Edwards dominates early money race in pivotal South

[JohnLocke]

Edwards dominates early money race in pivotal South
By Ben Evans--Associated Press
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
----
WASHINGTON – North Carolina's John Edwards says he's the only Democratic presidential candidate with any chance of winning the coveted South.
If early fundraising is any indication, he might be right.
Edwards placed a distant third behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in first quarter fundraising, tallying $14 million compared to Clinton's $26 million and Obama's $25 million.
But in money raised in the South, Edwards was the leader. From Louisiana to the Carolinas, Edwards easily beat his Democratic rivals and - perhaps more importantly - raised more money than the top three Republican candidates combined.
The two New Yorkers considered front-runners in the 2008 race - Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani - fared particularly poorly in the region.
Some Southern states bucked the trend, mostly as a result of steady donations from Palm Beach and Miami in Florida and Virginia's Washington suburbs.
Counting only Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, Edwards raised $2,723,000. That's more than six times Clinton's take of $440,471 and nearly four times the $705,650 raised by Obama, according to numbers compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.org, an online repository of campaign finance data.
Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the way with $1,127,484, compared with $603,723 for Arizona Sen. John McCain and $384,500 for Giuliani.
(...)
Dominated by Republicans in recent elections, the South is considered a critical region for GOP presidential candidates. When the party holds the South, as President Bush did in his two victories, Democrats must win about 70 percent of the electoral vote outside the South to compensate, said Emory University political scientist Merle Black, author of "Divided America," a book on regional politics.
When Democrats are able to peel off a few Southern states - as Bill Clinton did in his 1992 and 1996 victories - they have far more breathing room in the rest of the country, Black said.
(...)
But he said the strong support illustrates that many Southern Democratic leaders would prefer to see Edwards atop the party ticket.
"They see Edwards as the true Southerner and the one who can win," said Dent, who worked on former Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor's losing campaign for governor last year.
(...)
----
Read the rest here.

[JohnLocke]

1. Kick (nt).

[JohnLocke]

2. Kick (nt).