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NY-Sen: Gillibrand raises $1.5M-plus, Maloney $576K

by: devtob

Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 14:58:58 PM EDT

Second quarter reports are out in the unofficial primary between Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.

According to the New York Daily News, Gillibrand raised more than $1.5 million in the quarter, and Maloney raised slightly more than a third of that, $576,690.

Gillibrand has always been an assiduous fund-raiser, bringing in more than $7 million in her two House campaigns. It is surely one reason, among many, that she was appointed.

Aside from the nearly 3-1 advantage in the quarter, Gillibrand also reported $3.2 million cash on hand, almost twice Maloney's $1.7 million.

About a quarter of Gillibrand's quarterly total ($350,000) was raised online, which presumably reflects some response to her engagement with online communities like Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, and TAP.

Gillibrand said endorsements by 11 Democratic House Members from New York, many labor, women's and progressive organizations, and more than 50 New York Democratic county chairs contributed to her fund-raising success.

It would be a shame if most of this money were to be spent on a Democratic primary next September, rather than defeating a Republican in the general.

Especially since the policy differences between Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. Maloney are minuscule.

devtob :: NY-Sen: Gillibrand raises $1.5M-plus, Maloney $576K

Tags: Carolyn Maloney, Kirsten Gillibrand, ny-sen, (All Tags)

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NY-Sen: Gillibrand raises $1.5M-plus, Maloney $576K | 10 comments

More good news for Gillibrand. (4.00 / 1)

and more reason to wonder why Maloney wants to wage a divisive primary campaign this year and next.

by: devtob @ Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 19:01:14 PM UTC

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Gillibrand is the incumbent, she's got three times the money... (4.00 / 3)

...and unless Mahoney gives some rock-solid reasons why voters shouldn't pull the lever for Gillibrand, this may, in fact, be a wasted effort by her.

I'm a big fan of primaries. I think incumbents should regularly be subjected to them. However, while Gillibrand is still not the progressive I hoped for as my Senator, her only real ideological opponent is Jonathan Tasini. Mahoney isn't offering much but an upstate/downstate split. Carolyn Mahoney has got to make her case now or just forget about the whole thing.

by: cliffweathers @ Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 19:58:53 PM UTC

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Not entirely impressive (4.00 / 1)

She'll need $20 million against a serious Republican. $10 million more if there's a primary.

But the 576K from Maloney is telling. This may not run past Januaryish.

by: Amherst Guy @ Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 22:42:23 PM UTC

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She has also been endorsed by Dean (4.00 / 1)

As I pointed out at RT, Politico is reporting that Howard Dean will be endorsing her.

It's hard for me to see a path for Maloney to the nomination, given what's stacked against her.

And no, I am not involved in her campaign.

by: davesnyd @ Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 23:13:08 PM UTC

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A friend of mine in the know (4.00 / 1)

told me Maloney and Dean don't have a good relationship...most New York Democrats who stem from the Clinton Presidency don't...and Kirsten is one of his "children"...Democrats who came to power under his leadership at the DNC (like John Hall, Mike Arcuri, Dan Maffei, Eric Massa)

by: nrafter530 @ Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 02:38:03 AM UTC

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Gillibrand came out of the Clinton camp (4.00 / 1)

so there's no split along those lines here

Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/SteveinNYC

by: SteveinNYC @ Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 03:58:47 AM UTC

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She was a fund raiser and supporter of Dean in 04 (4.00 / 2)

before she ran for office.

by: Andrew C. White @ Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 14:32:09 PM UTC

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Unwarranted Assumptions (0.00 / 0)

It's not necessarily true that this money will be "wasted" on a primary because a lot of this money may not have been raised in the first place had it not been for the prospect of a primary. (Attribution: this was Dan Jacoby's point from another thread.)

Moreover, more money does not necessarily mean victory, otherwise we'd have a lot more self-financed senators from California.

by: dsimon @ Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 23:55:57 PM UTC

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Gillibrand probably had a target (0.00 / 0)

of about $20 million for the general.

She'll still need all of that, plus another $10 million for the primary.

Even for an accomplished fund-raiser, that's a tall order, especially in the Great Recession.

by: devtob @ Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 00:08:23 AM UTC

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Still.... (0.00 / 0)

Recession or no, that doesn't affect the argument that the prospect of a primary may result in raising money that would not have been raised otherwise. I think it's not unreasonable to speculate that even in the Great Recession, both candidates would have raised less money to date if there were no prospect of a primary.

by: dsimon @ Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 00:53:50 AM UTC

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NY-Sen: Gillibrand raises $1.5M-plus, Maloney $576K | 10 comments

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