Thread: Hunter far behind GOP rivals in money race

Hunter far behind GOP rivals in money race

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
Apr 17, 2007
NORTH COUNTY -- Solana Beach's Matthew Simmons thinks Duncan Hunter's positions on national security and illegal immigration make him the unquestionable choice for the nation's next chief executive.

Longtime family friend Betty Wilkinson of San Marcos thinks Hunter is one of the most principled and honorable politicians in the country.

And those are the reasons each say they contributed money to the 52nd Congressional District lawmaker's campaign to win the Republican nomination for president.

Hunter's fundraising numbers -- $538,524 in the first three months of the year --- don't come within shouting distance of the front-runners in the money chase. His total is more than $20 million short of rival Mitt Romney and $14 million shy of what candidate Rudy Giuliani reported raising.

Simmons said he donated $1,000 to Hunter's effort because he believes the 52nd Congressional District lawmaker's stance on maintaining a strong defense and standing tough on immigration makes the most sense.

"I think the country couldn't do any better as far as who the next president is," Simmons said this week.

Wilkinson said her decision to donate $250 reflects her belief in Hunter and is a sign of support for a member of a family she has known for decades.

"He will be a splendid president," she said of Hunter, whose district has included Poway and Ramona since 1981.

Hunter's 203-page campaign receipt and expenditure report filed with the Federal Election Commission shows a long list of individual contributors, including many from South Carolina -- an early primary state where he has concentrated much of his early campaign effort.

The report also showed he had $272,000 cash available as of March 31, enough money to keep the longshot effort going, according to Roy Tyler, Hunter's campaign spokesman.

"We have adequate money to keep going, but we're not happy with what we did in the first quarter and we're looking to do better in the next," Tyler said during a telephone interview Monday.

The campaign is relying on mostly individual donations and a relatively modest mail and telephone fundraising effort.

Hunter missed this past Saturday's Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa, a staple of early presidential politics. He was scheduled to speak but was waylaid by the storm that struck the East Coast, delaying a planned commercial flight from Alabama to Iowa. And when he got rerouted to another flight, that plane was forced to turn around when it developed mechanical problems.

Hunter is scheduled to appear at a GOP function in Orange County on Friday evening and will be back in South Carolina next week to attend some county Republican Party conventions.


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/04 ... _17_07.txt

Well, this isn't good news.