Yesterday's Corning Leader says this about Kuhl's lackluster fundraising:
One possible explanation for the discrepancy in fund raising numbers is the length of time the two candidates have been officially in the race. While it was widely speculated Kuhl would run for reelection, he did not officially kick off his re-election campaign until March.
Kuhl kicked off his 2006 campaign at about the same time as this year's campaign. According to his
Q1 2006 report, he raised $764K by the end of March, 2006. His
latest report shows that he's raised $606K over the same period this cycle. He's raised $160K less in a comparable period, and his cash on hand is down roughly $75K.
In contrast, Massa
raised $255K by this time in the 2006 cycle. He's raised $868K
this time.
Kuhl faces a more experienced, more well-known, and better-financed candidate this cycle, and he does so with less cash than he had last cycle. This is grim news for the Kuhl campaign, and no spin will change that fact.
Comments
Kuhl must know something we don't. The only way I can look at this is that he really doesn't want to run, but feels he owes the party and is going through the motions. Massa rates a "10" on being aggressive and Kuhl only rates a "2"
I think Kuhl just doesn't like raising money. I don't blame him -- I'm sure I wouldn't like it either. Unfortunately for him, it's an important part of his job. I can see why the party had misgivings about him running for re-election.