Guiliani Conference Call
The Giuliani campaign invited bloggers to a conference call on Rudy Giuliani's fundraising numbers for Q2.
Total cash on hand: $18 million
Spent: $11.2 million in Q2
Donors: over 60,000
Proof of success in both finance and polling. They are the only GOP campaign to increase their numbers from Q1 to Q2. Very proud of the fact that they have zero debt; shows efficient and disciplined campaign and stewardship of donor money.
They feel very strongly that they have the best positioning to win a general election. They claim they can put New Jersey, New York, and the New England states, which other candidates cannot. They rattled off their #1 position in state polling, arguing that they're also positioned well to win the primaries. Most of them fell outside the first races, although they rattled it off so quickly that I can't recall all of the states where they claim a lead.
Questions:
What was the reaction to John McCain's Q2 numbers? They're not going to comment on other campaigns; they want to focus on their own.
What is the rate of fundraising -- they only started in February? They feel very comfortable with the rate. They raised $14 million in Q1 for the primary, so they did increase the overall total. {It seems to me like the actual rate has dropped -- CE.]
Why the disparity between GOP and Democrats in fundraising? The two are "completely separate," according to Team Rudy. They don't consider this an issue until much later in the campaign.
You have fewer donors than Romney; what's the average donation? Team Rudy sees the lower number as indicative of the growth potential for the campaign.
Overall, I'd say this didn't tell us much we don't already know. I also find it interesting that alone among the top-tier declared candidates, Team Rudy hasn't make their candidate available to bloggers yet. I wonder when they plan on engaging to that level. I'm going to take a wild guess that it won't take Fred Thompson five months to get around to that.
UPDATE: The Giuliani campaign reminds me that they did make the Mayor available on May 16th for a conference call. I stand corrected on that point, and hope they will do it again sometime.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on July 5, 2007 10:01 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (2)
Comments (7)
Posted by Douglas V. Gibbs | July 5, 2007 11:51 AM
Rudy's Reaction seems to fit the "half full" "half empty" mode. Rudy is a fine candidate if you can get past the fact that he's a raging liberal when it comes to social issues. However, I don't know if I can see myself voting for a candidate that supports the genocide of unborn children - he may say he dislikes abortion, but if he doesn't have the balls to outright condemn it, what makes us think he actually has the balls to handle this war properly?
Posted by Loadmaster | July 5, 2007 12:23 PM
Whoever the GOP selects. That person has got to come out full throttle on gettng the message out to the public. I'm still waiting on Fred and how he will do under the spot lights.
Posted by james23 | July 5, 2007 12:47 PM
Ed sez: "it won't take Fred Thompson five months to get around to that"
Ed , for goodness sakes, it has taken Fred! 5 months or more to make up his mind whether and when to announce his candidacy.
Posted by JAF | July 5, 2007 1:20 PM
I do find the Captain snarkily claiming that Fred! is some kind of faster on the uptake and more open guy than Rudy pretty hilarious.
Uh, one has actually been CAMPAIGNING for the last four months- while the other has been in seclusion writing blog articles and giving a few lackadaisical speeches to targeted audiences. Which candidate has been more open to the public again?!
Posted by kingronjo | July 5, 2007 2:46 PM
For those of you who think it won't matter if Rudy or Hillary/Obama wins concerning abortion, in my NYC accent, gimmeabreak. Hil/O havent seen an abortion they won't support and if they could would probably try to pass a law that every female should have one by the age of 21. Under Rudy NYC abortions went down. That my friends is not just talk.
Rudy is right about fundraising IMHO. The Dems right now are in full war mode, either you're for Hill or against her. There is no waiting to see which candidate you like before donating. When she is nominated the "I would climb over broken glass" people will start donating in earnest to the Repub candidate, if for no other reason than to stop Her Highness.
Posted by DirtCrashr | July 5, 2007 3:16 PM
Until he comes out unequivocally in favor of the 2nd Amendment as an Individual Right, Rudy's not getting anywhere with me or other shooters.
Posted by just me | July 5, 2007 4:49 PM
While I have serious issues with Rudy's position on abortion, when it comes to supporting him for the primary, I can say from personal observation so far he appears to be one of the only GOP candidates who has groups of supporters that show up at community events in support of him.
Every Democratic candidate-even some of the tier II and even tier III candidates have supporters at these events, but Rudy is the only one whose supporters are showing up.
What it means come Jan-who knows, but right now the other candidates just don't seem to be doing much.