Second Congressional District Republican candidate Ed Tinsley raised almost $309,000 during the first three months of 2008, including a $200,000 loan he made to his own campaign. Another GOP candidate, C. Earl Greer, raised just under $40,000 during the fundraising quarter, including a loan of almost $28,000 that he made to his own campaign.
In addition to the loan, Tinsley raised $98,903 from individuals and $10,000 from political action committees, bringing the total raised to $308,903, according to the report he filed today with the Federal Election Commission.
Tinsley spent $167,702, and began the second quarter of the year with $425,090 in the bank. That’s because he raised $304,000 and spent about $16,000 during the fourth quarter of 2007.
Greer raised $12,000 from individuals during the first quarter of the year – his first in the race – and loaned his campaign $27,871, for total fundraising of $39,871. He spent $9,191, leaving him with $30,679 in the bank on April 1, according to the report he filed Monday with the FEC.
Financially, Tinsley was well ahead of the other candidates in the race at the start of April. Republican Monty Newman raised $295,200 during the quarter and ended it with $206,293 in the bank. Republican Aubrey Dunn Jr. raised $106,598 during the quarter and ended it with $287,148 on hand. You can read Newman’s report by clicking here and Dunn’s report here.
Greg Sowards is the only Republican CD2 candidate who hasn’t yet filed his first-quarter report that is due today.
Update, 4:40 p.m.
In a news release, the Greer campaign said he is “practicing what he preaches when it comes to spending money on his congressional campaign,” noting that he spent less than $10,000.
“It’s an indication that a grassroots movement can take hold,” Greer said. “It’s not about money; it’s about the message. My heart is in this district and my roots run deep here, and voters know I won’t kowtow to special-interest groups or big money.”
Greer’s communications director, Timera Woodell Drake, said his opponents have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, “and what do they have to show for it but a couple of questionable polls? How much bang are they really getting for their buck?”
“In this election, money is not an indicator of success,” Greer said. “We came in second at the preprimary nominating convention, and only seven votes separated me from the winner. Even the push polls show me right in the middle of the fray. Money is obviously not a factor, and trying to buy the district with $325,000 in television ads isn’t going to get you much in this year’s election. I’ve done what I’ve done by making the same fiscally responsible decisions that I will in Congress. The proof’s in the pudding, and my pudding says that grassroots trumps greenbacks.”