WP political blog: Bill Frist: On The Rebound

[DeepModem Mom]

"The Fix," Chris Cillizza
washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog
Posted at 09:25 AM ET, 01/31/2006
Bill Frist: On The Rebound


After enduring a miserable political year in 2005, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) is taking tentative steps toward reasserting himself as a serious presidential candidate.

A confluence of strong fundraising numbers, a solid -- if unspectacular -- appearance on "Meet The Press", the likely Senate confirmation of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court today and a trip at the end of the week to New Hampshire have revivified a presidential effort that was all but down at the end of 2005.

As always, the strongest pillar of Frist's ambitions remains his fundraising capacity. Through his Volunteer political action committee (VOLPAC), Frist raised $3.5 million in 2005 -- roughly half of which came in during the last six months of the year. The Tennessee senator continued to spend heavily from his VOLPAC account, doling out $3.7 million for the year -- $1.9 million in disbursements came between July 1 and Dec. 31. Frist's PAC ended 2005 with $801,000 on hand.

Much of his spending came on prospecting --a potentially lucrative investment in locating new GOP donors across the country. While Frist cannot directly transfer any leftover funds from his leadership PAC to a presidential committee, VOLPAC's expanded donor list would be an excellent resource should he decide to run for president.

Frist also continued to donate heavily to Republican candidates -- both nationally and in key early presidential states....While Frist's fundraising has never been in question, his low-key demeanor and struggles to effectively communicate on the Sunday talk shows have long been seen as a hurdle. Even Frist allies acknowledge that he is not the most charismatic speaker, but they believe he is getting better....


http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/thefix/