Ron Paul may be within Striking Distance of the GOP Nomination

Romney spent $21M in 3Q; Giuliani $13M By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 7 minutes ago

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spent $21 million on his presidential campaign between July and September, more than twice what he raised during the period and more than what he spent in previous quarters.

The former Massachusetts governor, who has been tapping his personal wealth to supplement money from contributors, raised $9.8 million and lent his campaign $8.5 million over the summer, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

GOP rival Rudy Giuliani reported spending $13 million during the same period, compared to the $10.2 million he raised for the primary campaign. Giuliani also raised about $1.3 million to spend on the general election if he wins the nomination.

Fred Thompson, who didn't officially enter the race until early September, reported spending $5.4 million during the quarter, more than half of it last month.

All presidential candidates were required to file their third-quarter reports with the FEC by midnight Monday.

Giuliani listed $16.6 million cash on hand, $11.6 million available for the primaries with the rest designated for the general election.

Thompson, whose report covers fundraising and spending since June, when he began exploring a presidential bid, raised $12.8 million during that four month-period. He reported $7.1 million in the bank at the end of September, as well as $678,000 in debts.

Romney reported $9.2 million cash in hand, thanks in large part to the $17.5 million he has funneled into his campaign since the beginning of the year. He has raised $45 million since January, but leads all Republican candidates with $52.8 million in spending for the year.

As a group Romney, Giuliani and Thompson enter the final stretch before the first nominating contests with money to spend on get-out-the-vote and advertising campaigns.

Giuliani led the Republican field in fundraising this summer, according to early estimates provided by the campaigns, though his July-September total declined from his high during April-June. It was the first time Giuliani's campaign spent more than it raised during a quarter.

Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and actor on NBC's "Law & Order," raised $9.3 million of his $12.8 million total during July-September.

Giuliani is the Republican front-runner in national polls, but he lags behind Romney in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa. In New Hampshire, another important early voting state, polls show the race a virtual toss-up among Giuliani, Romney and John McCain. Thompson also is competitive with the top tier in state and national polls.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, considered a formidable campaigner but hindered by lack of money, reported raising $1 million during the summer, his best quarter so far. He had $650,000 cash on hand after spending nearly $820,000 in the quarter.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., raised $925,745 over the last three months, less than the $1.4 million his campaign brought in from April-June. Brownback spent $1.28 million and reported having just $94,653 in the bank.

According to Giuliani's report, the campaign spent more than $2 million on payroll and $1.3 million on travel from July-September, about as much as it had during the first six months of the year.

His campaign increased advertising this quarter, spending nearly $470,000 on radio and newspapers, including a full-page ad in The New York Times last month criticizing Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. Giuliani leads all presidential candidates in radio advertising with more than 640 spots in several states, according to the Nielsen Co.

Romney has spent much more on television, but radio is cheaper and can be targeted to specific audiences.

Thompson spent more than $740,000 on payroll, his biggest expense. He spent more than $730,000 on Internet services and on consultants on the Web, a medium Thompson has used to communicate to supporters and potential voters.

Giuliani's top donor state remained his home state of New York, where he raised nearly $2 million. California, Texas and Florida followed with about $1 million each. Giuliani also found generous donors in Georgia, a state where his fundraising had not been particularly intense earlier this year. Led by donors in Atlanta, Georgians contributed more than $420,000 to Giuliani.

Thompson's most generous state was Tennessee, which he served as senator from 1995 through 2002. He raised nearly $2.7 million there and more than $1.2 million in Texas.

Giuliani and Thompson had trouble securing complete data from hundreds of donors. About 1,900 donors who gave Thompson more than $2 million provided incomplete information to the campaign, failing to list their employers and occupations. More than 1,300 donors who gave about $1.6 million to Giuliani did not list employers or occupations. Such data are required by the FEC. Both campaigns indicated they had requested the information from the donors.

For travel, Giuliani benefited from leased jets supplied by Elliott Asset Management, a firm controlled by Giuliani backer and fundraiser Paul Singer, a New York venture capitalist. Employees of Elliott Associates, a New York hedge fund founded by Singer, have given more than $120,000 to Giuliani's campaign.

Giuliani also is leasing a plane for the campaign, paying full charter fare.

Thompson also leased charter planes, spending $427,000 overall on travel. He paid $6,712 in travel costs to UST Inc., parent company of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

Planes supplied by corporate backers have helped candidates defray travel costs because they have been allowed to pay only first-class fare for the trips, a significant discount from the charter rate. New ethics rules passed by Congress, however, will now require all presidential candidates to pay full charter costs."

---------No mention of Ron Paul...go figure

There isn't any maybe about it. Ron Paul IS within striking distance of winning the primary.
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