Rubio raises $4.5 million in second quarter to set state record
7/13/2010
TAMPA - Marco Rubio has announced his Senate campaign raised $4.5 million in the second quarter of 2010, the most ever raised in a three-month period by a Florida political candidate.He broke the record previously held by his opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist, who took in more than $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2009, when Crist was still running as a Republican.
Crist hasn't yet announced fundraising totals for his campaign for the quarter.
He announced in April, one month into the quarter, that he would leave the GOP and run as a no-party candidate, which probably cut his fundraising significantly. This will be his first fundraising report since then.
Rubio said the $4.5 million brings the total raised for his campaign to $11.5 million.
He didn't announce any figures for spending or cash on hand, but prior to this quarter, Rubio had been spending heavily in an attempt to compete with Crist in the Republican primary. Rubio began the second quarter with $3.9 million in the bank.
Rubio also said 99 percent of his donors haven't yet given the maximum allowed by law, so he can still tap them for future donations.
On the Democratic side of the race, Kendrick Meek announced he has raised $1 million in the second quarter and has about $4 million in the bank.
Self-funding billionaire Jeff Greene hasn't announced any fundraising or spending totals, but his campaign didn't deny recent news reports that he spent some $5 million of his money in his first two months as a declared candidate.
By WILLIAM MARCH
Source: The Tampa Tribune