Ciresi is the biggest donor to his campaign

The U.S. Senate hopeful seeks to counter the pacesetting fundraising of his main DFL rival, Al Franken, and the Republican incumbent, Sen. Norm Coleman.

By KEVIN DIAZ and CONRAD WILSON , Star Tribune

Last update: January 31, 2008 - 11:02 PM

WASHINGTON

Multi-millionaire lawyer Mike Ciresi has put more than a half-million dollars of his own money into his bid for the DFL nomination for the U.S. Senate, according to campaign finance reports released Thursday.

Ciresi, a trial lawyer with an estimated worth of more than $26 million, has lagged in contributions behind DFL rival Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

Altogether, Ciresi has given more than $528,000 to his own campaign, more than a quarter of the nearly $1.9 million he has raised so far.

The figure appears just shy of a threshold for triggering "millionaire" provisions under federal law. The provisions, designed to offset the advantages of wealthy office-seekers, would allow Ciresi's DFL primary opponents to triple their caps for individual contributors, giving their campaigns access to much more cash.

The bulk of Ciresi's donations came in the last three months of 2007, a period during which he raised a total of $807,245.

Franken raised about $1.9 million in that period, while Coleman raised $1.7 million. Overall, Franken has raised $7 million and Coleman $6.6 million.

A third DFL candidate, University of St. Thomas Prof. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, has reported raising $284,000, most of it in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Ciresi's decision to pump his own money into the race was no surprise to campaign watchers, who saw Franken lead the pack in campaign fundraising last year. Ciresi gave $5 million to his 2000 Senate campaign.

"He's got deep pockets, and if he's got a chance to counteract the fundraising skills Franken has shown, I thought he'd probably have to take that route," said Hamline University political analyst David Schultz.

Franken, himself a wealthy man by dint of his comedy career in television, radio and books, is not likely to follow suit by financing his own campaign, according to a campaign official.

Franken spokeswoman Jess McIntosh said he believes that raising money is the best way to win. "We've been really successful with that strategy and we'll be sticking to it," he said.

Coleman still retains the overall money edge, with $6 million in the bank. Franken ended the year with about $3.1 million in cash on hand, compared with just under $1 million for Ciresi, who has been spending money on TV advertising recently.

Ciresi spokeswoman Leslie Sandberg declined to say whether he plans to put more money into the race, which at this point remains a hunt for DFL delegates to win the party endorsement in June.

"We will have all the resources we need to remain competitive, win the DFL endorsement and beat Norm Coleman in November," she said.

While other office-seekers chase campaign cash, incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, who announced his retirement in September, has been refunding money to contributors in recent months.

Refunds to PACs

The nine-term Republican, who has dismissed reports that he might change his mind, returned more than $43,000 in campaign contributions in the last three months of 2007. Most of the money was refunded to political action committees, although some was returned to individual donors.

Still, Ramstad finished the year sitting on a campaign chest of about $715,000.

Rep. Erik Paulsen of Eden Prairie, a Republican, leads the money chase in the race to replace Ramstad, a contest that could be one of the most competitive in the nation. He reported nearly $390,000 in fundraising receipts during the last three months of 2007.

The leading DFL fundraiser in the race, Sen. Terri Bonoff of Minnetonka, had a year-end total of more than $304,000 in contributions.

Iraq war veteran Ashwin Madia reported raising about $161,000. Edina Mayor Jim Hovland, who recently entered the race, has raised about $76,000.

Kevin Diaz • 202-408-2753 Conrad Wilson • 202-408-2723

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