely compete in the technological age.
"I do not speak of a state that rebuilds to where we were before the storms. . . . Our goal is a New Louisiana where success is shared by all Louisianians. Not just our cities. Not just our suburbs. Not just one group or one class -- but everyone who believes in Louisiana."
The people are ready, governor. We have been waiting for a leader.
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