Washington – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson raised $7 million from April through June for his presidential campaign and had an equal amount in the bank at the second quarter’s end.
The Democrat spent $5 million in the three-month period, half of it on direct mail and television advertising designed to build his name identification and reach out to donors, according to detailed financial reports filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.
The money raised is far short of the amounts amassed by the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. But it pushes Richardson well ahead of lagging contenders such as Sens. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
It also places Richardson within sight of John Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and 2004 vice presidential nominee. Edwards had not filed his second-quarter report, though his campaign has said he raised $9 million during that period.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, also filed his presidential financial report Saturday, listing $757,000 in contributions for the quarter and $213,000 cash on hand. Kucinich, a liberal firebrand who also ran for president in 2004, has raised $1.1 million for the year.
Republicans Mitt Romney and Rudolph Giuliani filed their financial reports Friday. The remaining candidates from both parties have to file their reports by today’s midnight deadline.
Overall, Richardson has raised $13.2 million for the year. The campaign said Saturday that it had doubled the number of donors from the first quarter for a total of 41,000 contributors for the year.
One-fifth of his contributions came from New Mexico, where state employees alone contributed $68,600 to his campaign. He also raised $850,000 in California, $606,000 in New York and $560,000 in Texas.
Richardson, whose mother was Mexican and who speaks fluent Spanish, has made a strong appeal to Latino voters and donors.
Richardson reported spending $1.3 million on media expenses and $1.2 million on direct mail. His payroll costs were $663,000 and his payroll taxes were $323,000 – a total of about $1 million spent on his staff.
