The American Mind

Today is my birthday. It’s been a good day all around. But it’s gotten even better now that Fred Thompson released his third quarter fundraising numbers:

The Thompson for President campaign will show total donations of more than $12.7 million in its first report to be filed this month with the Federal Election Commission. Sen. Thompson has received donations from more than 80,000 supporters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and has $7 million cash on hand.

“The financial support Sen. Thompson has received from more than 80,000 donors demonstrates his huge grassroots appeal for Republicans who’ve been waiting for an authentic conservative to enter the race for president,” said campaign manager Bill Lacy. “We feel great about future fundraising, knowing there’s a big well of support to go back to, since people who’ve given once are likely to give again.”

The average dollar donation to the campaign is $176, with 22,000 donors contributing online and 200,000 Friends of Fred signing up online to support the campaign.

The total raised for the third quarter filing (July 1st - September 30th) is $9.3 million. Since Sen. Thompson officially declared his candidacy on September 5th, the campaign has raised an average of $200,000 per day.

“Some of the other campaigns have spent tens of millions of dollars so far, only to lose support among voters; yet, Fred is running strong in most of the early primary states without having spent a dime on advertising,” noted Lacy. “We are on plan and will have the funding we need to get Fred’s message to voters.”

The filing covers all donations received to date by the campaign, from June 4th through September 30th.

The number that most impresses me is the “cash on hand.” Rudy Giuliani has $12 million available for the primaries while Mitt Romney has $9 million. Fred has $7 million which makes him as competitive as anyone. He’s leading in some polls which means he’s a contender.

And what should scare Republicans and conservatives is how much better Democratic candidates are doing raising money. Sens. Clinton and Obama are getting money hand-over-fist. For the Republican candidates they first need to win the nomination. Once that happens and they convince conservatives they’ll move the GOP away from their unconservative, recent past more money will come in.

Disclaimer: I work for Friends of Fred Thompson.