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Home | Politically Connected | National Politics | U.S. Senate
Ciresi way behind rivals in money race
The trial lawyer raised about one-sixth what Coleman and Franken reported in the third quarter.
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DFL Senate candidate Mike Ciresi's fundraising pace lagged far behind both Al Franken, his chief DFL rival, and incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in the third quarter of the year.
During the three-month period ending Sept. 30, Ciresi raised $307,800, about one-sixth the total Coleman and Franken reported raising during the same period.
Franken raised $1.89 million during the third quarter and Coleman raised $1.7 million.
Ciresi's most recent contribution report, released by his campaign Friday, showed that, to date, he has raised a little more than $1 million, much less than Franken and Coleman.
"We're not worried at all because we're not spending very much money," said Kerry Greeley, Ciresi's campaign manager. "We're in a delegate race and that doesn't cost a lot of money [like a general election].
"We're focusing on 2,000 people. The point is meeting people with a warm handshake, not trying to get cold hard cash from them.
"There's no doubt Mike Ciresi can raise a lot of money."
Ciresi, a trial lawyer making his second bid for a U.S. Senate seat, also is in a weak position compared with Coleman and Franken in terms of the current size of his bank account.
He reported $607,915 in cash on hand; Coleman posted nearly $5 million in cash on hand, compared with $2.45 million for Franken.
Compared with his two main rivals, Ciresi has barely relied on political action committees to finance his campaign, having raised a total of $350 from them.
He also hasn't yet tapped his own personal fortune, more than $26 million, having contributed only $15,467 to the campaign, none of it in the most recent three months.
Coleman is considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection, with a job approval rating of 45 percent, well below the 50 percent danger zone, a recent Star Tribune Minnesota Poll said.
But the poll also showed that Franken has only a 27 percent favorable rating, compared with 52 percent for Coleman. Ciresi's problem, the poll said, is that he's relatively little-known to Minnesotans, with 51 percent saying they've never heard of him.
Three other DFL hopefuls, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jim Cohen and Dick Franson, have not announced their latest collections.
Bob von Sternberg • 612-673-7184
Bob Von Sternberg • vonste@startribune.com
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