Washington (CNN) - The Republican Governors Association reported a blockbuster fundraising haul in the 2nd quarter, raising a total of $18.9 million.
The RGA said Thursday that it has $40 million in cash on hand, and has spent $10 million in political expenditures in 2010.
The 2nd quarter fundraising numbers make it by far the most successful in RGA history. The association reported its previous high-water mark in the 4th quarter of 2009, when it raised $11.9 million.
"The Republican Governors Association has the momentum, message and money needed to make massive gains this November," said RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers in a statement. "From Oregon to Maine, the quality of our candidates combined with our substantial resources put us on offense in a record number of states."
Nikki Haley celebrates her victory in Tuesday's South Carolina runoff. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images)
(CNN) - The Republican Governors Association wasted no time Tuesday evening congratulating rising GOP star Nikki Haley in her bid to become South Carolina’s first female governor.
Related video: Haley wins GOP runoff
The state lawmaker’s victory over Rep. Gresham Barrett in the GOP runoff “is a testament to her hard work, perseverance and determination,” RGA Executive Director Nick Ayers said in a statement. “Her success ushers in a new era of South Carolina politics, and represents a growing new generation of Republican leaders from across the country. We congratulate her on besting an experienced field of challengers, first capturing the most votes in the primary and then winning the short runoff.”
“We look forward to working with Nikki Haley and her campaign to ensure that she earns a tremendous and well-deserved victory in November,” Ayers added.
In effort to ground Haley’s rising star, Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, slammed the South Carolina Republican and her party.
“National Republicans desperate for a new rising star are prematurely attaching their hopes to Nikki Haley, who has moved so far outside the mainstream that she’s damaged her general election hopes,” Daschle said in a statement.
CNN projects that Haley has beaten Barrett in the GOP runoff. According to vote totals provided by the Associated Press, with 65 percent of precincts reporting, Haley had 158,539 votes or 64.4 percent of the votes reported compared to Barrett's 87,630 votes or 35.6 percent.
Earlier: Haley expected to cruise to GOP nod
(CNN) – In a statement Tuesday, the Republican Governors Association made clear it is backing state Rep. Nikki Haley in the June 22 runoff with Congressman Gresham Barrett.
Republican Governors Association Executive Director Nick Ayers today issued the following statement:“The voters of South Carolina made a clear choice in Nikki Haley, notwithstanding the possibility of a runoff. The outcome is all but certain.
“Nikki Haley withstood a barrage of innuendoes and slurs in the closing days of the primary season and persevered to the finish with dignity, determination and confidence. Moreover, receiving half of the votes against two other statewide incumbent Republicans and a sitting Congressman speaks volumes of her strength as a candidate and bodes very well for her in the General Election. We congratulate Nikki for her grit and determination.
“Meanwhile, South Carolina Democrats have again served up the same old Washington, D.C.-style solution to any problem: expanded government. Vincent Sheheen promises more regulatory interference, bureaucratic red tape and impediments to free enterprise. Exactly what The Palmetto State does not need.”
(CNN) – Massachusetts gubernatorial hopeful Tim Cahill, an independent, responded Tuesday to a barrage of new ads directed at him by Republicans.
Cahill's independent bid is setting up a three-way contest between Republican Charlie Baker and the state's incumbent governor Democrat Deval Patrick.
In an effort to support Baker, the Republican Governors Association launched a television, radio, and internet ad blitz, as well as a new website Tuesday - all of which focus on Cahill's stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
"Tim Cahill – reckless with our money," a narrator says in the new RGA television ads.
Cahill responded Tuesday evening with a web video.
"Charlie Baker and his Washington friends are desperate to tear me down with over a million dollars in negative attack ads," Cahill says in the video as he looks straight into the camera's lens. "People are sick and tired of the old way of party politics. Attacks ads won't fix our economy. Attack ads won't create jobs for the middle class. They represent the past. My campaign for Governor represents the future."
In a statement announcing the release of the web video, Cahill campaign manager Adam Meldrum called the GOP ads "nothing short of a Hail Mary to try and save Charlie Baker's flailing candidacy."
The most recent poll in the race indicates that Gov. Patrick holds a slight edge over his two rivals in a three-way general election match up.
–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Atlanta (CNN) – The Republican Governors Association delivered a not-so-blunt message to donors Thursday: your contributions are safe with us.
The RGA emphasized this point just as the Republican National Committee is coming under fire from social conservatives for picking up the tab at a risqué Los Angeles nightclub.
“The smart money is with the RGA this year,” Nick Ayers, executive director of the RGA, said in a statement announcing the organization’s latest fundraising numbers. “We are receiving a record number of donations from supporters at all levels because they are confident in our strategy and know we will win back a majority of governorships this November.”
(CNN) - The Republican Governors Association raised $9 million in the first quarter of 2010 and has $31 million cash on hand, an RGA official told CNN Thursday morning. The RGA's fundraising totals are expected to be officially released later in the day.
The RGA's counterpart, the Democratic Governors Association, says they raised a record $8 million in the first three months of the year. The DGA also reported Wednesday that they have $22 million in the bank.
"Our donors are giving because this election cycle will shape our political landscape for a generation to come. Even in a tough fundraising climate, our donors know this is an historic election, and they've stepped up to make sure we have the resources to compete," said Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who is chairman of the DGA.
Washington (CNN) - The Republican Governors Association inserted itself into the health care debate Wednesday, launching an on-line effort to rally opposition to the reform legislation that Congress is expected to vote on later this week.
The RGA is spending "six figures" to pay for on-line ads and has launched a Web site as closing arguments are made on President Obama's top domestic priority. GOP governors argue that the health care reform legislation advocated by President Obama and Congressional Democrats imposes an unfunded mandate upon the states. Instead, the RGA is promoting "lawsuit liability reform" as a better way to help lower health care costs. Ten Democratic governors and candidates are singled out with their own 30 second videos clips that are posted on the RGA's new Web site.
Separately, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour posted a video to his YouTube channel Tuesday in which he spent nearly four minutes criticizing the Democratic health care proposal.
"I am urging you and all of my friends to contact your representatives in Congress ask them to vote against this irresponsible legislation," said Barbour, chairman of the RGA and a potential 2012 presidential candidate. "It would only result in higher taxes in both the state and federal level increase costs for health insurance and ultimately worse quality care."
Washington (CNN) - The Republican Governors Association raised $13.5 million in the first seven weeks of the year, a figure that coincides with the organization's annual fundraising dinner Monday evening here in the nation's capital.
The RGA, the political arm of GOP governors, raised $10.2 million during this same time period in 2009.
"This record participation demonstrates that more and more people are excited about our party and recognize governors will lead our comeback," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, chairman of the RGA, said in a statement accompanying the fundraising numbers. "We're off to a good start, but we still have a lot of work to do between now and the November elections."
The RGA had $25 million in the bank as of January 1, 2010.
Follow Mark Preston on Twitter: @prestoncnn
(CNN) – The Democratic and Republican Governor's Associations both said Monday that they had broken their own one-year fundraising records, though the GOP is headed into the New Year with the clear financial advantage.
The DGA raised just over $23.1 million in 2009, the organization announced, and currently holds $17.5 million cash-on-hand. The group says its cash-on-hand figure is nearly 12 times as much as it had during the same period in 2010.
Republicans, meanwhile, raised $30 million in 2009, and begin 2010 with $25 million cash-on-hand. That record-breaking figure comes on the heels of gubernatorial victories for the GOP in Virginia and New Jersey.
The RGA is in a significantly healthier position than it was at this point in 2006, when the organization only had $4 million cash on hand.
Story updated at 4:10 p.m. EST
Washington (CNN) – In the early days of his campaign for governor in Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell hired veteran GOP pollster Glen Bolger to take the pulse of the state's notoriously independent-minded voters.
Bolger asked voters if they'd rather elect of governor who would work with President Obama to implement his plans for the economy, or a governor who would serve as a check on Democrats in Washington.
Fifty-five percent wanted a governor who planned to stand up the president, Bolger discovered, while just 35 percent desired someone who would help the White House. It wasn't what he'd expected to find.
"I was kind surprised by that result, because I thought people would say that's not really a factor in the governor's race," Bolger said, noting that McDonnell won the race by a similar margin. "But people saw it as almost like Democrats are oversteering too much in one direction, and they wanted correction."
After dismal election cycles in 2006 and 2008, Republicans are hoping that signs of discomfort with President Obama's agenda will translate into big gains in governor's mansions around the country next November. They point to off-year wins this month in Virginia and New Jersey as early proof that a backlash against Democratic overreach in Washington is underway.
From CNN Politics
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