The spin from the two Republican candidates in Virgnia’s 11th CD is making me dizzy, how about you?
Keith Fimian: “Keith raised nearly $280,000 in the first quarter of 2010 and has more than $600,000 on-hand. Fimian out-raised Herrity despite it being Herrity’s first quarter in the race. Fimian maintains a 3-to-1 cash advantage over Herrity.”
Pat Herrity:
I raised $278,045 in 9 short weeks – that is more than my primary opponent raised during the 10 weeks I was in the race and about the same as he raised in the whole quarter…More than 860 people have contributed to my campaign, which is much higher than my primary opponent and shows my significant grassroots support…Over 98% of my contributors live in Northern Virginia – this is significantly greater than my opponent. The voters in the 11th district are financially supporting my campaign…My average contribution is significantly lower than my primary opponents and again shows the depth of the grassroots support I have in Northern Virginia….My opponent is reporting a cash on hand advantage as he has been in the race for over a year. Fortunately much of it is a personal loan to the campaign that he has not yet committed to contribute and use in this campaign. It also includes a significant amount of money that cannot be used in the primary.
The actual numbers? Herrity raised $275,045 and has “cash on hand” of $194,989, not counting debt of $27,757. Fimian raised $278,497 and has “cash on hand” of $609,540, not counting debt of $126,190. In comparison, Rep. Gerry Connolly raised $446,160 and has $1,037,305 cash on hand with no debt. In other words, Herrity has less than 1/5th the money Connolly has, while Fimian has about 3/5th.
For Herrity in particular, this has got to be highly disappointing, despite his frantic spin. The fact is, this should have been Herritys’ best quarter, as candidates almost always get the “low hanging fruit” in the first quarter of their candidacies. Unfortunately for Herrity, it’s probably all downhill from here. As if that’s not bad enough, Herrity also appears to be spending a lot of money on overhead and consultants. Rookie mistake?
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