With the second-quarter fundraising deadline a little more than 24 hours away, Gov. Bill Richardson is in Las Cruces and El Paso this afternoon and evening attending several fundraisers.
As of the time of this posting, the governor has raised just under $1.3 million toward his goal of raising $2 million in the week before tomorrow’s midnight deadline. Las Cruces and El Paso will be crucial to Richardson meeting that goal.
But the campaign is also relying on a great deal of support through the Internet in the next day.
“Governor Richardson’s poll numbers are skyrocketing,” Richardson Deputy Campaign Manager Amanda Cooper wrote today in an e-mail to supporters. “Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum with a fundraising haul that will really make the media sit up and pay attention.”
Many are waiting to see whether Richardson can catch John Edwards in fundraising this quarter. Edwards, who had a goal of raising about $2.3 million this week, has raised $1.8 million so far, and his total for the quarter, according to his Web site, is now $8.5 million.
But a new poll reveals that, even if he passes Edwards in fundraising, the road ahead will be difficult for Richardson. According to a Gallup/USA Today poll released Thursday, 59 percent of Hispanic voters across the nation say they have never heard of Richardson, who is three-fourths Mexican.
Of the Hispanic voters surveyed, 59 percent said they support Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama had 13 percent of support, and Richardson was third with 11 percent. Edwards was at 7 percent in the poll, which surveyed 502 Hispanic adults this month. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent.
But the news isn’t all bad for Richardson on the minority front. Coming off Thursday night’s Democratic presidential candidate forum focusing on black America, the American Indian group Prez on the Rez, which is hosting the first-ever presidential forum on American Indian issues later this year, criticized Democratic candidates for failing to acknowledge American Indians while repeatedly mentioning blacks and Hispanics during Thursday’s debate.
Other than Richardson and Mike Gravel, the group has had difficulty getting candidates to commit to attend, and Clinton has already rejected the invitation.
“The only candidate willing to show leadership when it comes to Indian country is Bill Richardson,” Kalyn Free, president of the group hosting the debate, said in a news release. “Indian voters are watching closely to see if any other candidate will rise to the occasion in offering proven leadership for Indian country.”
The release notes that Richardson “was the first candidate to commit to (the Prez on the Rez debate), and has made Indians a priority in his campaign. Most notably, the governor proposes establishing a cabinet-level Department of Indian Affairs and appoint as its secretary an American Indian.”
Richardson has busy campaign schedule ahead
Richardson is working on his name recognition among Hispanics. He plans to attend the National Association of Latino Elected Officials Democratic Presidential Candidate Forum in Orlando on Saturday.
“As I continue my run to be the first Latino president of the United States, I am excited to have the opportunity to attend this forum and to discuss issues of concern to the Latino community with my fellow candidates,” Richardson said in a news release.
Richardson’s schedule stays busy after that. Following two days with no announced campaign activity, Richardson will be in Philadelphia for a candidate forum hosted by the National Education Association on Tuesday.
He then heads to New Hampshire, where he’ll spend the Fourth of July, actually beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday, celebrating at a number of events. He’ll also attend a number of campaign events in that state on Thursday and Friday before spending Friday evening fundraising in South Carolina.
Richardson currently has no public campaign events scheduled for next weekend. The following Monday, he plans to attend fundraisers in New Mexico. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he will campaign in Iowa before heading to Ohio and Michigan for fundraisers on Wednesday evening. He will spend next Thursday fundraising in Michigan, and will also attend a candidate forum sponsored by the NAACP.
With the second-quarter fundraising deadline a little more than 24 hours away, Gov. Bill Richardson is in