Rathje Leads Fundraising Race in 2nd CD Primary
- Saturday, January 30, 2010, 4:19
- Iowa, News Center
- 1,284 views
- 6 comments
Most of the attention in Iowa’s Second Congressional District has focused on 2008 Republican nominee Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and 2008 U.S. Senate nominee Christopher Reed. Both Miller-Meeks and Reed have passionate groups of supporters, and now both candidates find themselves trailing Cedar Rapids businessman Steve Rathje in fundraising by a substantial margin.
Rathje raised $59,130.00 in 2009, the second most of any Republican congressional challenger in the state, and had $46,242.09 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period. Miller-Meeks, the front-runner in the race, raised $20,660.15 in the period. Miller-Meeks gave her own campaign $4,000. Christopher Reed raised a miniscule $2,833.75 in the last quarter of 2009, he has just over $2000 cash on hand.
Rathje’s early fundraising advantage over Miller-Meeks and Reed should enable him to make a credible case to voters and donors in the second district. While Miller-Meeks fundraising number is disappointing, she has proved to be a capable fundraiser in the past. Miller-Meeks raised almost $100,000 in the 2008 primary, and it is likely that she will need to do that or more to be successful in the 2010 primary.
Reed’s lack of fundraising is problematic for his campaign. Unlike the 2008 US Senate primary, which Reed joined late, Reed was the first announced candidate in second district primary. While Reed has strong appeal among social conservatives in the district, he still will need the necessary resources to raise his name ID across the district.
Rathje now finds himself in a strong situation. Not only has he assembled the resources to be competitive in the primary, but his campaign has gained credibility overnight. In the 2008 U.S. Senate primary, Rathje performed better than Reed in the 2nd Congressional District. Rathje garnered 5849 votes in the primary compared to Reed’s 4999. Miller-Meeks, who was also involved in contested primary in the district, received 7372 votes. However, Rathje outperformed both Miller-Meeks and Reed in Linn County. Rathje received 2973 votes, Miller-Meeks had 1604 votes, and Reed garnered 1187 votes.
Rathje’s surprisingly strong fundraising numbers combined with his previous strength in Linn County could prove to be troublesome for Miller-Meeks and Reed. A candidate who can deliver a big margin in Linn County can offset a poor showing in other parts of the district. Rathje’s relatively strong performance in Linn County compared to the other two means that neither of them should underestimate Rathje, especially if he has the resources to run radio and TV ads.
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
6 Comments on “Rathje Leads Fundraising Race in 2nd CD Primary”
Write a Comment
Gravatars are small images that can show your personality. You can get your gravatar for free today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
One thing that has to be put out there is that Rathje raised 50 grand in a YEAR’s worth of time….Miller-Meeks was able to raise over 20 grand in just a few weeks time since filing her candidacy. Plus, Miller-Meeks has demonstrated an ability to raise funds across the district….Rathje’s funds have come nearly all from Linn County…
Hawk,
A couple of points.
1. Only three of Rathje’s contributions came before the 4th quarter. Not much of a deal if you ask me. Plus, Miller-Meeks and Reed have made it known that they were candidates for quite some time.
2. Your statement about Miller-Meeks raising her money in just a few weeks is true. What I’ve never understood is why any candidate, let alone a front-runner, would give a primary opponent an advantage going into the election year.
3. Money is money. The fact that most of Rathje’s money comes from Linn county would bother me if I was in Reed or Miller-Meeks shoes. Having raised money in that district in every election cycle since this one, I can tell you that most of the donor money is found in Linn County.
It’s still early, Rathje doesn’t have an insurmountable fundraising lead, but he has put himself in a good position just four months or so before the primary. Its go time for these candidates.
In 2008 MMM was a total unknown at this time. Her first appearance in Muscatine was at the Women’s meeting in February as I rememeber.
MMM has a good team in JoCo and Linn, and has a HDQs in North Liberty that will make travel easier. And a lot of people never knew that MMM campaigned througout 2008 while holding a full time job, including an on call schedule. MMM has a part time job now and volunteers at a free medical clinic in LINN.
I voted for MMM in the2008 house race and Mr. Rathje in the senate race. I thought at the time he was the most viable candidate in that race, although I was extraorinarily disappointed that he was a no-show at the only debate among the three candidates.
In 2010 – in this race, with this group – I told Mr. Rathje that MMM is still by far the best candidate to defeat Loebsack. I hope as many people as possible get to see all three candidates side by side throughout these 4 months in forums and debates.
As Treasurer of the Rathje campaign, I want to set the record straight — we actually raised over $30,000 in December alone (with several large contributions coming from outside Linn County).
This is shaping up to be quite an interesting primary.
Mr Rathje can be proud of his fundraising prowess. It reminds me of the smoke filled room deals we used to have back in my day. Get a few cigars out and work a few fat cats. How can I say that? Well Mr. Rathje raised $55,000 from 43 donors, for an average of $1,279.00 per donor. Way to go!! The other $4,000 was raised on donors below $250.00 That’s the kind of fundraising that will lure Reagan Democrats to your side in the general election Mr. Rathje. Loebsack would never try to paint you as a fat cat, who also has signed up for the millionaire exemption. Way to reach out to the little guy, to fund your campaign.