Ed FitzGerald’s big green problem
by JT3BP • January 31, 2013 • Uncategorized • 1 Comment
Gubernatorial hopeful and Cuyahoga County diva Ed FitsJarold has a big, green problem.
He has no money.
His latest campaign report revealed he raised $234,000 during the first half of 2012, with just $181,000 on hand as of Dec. 31. To make matters worse, most of his donations were from labor unions and law firms all, for the most part, in Northeast Ohio.
To put things into perspective, the 2010 race for governor set new records for campaign fundraising. Ted Strickland raised $19.8 million and still lost. Governor John Kasich’s latest report in July revealed he has a $1.5 million head start on Fits. On top of the cash advantage, Kasich has statewide name recognition on his side and policies that have resulted in an Ohio economic recovery currently outpacing much of the country.
Obviously, Fits’ fundraising might gather some steam after he makes his decision to run official, but he becomes further and further behind with each passing day.
For Fits, on the bright side, voters outside Cleveland can’t misspell a name they’ve never heard of.
Welcome to the least credible site on Ohio politics. You’ll apparently fit right in.
FitzGerald’s cash on hand is actually more than what Kasich’s exploratory PAC, Recharge Ohio, showed at the same point in the 2010 campaign (Kasich, like FitzGerald, had not yet formed a gubernatoral campaign committee yet).
Kasich’s cash on hand is about the same as Strickland’s was at this point in 2009. However, his fundraising has actually dropped off by half a million in the past six months. Also, his re-elect number is at 36%, which is lower than it ever was for Strickland.
So, actually, FitzGerald’s fundraising is in better shape against Kasich than Kasich’s was against Strickland at the same point in the 2010 campaign. Oops.