Late Wednesday night, the campaign of Republican Senate hopeful Rand Paul released its Federal Election Commission report for third quarter fundraising, confirming more than $1 million in three months.
Now, Kentucky pols are anxiously awaiting fellow Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson's third quarter numbers, because the Grayson campaign appears to have been blindsided by the upstart Paul. Poll numbers suggest Paul is a solid contender (though Grayson leads Paul in all polls), but Grayson's name recognition, despite having held statewide office, is not appreciably greater than Paul's.
If Grayson's fundraising totals do not match Paul's, (and keep in mind that Democrat Dan Mongiardo raised just more than HALF of Paul's number in the third quarter), the message to power brokers could be that the GOP race is very much a race.
Months ago, Grayson's campaign had pointed out that fundraising was limited by Senator Jim Bunning not having withdrawn from the race, But, the campaign has had two full months since Bunning announced he would not seek re-election.
Because the Bowling Green eye doctor's campaign posts most donations on their website as they come in, we already knew that Paul topped an impressive $1 million for the third quarter. The FEC report confirms it, with $1,010,668 raised in the quarter, the lions share with two internet "moneybombs" modeled after the presidential campaigns of Paul's father, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). It would not be a surprise to discover that most of Rand Paul's donors have also contributed to his Dad's campaigns. The Rand Paul campaign has now raised a total of $1,121,693.
