Yeah, baby!
FAWCETT OVERTAKES LAMBORN IN FUNDRAISING SUPPORT
AS DCCC MOVES CD-5 RACE INTO ITS “RED-TO-BLUE” CATEGORY
Historic financial advantage given to Fawcett as new TV ad is released. More GOP leaders refuse to support Lamborn and Federal Election Commission investigation into Lamborn campaign continues.
COLORADO SPRINGS – Friday, October 27, 2006 – In another indicator that Jay Fawcett’s message of strengthening families and securing America is resonating with CD-5 voters, the Federal Election Commission released information Wednesday showing that Fawcett had outpaced opponent Doug Lamborn in voter financial support by a 3:2 margin.
The FEC reported that from October 1 through 18, Fawcett had raised $131,799.10, while Lamborn had garnered only $83,540.15. Fawcett also had more than twice as much cash on hand – $92,554.03 versus Lamborn’s $44,054.07 – according to FEC figures.
“This is a powerful statement about voter sentiment in this district,” said Fawcett Campaign Manager Wanda James. “In a Republican district, these numbers are a stark indication of the lack of support, lack of faith and lack of confidence voters have in Doug Lamborn. People are fed up.”
In a related matter, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced today that the Fawcett campaign had been raised to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue program.” According to the DCCC, the “Red to Blue” program is designed to provide financial and structural aid to the strongest Democratic candidates across the country. It introduces Democratic supporters to new, competitive campaigns in order to help expand the fundraising base for these campaigns.
“We are honored that we have been recognized as one of the strongest campaigns in the country,” said Fawcett. “With less than two weeks to go in the race, we are building momentum and uniting voters across the 5th District with a campaign that supports hope and opportunity for all citizens and defends the Constitution.”
The news comes as the Fawcett campaign today debuted a new campaign ad entitled, “Fit In” (click here to view the ad), which details how Lamborn would “fit right in” to the corrupt political establishment in Washington.
The ad features a pop-up of Dennis Hastert, the dishonored Speaker of the House who is caught up in the Mark Foley Page Scandal for failing to take action to protect teenage pages in the U.S. House of Representatives after he had been told by a number of people about a series of disgusting emails that Foley had sent to teenage pages. Hastert has endorsed Lamborn.
Disgraced former Rep. Tom DeLay is also featured in the ad. Earlier this year, the Lamborn campaign attempted to solicit money from the DeLay. “Indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has fallen in the eyes of many Republicans, but apparently not enough to stop Doug Lamborn from hitting his political action committee up for campaign funds,” the Gazette reported June 29 (Lamborn ask DeLay's rep for cash).
Meanwhile, new evidence of eroding support among GOP leaders came to light Thursday when Precinct 240 Chairman Preston Cooper sent a letter of resignation to El Paso County GOP Chairwoman Terry Kunkel, saying he is supporting Fawcett for Congress. In an article in today’s Colorado Springs Gazette, “Cooper said he disagreed with the ‘extreme conservatism’ shown by Lamborn, a state senator who has vowed never to raise taxes and talks often about introducing more antiabortion legislation than any other member of the legislature.”
The article also reported that “Cooper said Lamborn is ‘ethically challenged,’ a reference to a primary campaign in which groups that supported Lamborn rolled out negative ads against his chief opponents, causing a rift that still exists.”
“Cooper said his decision to make his resignation public was partly just to vent his frustration. But he would not mind if it inspired other committee chairs who have similar feelings to come out and declare them publicly, he said.” (Click here for a full
In addition, the Federal Election Commission continues its investigation into a complaint filed during the Republican Primary that accused the Lamborn campaign of having a direct connection to patently false ads and mailings by The Club for Growth and the Christian Coalition of Colorado that smeared Lamborn’s rivals. (See The Gazette, July 20, "Fallout over claim of homosexual lobby" and The Gazette, July 23, Lamborn accused of illegal activities with PACs )
