He does so by a couple of lengths: Madia raised almost $693,000 in the second quarter.
MAPLE GROVE - Ashwin Madia, the DFL-endorsed candidate in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, today announced that his campaign raised $692,940.62 during the second quarter of 2008.
Since announcing his candidacy in October 2007, Madia has raised a total of $1,052,812.05.
"The outpouring of support we have received shows how much the people of the 3rd Congressional District believe in this campaign," said Iraq war veteran and DFL-endorsed candidate for Congress Ashwin Madia. "I am honored to have the support of so many Minnesotans and am thrilled to see the local dedication to make our community a better place for middle class families. This campaign is about taking our country in a new direction. We are fighting to turn our economy around, reduce gas prices and responsibly bring our troops home from Iraq - a message that is clearly resonating throughout the district."
Based on numbers provided in a press release issued by Republican opponent Erik Paulsen on July 8th, Madia out-raised Paulsen in the second quarter. Additionally, Madia's cash on hand is $738,148.83, shrinking Paulsen's cash on hand advantage by 27 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, which ended March 31. Madia's fundraising accomplishment comes despite not having won the DFL endorsement until April 12, and despite Paulsen's clear sailing for the Republican endorsement during the same period. Unlike Paulsen, Madia does not accept corporate PAC contributions.
Wow.
Madia and campaign manager Stu Rosenberg have played a darned good game of rope-a-dope here -- they've attracted attention to their fundraising announcement without tipping their hand. Outraising a candidate with a decade of legislative experience and the backing of a popular (yet more moderate) retiring incumbent is a tremendous accomplishment. The media cycle this week should prove quite favorable to the Madia campaign.
Speaking of which, it's worth making note of the positive changes in Team Madia over the course of this past quarter. When Rosenberg came on board, replacing Jonathan Murray, everyone lavished praise on Murray's tenure -- however, judging by these results, Rosenberg is definitely the right person to be running this campaign through November. They've just hired a new press secretary, their field director is top-notch, the DCCC is backing them up with a big media buy, and they have the fundraising discipline to make this a great race.
Oh, and a rock-solid candidate too. That helps. |
