Quayle leads in cash

U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle maintained his fundraising edge over his main rival and every other House candidate in Arizona during the second quarter of the year, according to recently released campaign-finance reports.

Quayle brought in more than $530,000 from April 1 to June 30, the most recent reporting period, nearly doubling the total brought in by his main competitor, U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who raised nearly $275,000 in the same time span.

Schweikert and Quayle, who participated in an online debate Monday evening, are both incumbents who will face off in the Republican primary next month to determine who will run in the general election to represent the newly drawn 6th Congressional District, which encompasses the northeast Valley.

Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, decided to vacate his seat in the 9th Congressional District to take on Schweikert in the solidly Republican 6th District, which includes many of Quayle's current constituents.

Schweikert's spokesman, Chris Baker, said that the freshman congressman has exceeded his fundraising expectations and that some of Quayle's financial support could be misleading.

"Unlike our opponent, we do not actively solicit general-election donations to boost our totals," Baker said. "David's fundraising has always been the same: He does extremely well in Arizona from supporters and continues to do so."

Sunday was the deadline for congressional candidates to file quarterly campaign-finance reports with the Federal Election Commission.

In the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., Democrat Richard Carmona, a former U.S. surgeon general, raised $1.1 million and had $1.6million on hand at the end of June. U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, considered the Republican front-runner, raised $908,296 and had $2.6 million on hand. Self-funding Republican contender Wil Cardon raised only $95,768 in contributions but put in an additional $3.2 million of his own money. Cardon, a wealthy Mesa investor, through June had loaned his campaign a total of nearly $7.5 million.

The contest to represent the Republican Party in the state's new 4th District has transformed from an election with broad interest into virtually a two-person race, with donations heavily favoring U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, based on the most recent campaign filings.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu dropped out of the race in May after a scandal erupted involving allegations he threatened a former boyfriend with deportation, destroyed public records and misused official resources. Babeu brought in more than $29,000 before he dropped out of the race. He refunded all but $1,500 of that before the reporting period ended, according to the federal documents.

Gosar brought in more than $180,000 last quarter, compared with about $72,000 for his main GOP opponent, Sen. Ron Gould. Compared with Gould's performance in the first quarter, when donors contributed less than $19,000, the most recent report represents a windfall.

But Gosar's spokesman questioned whether Gould, a small-business owner who was elected to the Arizona Senate in fall 2004, has a message that resonates with voters in the far-flung district, which includes most of western Arizona, from the Utah line to Yuma, most of Yavapai County and northern Pinal County.

A spokesman for Gould's campaign said the state senator promised to run a competitive race, whether Gould relied on donations or his own money. Gould has lent his campaign more than $90,000 so far.

Personal loans have also become an issue in the crowded race to fill the seat in District 9, which runs from Chandler through north-central Phoenix, where a pair of Republican candidates -- businessman Travis Grantham and former Chandler Councilman Martin Sepulveda -- have relied on loans to fund the bulk of their campaigns.

Paradise Valley Town Councilman Vernon Parker led GOP candidates in District 9, with more than $135,000 coming into his campaign from individual donors in the past quarter.

Democrats have far outpaced Republicans in fundraising in the crowded District 9 race, with former state Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix surpassing Andrei Cherny, former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, in second-quarter donations. Sinema brought in more than $365,000 in the reporting period, compared with about $300,000 for Cherny, who maintains the overall fundraising lead in the race based on a strong first quarter.

Rodd McLeod, Sinema's campaign manager, said the number of individual contributors to Sinema's campaign showed the depth of her support. "We've got over 3,800 individual contributors. There are a lot of people who are behind her," McLeod said.

In other races:

Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, and Jonathan Paton, a Republican, continued to dominate the fundraising in District 1, with Kirkpatrick receiving more than $358,000 in the quarter and Paton bringing in about $345,000.

U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who won a special election last month to serve out the term of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, brought in more than his nearest competitor in the District 2 race. Barber, a Democrat, received more than $330,000 in the reporting period, while Republican Martha McSally, a retired Air Force pilot, raised nearly $270,000.

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Gingrich leads in Iowa poll (AP)

WASHINGTON – Newt Gingrich has taken the lead in a poll of Republican voters in Iowa, followed by Ron Paul and Mitt Romney.

Former House Speaker Gingrich received support from 25 percent of likely voters in the leadoff Iowa caucus, while Texas congressman Paul had 18 percent and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had 16 percent in the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll released Saturday.

Gingrich's support stood at just 7 percent in the most recent Iowa Poll, conducted in late October. Businessman Herman Cain, who suspended his campaign today amid claims of sexual misconduct, was at 8 percent in the latest poll, down from 23 percent in October. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was also at 8 percent.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania were at 6 percent each, and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman was at 2 percent.

The new poll of 401 likely Republican caucusgoers has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

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Perry's Debate Performance in Florida Leads to Herman Cain Upset (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Rick Perry blew his opportunity to become the Republican nominee for president after his performance in the Florida Republican presidential debate on Thursday. Herman Cain benefited most from Perry's awkward performance in the televised debate before the Florida straw poll.

Cain destroyed Perry, capturing 37.1 percent of the votes to Perry's 15.4 percent and Mitt Romney's 14 percent, according to Yahoo! News. The Republicans attending the debate and the straw poll expressed the need for Republicans to separate themselves from the Democrats, who insist on spending the country into bankruptcy.

The unprecedented margin of victory is the perfect statement from the Florida Republicans. Perry has no chance of getting elected and Romney needs to adopt a more conservative approach. Cain's unpolished political skills do not overshadow his passion and his out of the box ideas.

Cain won this straw poll for several reasons. First is Cain's business sense. Cain is not looking to solve the problems with government intervention. His ideas are to unleash business from government regulations and drastically eliminate government waste.

Cain also made points with his 999 plan. The plan deviates from the flat tax or fair tax ideas being floated for a national sales tax. The plan does institute a 9 percent national sales tax, but it also lowers the tax rate for individuals to a 9 percent flat tax as well.

Instead of being bogged down in name calling and attacking his fellow Republicans, Cain has chosen the campaign to push his views of an American economy that allows businesses large and small to flourish and Americans who are willing to work.

Cain has struggled to attain national attention and this weekend's straw poll shows the discontent among Republicans. Why is he suddenly the flavor of the month in Florida? Perry is a stiff and an unappetizing prospect in a national election against the charisma of Barrack Obama and Romney is too moderate in tea party voter's minds.

The time is perfect for Herman Cain to make huge strides in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Cain will need to enhance his presentation of his 999 plan and he will also need to adjust some key foreign policy issues to get the mainstream votes needed but his energy and desire make him a potential player in 2012.

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Romney leads in NH poll, but has slipped (Daily Caller)

A new Public Policy Polling poll shows Mitt Romney still leading in the New Hampshire Republican primary, but finds that he has slipped since the firm last polled the state, while Michele Bachmann is on the rise.

The poll found that 25 percent of likely New Hampshire Republican primary voters would vote for Romney in the primary, down from the 37 percent who said they would vote for him in early April of this year.

The ballot in April was somewhat different. It did not include Rick Perry, but did ask respondents about Haley Barbour.

But as PPP points out, Romney’s favorability in the state has also dropped slightly, falling from 68 percent favorable, 19 percent unfavorable in April to 60 percent favorable, 29 percent unfavorable in the most recent poll.

That variation would seem to reflect just how uncertain the field remains, and how voters’ opinions are not yet set.

Bachmann on the other hand has jumped 14 points in the polls, coming in just behind Romney with 18 percent of the vote. She has high favorability in the state, 64 percent favorable and 24 percent unfavorable. (Romney brings together potential Utah rivals)

Among self-identified Tea Partiers her favorability is the highest of any candidate, with 86 percent favorable and 11 percent unfavorable. Among those voters, she is the first choice candidate on a trial ballot. Among non-Tea Party voters, Romney is the clear favorite.

Sarah Palin is the only other candidate who gets into double digits in a trial heat ballot, garnering 11 percent of the vote.

Romney did better in the WMUR Granite State poll released Tuesday conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Thirty-five percent of likely Republican primary voters said he was their first choice, and 68 percent said they had a favorable opinion of him. Just 24 percent had an unfavorable opinion of him.

The poll surveyed 341 New Hampshire Republican primary voters between June 30 and July 5, using robo-call interviews. None of those interviews were conducted on July 3 or July 4. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.3 percent.

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Romney raises $15-20 million, leads Republican cash race (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is expected to report raising between $15 million and $20 million in campaign cash for the quarter ending on Thursday, a campaign aide said, a sum that far outpaces rivals.

Romney's dominance in the money race stems from his relentless campaigning and fund-raising since he lost a presidential bid in 2008. In addition, several of his rivals have only just entered the race.

Aides to rival Jon Huntsman, who formally announced his candidacy on June 21, said on Thursday he had taken in about $4 million in recent weeks, with a bit less than half coming from his own pockets.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is the front-runner in the Republican race to replace President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. He leads most polls of party rivals and has more than enough money to stay competitive.

"He is raising money far more quickly than he can spend effectively, especially in Iowa and New Hampshire where retail politics is important," said Georgetown University government professor Clyde Wilcox.

Romney rivals like Huntsman and Tim Pawlenty must raise enough to remain competitive, he said.

"If you don't have enough money, volunteers and fund-raisers may start wandering," he said, adding that "enough" may be a matter of surpassing expectations.

The second-quarter figures have not been officially released for the campaigns.

Some outside experts had predicted Romney would raise between $20 million and $30 million, especially after a one-day haul of $10 million last month.

A senior Romney adviser said the totals are in line with what they planned, but also cited "economic headwinds," which could depress fund-raising.

BACHMANN UP, PAWLENTY DOWN

Meanwhile, Pawlenty is struggling in the polls and being overshadowed by the entry of rising Tea party star Michele Bachmann into the race.

"She's clearly stealing oxygen from him in terms of Iowa," University of Minnesota professor Larry Jacobs said.

Pawlenty's advisers have been trying to downplay expectations since the former Minnesota governor entered the race.

"Our numbers are going to be respectable but it's not going to blow (anything) out of the water," said Ray Washburne, national finance chair for Pawlenty's operations in Texas.

Bachmann, a conservative member of the House of Representatives, is an adroit fundraiser. Her congressional committee out-raised all of her House colleagues during 2010, with a $13.5 million haul.

The campaign to re-elect Obama had a goal of raising $60 million, between the campaign and an account at the Democratic National Committee, in the quarter ending on Thursday.

In addition to Romney's official figures, a new so-called Super political action committee created by former Romney aides is said to have pulled in at least $10 million, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

These are a new form of political action committee created after a federal court decision last year allowed unlimited contributions from corporations and unions to independent political committees.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Todd Melby; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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