Washington – Front-running Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney outpaced the rest of the GOP presidential field in summer campaign fundraising, but newcomer Fred Thompson was hot on their heels.
Giuliani raised more than $11 million for the presidential race in the July-September quarter, $10.5 million of it available for the primaries. Romney raised $10 million and tapped his personal fortune to pump in an additional $8.5 million.
Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and “Law & Order” television actor, raised $9.3 million in the quarter. He joined the GOP campaign only last month but had been raising money throughout the three-month period.
Giuliani’s income left him with $16 million cash on hand, aides said. Of that, about $12 million is available for the primaries. Romney had $9 million on hand to compete for the Republican nomination. Thompson had $7 million in the bank. All of Romney’s and Thompson’s money is available for the primaries.
Romney’s personal contribution nearly matched the amount he had invested in his campaign for the first six months of the year.
Overall, Romney, a former venture capitalist and Massachusetts governor, has dipped into his personal wealth for nearly $17.5 million.
“Writing checks is always painful for me, no matter what it’s for, but I nonetheless recognize this is a critical race,” Romney told reporters Thursday in Manchester, N.H. “There is nothing more important to me than the success of this nation, and I know a lot of people are sacrificing to help my campaign, and I will certainly be contributing in my own campaign.”
The three Republicans lag far behind the two Democratic Party money leaders – Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Clinton has raised about $63 million for the primaries and about $17 million for the general election. She also has transferred $10 million left over from her 2006 Senate campaign. Obama has raised about $75 million for the primary contest and about $4 million for the general election.
Each raised more than $20 million in the third quarter.
John McCain, fighting to get back with the Republican front-runners, raised $6 million in the past three months and has $3.6 million cash on hand, his campaign said Thursday.
McCain aides said the fundraising and the financial condition of his campaign represent a turnaround for the Arizona senator, whose spending during the first six months of the year strained his budget while his polling numbers plummeted.
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McCain likes Greenspan, dead or alive pawleys island, s.c. Republican John McCain said Thursday that as president, he would appoint Alan Greenspan to lead a review of the nation’s tax code – even if the former Federal Reserve chairman were dead.
“If he’s alive or dead it doesn’t matter. If he’s dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him like, like ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,”‘ McCain joked. “Let’s get the best minds in America together and fix this tax code.”
The 81-year-old Greenspan served as chairman of the Fed for 18 1/2 years.
Clinton battles “war on science”
Washington – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton vowed Thursday to end what she called President Bush’s “war on science” by lifting federal limits on embryonic stem-cell research and investing billions in research and development.
Clinton also criticized the Bush administration for “ignoring or manipulating science” to serve narrow political interests.
She said she would launch a $50 billion fund to research alternative energy, hopes to double the $28 billion budget of the National Institutes of Health over 10 years, and would order political appointees to ensure the integrity of federal scientific inquiry.
Denver Post wire services
