Much of the attention today will be focused on the detailed financial reports filed by the Big Three in the Democratic field -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.
With the focus on the "top tier" New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson may be overlooked. But Richardson is as well-positioned financially as he could possibly have hoped for when he announced his candidacy for president earlier this year.
Between April 1 and June 30, Richardson raised $7.1 million, bringing his year-to-date fundraising total to more than $13 million. Richardson, like Obama, raised more money in the second quarter of the year than in the first.
Richardson spent roughly five million in the second quarter and ended June with a very solid $7.1 million on hand. His biggest expenditure -- $1.3 million -- went to the production of television ads and purchase of air time, a necessity given the fact that Richardson is far less well known to Democratic primary voters than Clinton, Obama and Edwards.
Seeking to show that the ads, the first flight of which we raved about earlier this year, have worked, Richardson's campaign released a poll of the "likeliest" of Iowa caucus-goers that showed Edwards leading with 31 percent followed by Clinton at 23 percent, Richardson at 18 percent and Obama at 16 percent. (Among "likely" caucus goers in the Richardson poll, Edwards led with 31 percent followed by Clinton at 24 percent, Obama at 17 percent and Richardson at 13 percent.)
A collection of other independent polling in Iowa seems to show a positive trend line for Richardson, although the independent polls are not as rosy as the governor's own surveys.
Organizationally, Richardson is in surprisingly good shape in Iowa. He has 11 field offices in the state just one less than Clinton and four fewer than Edwards. (Obama has a whopping 28 field offices.) And, according to washingtonpost.com's "Campaign Tracker" -- bookmark it if you haven't already done so -- Richardson has done 25 events in the Hawkeye State since the start of the year.
Expect Richardson to attempt to gain more traction in the coming weeks with his plan to remove all American troops from Iraq by the end of this year. That agressive position is sure to play well with Democratic base both nationally and in Iowa, where anti-war sentiment runs high.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/bill_richardson_slowly_but_sur_1.html?nav=rss_blog
