Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish raised just under $750,000 in monetary contributions during the fourth quarter of 2009, her campaign announced today in calling it her “strongest quarter yet.”
Denish raised $749,614.96 in monetary contributions from October to December, and had an additional $49,218.07 in in-kind contributions, according to a summary of her fundraising released this morning. The campaign said a full report of contributions and expenditures would be available later today on Denish’s Web site.
According to the summary, Denish spent $391,166.06 during the three-month period. She ended 2009 with more than $2.5 million on hand. Denish’s campaign carries $260,225 in debt.
“This strong level of grassroots support shows that New Mexicans are ready for a new type of leader who will bring about a new way of governing,” Denish said in a news release. “Times are tough, but the people of New Mexico are tougher, and I’m inspired by the hope and optimism I see in communities across our state.”
Denish said the majority of the campaign’s nearly 8,000 contributions have been for $100 or less. The campaign has raised more than $3.5 million during the current cycle, with nearly 90 percent of its supporters living in New Mexico.
The money Denish has on hand is cash she’s likely putting aside for the general election, since she’s drawn no primary challenger. Meanwhile, Republicans appear to be dealing with the possibility of their primary field expanding from four gubernatorial candidates to five if Pete Domenici Jr. enters the race.
Denish Campaign Manager Oren Shur called his boss “the only candidate for governor who is energizing New Mexicans, organizing across the state and inspiring young people to get involved.”
“During these tough times, New Mexicans are looking for an optimistic, forward-thinking leader, not more of the same old negative politics the Republican candidates have been offering,” Shur said.
Denish and other state candidates aren’t required to file campaign finance reports this week, but Denish has been voluntarily releasing such reports quarterly for some time. The law requires their release twice in off-election years. This year reports must be filed more frequently, but the first isn’t required until April 12.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has also said she’ll voluntarily release a campaign finance report this week. And Republican candidate Janice Arnold-Jones is going beyond that in terms of campaign contributions. She recently posted on her campaign Web site information about every contribution she’s received to date, and plans to keep the list of contributions current.
Arnold-Jones has not put a list of campaign expenditures online.
The other gubernatorial candidates – Republicans Doug Turner and Allen Weh – have not answered my question about whether they will release a fundraising report this month.
Update, 6:50 p.m.
Here’s Denish’s 305-page report. See anything interesting in it? Tell us about it by submitting a comment at the end of this posting.