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President 2012: Mitch Daniels State PAC Raised More Money Than Other Potential Presidential Candidates
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels speaks at the Conservative Political Action conference (CPAC) dinner in Washington February 11, 2011
Does anyone still think Mitch Daniels is NOT running for President?While Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels coyly dodges questions about his presidential intentions, he quietly raised more money for his state political action committee than any other potential 2012 Republican candidate.
According to a new report from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Daniels’ Aiming Higher state-level PAC raised $2,182,953 in 2010. The next closest total during this time period comes from Mitt Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC, with $1,623,044.
Only two other candidates have raised money via state-level PACs, according to the report: Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC, with $337,570 and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s PAC, with a reported $2,250, plus an undetermined amount in Pennsylvania. The four combined to take in over $4.1 million during 2010.
So, when Mitch was asked by the AP about fundraising he replied.
Daniels said the fact that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another possible Republican presidential contender, raised more than $10 million in a single day Monday doesn’t add to the pressure on him.
“I guarantee you that if we did it, I think we’d have the best letterhead and plenty of money,” Daniels said. “I just don’t think these things get settled by money. … I think it’s going to be a lot more about the quality of ideas.”
And, the fact that Daniels is being helped by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in tapping the Bush family of Presidential donors, also does not hurt.
In 2010, Daniels collected money through only one PAC, in his home state of Indiana. Romney, who collected almost $600,000 less than Daniels, registered PACs in Alabama, Michigan and the key primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. iWatch News recently reported on Mitch Daniels’ tenure at pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. His state PAC received at least $80,000 from top Lilly executives in the 2004 and 2008 election cycles.
Under federal election laws, donors can give a maximum of $5,000 a year to a federal PAC. Those rules don’t apply to state-level PACs, and some states allow donors to give massive amounts of money to a candidate of their choice. The development of state level PACs is often seen as a sign of a serious presidential contender. Donors to state level PACs can contribute from all over the country, leading some campaign finance experts to worry that state level PACs create a back door to avoid federal campaign limits.
Daniels is running and believe me the donors are being called.
Wait for the leaks….1….2……3……
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President 2012: Mitch Daniels Close to a Decision
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels greets first lady Cheri Daniels before she speaks at the state Republican Party fundraiser in Indianapolis, Thursday, May 12, 2011
This is what the Indiana governor tells the AP.Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday that it won’t be long before he makes a decision on whether he’ll run for president in 2012.
Daniels said he doesn’t have a timetable for announcing the decision once it’s made, and that he’s really only focused his attention on the issue since the legislative session ended in late April.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” Daniels said. “I’ll decide pretty quickly.”
Political observers are watching Daniels’ every move for signs of a possible decision. Some recently speculated on Twitter that he would run, which Daniels seemed to find surprising Tuesday.
“I don’t Twitter so I wonder who made the decision,” Daniels said. “It didn’t start with me, obviously.”
Daniels also laughed at speculation that he would announce his plans at the Indianapolis 500 or sometime after the May 29 race.
“I don’t have a fixed date,” Daniels said before speaking at a meeting of Indiana state agency officials to review state government performance.
“I’m not going to take much longer with it,” he added.
What about organization and fundraising for a Presidential GOP Primary campaign?
I have it on good authority that Daniel’s campaign has been meeting with the Bush Presidential donors with the help of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. So, when Daniels says he will have plenty of money for a campaign, he knows how much and from where it is coming.
Why do you think Mitt Romney put on such a fundraising display yesterday?
I predict that Daniels will announce shortly before or shortly after Memorial Day and the Indianapolis 500 Race.
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President 2012: Should Paul Ryan Run for President?
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveils the House Republican budget blueprint in the Capitol in Washington April 5, 2011
Yes, and the case for a duty call is obvious.Jennifer Rubin makes the case as well.
In a very practical sense, the question for Ryan is: Why not give his party and the country six months (September 2011 to February 2012)? By then he’ll either have failed to catch fire or he’ll have a clear path to the presidential nomination. Six months. Twenty-four weeks. For a politician constantly at work in Congress, in town halls and in media appearances, that doesn’t sound like that much. (In fact, I would venture that his schedule is more rigorous now than the average presidential contender’s.)
You see, there is no good reason for Ryan to avoid a presidential run. Sometimes, if you don’t see the opening and seize it, a better one never comes along. Bill Clinton understood this in 1992.
Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan should all consider running for the Presidency. Obama is wounded and the GOP needs popular and articulate candidates.
Duty Calls.
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Chris Christie, John Kasich, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President 2012, Sarah Palin, Scott Walker
President 2012: Huckabee is Out – Michele, Newt and Mitch In?
The presidential nominating process is a lot like the US Open tennis tournament. There is a final (the Republican v. Obama), a semifinal (the top conservative against the top moderate for the GOP nomination) and a quarter final (the conservatives against each other and the moderates competing together for the right to enter the semis).
Mitt Romney and Donald Trump are centrists. Businessmen, economic growth free market types who will vie with each other for the moderate nomination. In 2008, Romney fought and lost to Huckabee for the conservative nod to oppose McCain. But, because of his health care position, he now has to fight it out on the moderate court.
Mike Huckabee’s withdrawal opens the way on the right court for Gingrich, Bachmann, and Daniels. Had Mike run, he would have easily carried the day and faced Romney/Trump for the nomination. But, with Mike out, it’s an open field.
Bachmann has the most to gain from Huckabee’s withdrawal. Polling shows that the Tea Party types and the evangelicals are more or less the same people. With Mike out, Michele has a clear shot at their support (once they get over Herman Cain and Ron Paul, neither of whom can win — and Paul shouldn’t win). As the odd-woman-out dissenting from the Boehner deals with Obama, holding out for fiscal conservatism and tough Republican bargaining, she can pick up a lot of ground in a hurry.
Gingrich’s announcement puts the onus on him to dispel the negatives that dog his campaign. All agree that he would be the best opponent to Obama in a debate and that he is the brightest, best candidate would have. But many are scared off because of the negatives. He has six months to show them that they are wrong.
And then there is Mitch Daniels, potentially, the conservative establishment’s answer to Romney. Despite an absence of charisma, his extraordinary record as governor puts him right in the thick of the hunt for the nomination. He, along with his supporters (Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, and John Kasich of Ohio), have walked the walk not just talked the talk. His candidacy is a most attractive one.
And, if Sarah Palin decides to come in now, I would say the battle for the social conservatives will really heat up.
Newt Gingrich with his personal baggage should be used as a foil against Obama but he is unelectable – too old and too damaged.
Mitt Romney will have to compete in Iowa and will probably take a loss there even with Huckabee not in the race. Romney will be vulnerable in South Carolina too –then on to Florida.
Exit question: Will Mitch Daniels with Scott Walker, John Kasich and Chris Christie endorsing him be able to beat Michele Bachmann in Iowa?
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Update: President 2012: Mike Huckabee Better in or Better Out of the Race?; Huck Won’t Run
+++++Update+++++
Mike Huckabee announced tonight on his Fox News Show that he will not be a candidate for President
Better in for the Republican Party.
And this from Democratic Pollster PPP.
Rumor has it Huckabee may announce that he is not running on his Fox News show tomorrow. That would be good news, at least for the time being, for the president. Huckabee gives him more trouble than the others in the South, in Appalachia, and up and down the Mississippi–including in states where the president remains strong (like North Carolina and Virginia) and states where he has declined since 2008 (like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Missouri). The GOP almost certainly needs to return to Southern dominance and dip into either the West or Midwest–or both–to win the White House next year, and it remains to be seen whether another candidate can establish the rapport with these voters that Huckabee has.
Romney is not a much weaker alternative in these states, and he does put Obama more on the defensive in the Northeast and Southwest, particularly Nevada and New Hampshire, than does Huckabee. But Huckabee would certainly be leaving both a good shot at the nomination and a decent shot at Obama on the table by keeping his hat out of the ring.
Mike Huckabee is a stronger candidate than Mitt Romney and will provide an alternative to Mitch Daniels, should he falter. Moreover, should Huck not run, Sarah Palin may decide to go. Her polling against President Obama has been appalling.
All in all having the affable, Baptist minister in the race is better for the GOP, than Donald Trump, Newt Ginrich or Tim Pawlenty.
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President 2012: Mike Huckabee Better in or Better Out of the Race?
Better in for the Republican Party.
And this from Democratic Pollster PPP.
Rumor has it Huckabee may announce that he is not running on his Fox News show tomorrow. That would be good news, at least for the time being, for the president. Huckabee gives him more trouble than the others in the South, in Appalachia, and up and down the Mississippi–including in states where the president remains strong (like North Carolina and Virginia) and states where he has declined since 2008 (like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Missouri). The GOP almost certainly needs to return to Southern dominance and dip into either the West or Midwest–or both–to win the White House next year, and it remains to be seen whether another candidate can establish the rapport with these voters that Huckabee has.
Romney is not a much weaker alternative in these states, and he does put Obama more on the defensive in the Northeast and Southwest, particularly Nevada and New Hampshire, than does Huckabee. But Huckabee would certainly be leaving both a good shot at the nomination and a decent shot at Obama on the table by keeping his hat out of the ring.
Mike Huckabee is a stronger candidate than Mitt Romney and will provide an alternative to Mitch Daniels, should he falter. Moreover, should Huck not run, Sarah Palin may decide to go. Her polling against President Obama has been appalling.
All in all having the affable, Baptist minister in the race is better for the GOP, than Donald Trump, Newt Ginrich or Tim Pawlenty.
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President 2012: Jeb Bush is Still a NO
Nothing like a busted Amtrak train to bring me face-to-face with the one man Republicans would love — and I mean LOVE — to get into the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination. Former governor Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and his wife Columba were just a few rows behind me. So, of course, I couldn’t resist asking him a question he has heard myriad times. “Is there any possible way your party could convince you to run for president,” I asked? “I don’t think so,” he said. “A lot of people are asking me that, and it’s flattering. But the Magic Eight Ball says, ‘Outlook not so good.’ ”
This comes mere hours before former House speaker Newt Gingrich alerts the world via Twitter, Facebook and Fox News that he will seek the 2012 Republican nomination for president. According to Gallup, he will enter the race with high name recognition and low positive intensity. I’d love to say there’s nowhere to go but up for him, but that wouldn’t be true.
My bet is that Mitch Daniels and/or Chris Christie will jump in very soon.
After Mitt Romney’s disastrous blow up on RpomneyCare today, he is out and Mike Huckabee is still not showing any effort.
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Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Polling, President 2012, Sarah Palin
President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama Gets a Bounce – Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42%
According to the latest PPP Poll.
The killing of Osama bin Laden has given Barack Obama a bounce in his approval ratings. But it doesn’t appear to have boosted his chances for reelection.
PPP this month finds Obama with a 49% approval rating to 43% of voters who disapprove. That’s a seven point improvement on the margin since last month’s national survey when slightly more voters (48%) gave him poor marks for his work than good ones (47%). Obama’s greatest improvement has come with Republicans (from 8% approval to 14%). He’s up with independents (from 44% to 49%) and with Democrats (from 81% to 83%) by smaller amounts.
More voters may like Obama for the moment, but there aren’t more planning to support him next year. Last month Obama led the Huckabee/Romney/Palin/Gingrich quartet by an average of 10.75 points. This month Obama leads those same four candidate by an average of…10.75 points. There’s been no improvement in his reelect numbers whatsoever since the bin Laden death and if there hasn’t been in the week after the killing it doesn’t seem likely there will be 18 months after the killing either. What Obama’s approval bounce appears to be is an increase in the percentage of people who say they like him, but still won’t vote for him. They appreciate him taking out bin Laden but that’s not going to outweigh everything he’s done that they don’t like over the course of the last 27 months.
Approval Vs. Disapproval:
- Mike Huckabee – 33% Vs. 41%
- Sarah Palin – 33% Vs. 60%
- Newt Gingrich – 29% Vs. 53%
- Mitt Romney – 32% Vs. 41%
- Donald Trump – 24% Vs. 65%
- Mitch Daniels – 14% Vs. 33% Vs. 53% (not sure)
Again, voters are not amored with the Republican Presidetial candidates and the one new face, Mitch Daniels is not really known.
We also tested Mitch Daniels on this poll and he trails 48-34 but what might be most interesting is his favorability numbers with Republicans. Only 23% express a favorable opinion of him to 25% with an unfavorable one. I think a fair amount of that ‘unfavorable’ rating can be explained by voters who rate just about any politician they’ve never heard of negatively- which I think is about 10% of the population- but those are not impressive numbers by any stretch of the imagination. Beltway journalists are clearly a lot more enamored with Daniels than actual GOP voters are.
General Election Head to Head:
- Obama – 49% Vs. Huckabee – 42%
- Obama – 54% Vs. Palin – 37%
- Obama – 52% Vs. Gingrich – 38%
- Obama – 47% Vs. Romney – 42%
Again, this is a national poll and the election contest is in key battleground sates. But, it is surprising that Obama did not receive more of a bounce with the killing of Osama Bin Laden. This event will fade with time.
What the GOP nominess should hope is that their favorability improves.
The entire poll is here.
PPP surveyed 814 American voters from May 5th to 8th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political
organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times
found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
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Donald Trump, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Polling, President 2012, Sarah Palin
President 2012 Virginia Poll Watch: Obama 52% Vs. Huckabee 43%
According to the latest PPP Poll.
Job Approval Vs. Disapproval:
- President Barack Obama – 51% vs. 44%
Democrats are united for the President.
The biggest key for him is that he has the Democratic base completely behind him- 94% approve to only 4% who disapprove. Virginia still has a lot of white conservative Democrats, particularly in certain parts of the state, so for Obama to have almost unanimous approval within his party is very impressive. He even has more Republicans (albeit a paltry 7%) who approve of him than there are Democrats (4%) who disapprove. That’s not something we’re seeing in our polling very often right now. Independents narrowly give him good marks, 48/46, as well.
Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:
- Mike Huckabee – 37% Vs. 42%
- Mitt Romney – 35% Vs. 43%
- Newt Gingrich – 26% Vs. 54%
- Sarah Palin – 31% Vs. 62%
- Donald Trump – 22% vs. 69%
General Election Head to Head:
- Obama – 52% Vs Huckabee – 43%
- Obama – 51% Vs. Romney – 40%
- Obama – 54% Vs. Gingrich – 37%
- Obama – 55% Vs. Palin – 40%
- Obama – 54% Vs. Trump – 32%
Virginia is a key battleground sate that the GOP needs to flip in 2012. Compare the results of the most recent Washington Post poll of Virginia.
Similar, no?
In Virginia, the GOP Presidential candidate field is not very popular and well received. If the Republicans want to take back Virginia’s Electoral College votes, they will need to run candidates other than the current field. Calling on Mitch Daniels and/or Chris Christie.
Even if Obama was unpopular in Virginia he’d still be in a decent position to win the state again because the GOP contenders are so weak there. Take those unpopular Republicans and combine them with a decently popular Obama and you have a very difficult battle for the GOP to get Virginia back. And it’s hard to imagine the party winning back the White House without Virginia- because of that fact and because of Obama’s relative strength there, this is looking to me like the most important state in the Presidential race next year.
Exactly and why Mitch Daniels or Chris Christie will jump into the race.
The entire poll is here.
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President 2012: Mitch Daniels Thinks He Can Beat President Obama
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels delivers speech at Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2011
OK, here we go.Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he thinks he could beat President Barack Obama in 2012. He just hasn’t decided whether he’ll try.
The Republican governor said Tuesday his chances of beating Obama would be “quite good,” but that’s not factoring into his deliberations on a White House run. He spoke to reporters after giving public service awards to state employees.
Daniels’ comments came a week after he said he wasn’t ready to debate Obama on foreign policy. They also appeared to break with a public image he’s crafted of a reluctant and self-deprecating politician.
He quickly returned to form, saying any Daniels campaign might “break down” because of him but not because of a lack of high-quality support.
Notice he did not say a generic Republican can beat Obama.
Mitch is going to run and he will announce at an opportune time or just run like Rudy Giuliani did in 2008 without a formal announcement.