That is how much money Keith Fimian has raised for Congress right now. Its more than both Gerry Connolly and Leslie Byrne have combined. Its an incredible feet and I certainly hope this shows that people are very open and receptive to Fimian as a new face and someone that isn't tainted by corruption (ChairGer) or lunacy (Byrne). This is great news for Fimian, and now its time to really get the campaign going and start to define himself while the Democrats are tearing each other apart. I've met Fimian twice and I've come away nothing but impressed with him, and givn the temperment of the Democrat candidates, he really comes off as genuine. The other two are simply career politicians looking for their next taxpayer-paid paycheck and pursuit of power.
I'm impressed with Fimian's fundraising ability, now its time to put that money to good use.
While I do admit Fimian has raised a significant amount of money, you also have to consider that the Democratic donors might be waiting to see who wins the primary where as Fimian right now simply can rally behind the "Go Republicans" banner.
The first full quarter after the Democratic primary is when I think you can really start to make the comparison between Fimian and whomever is the Democratic nominee.
Posted by: Bryan J. Scrafford | April 16, 2008 at 08:20 PM
Bryan, I think this is important in the sense that Republicans need to believe that Fimian can hang with these two. I am of the belief that Connolly is the clear-cut favorite and Fimian would find a much easier victory against Byrne. But Fimian needs to prove that he can win, and one way is to prove he can raise money. This is important for him vis-a-vi the party.
Posted by: Chris | April 16, 2008 at 08:30 PM
Oh, indeed. No one passes the hat like Gerry.
Posted by: | April 16, 2008 at 08:31 PM
I'd like to think this is significant, but I was under the impression that a signficant element of Mr. Fimian's campaign warchest was a large donation from himself. A dollar is a dollar regardless of source, but if you are trying to gauge general public interest, you have to strip out the large self-donations.
Posted by: NoVA Scout | April 18, 2008 at 10:35 PM