Update: Baker leads all Dems

Running thread on Tuesday’s filings of campaign finance reports by candidates for the top statewide offices:

Update 7 a.m. Wednesday:: Attorney General Thurbert Baker leads all Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls with more than $700,000 raised in the first half of 2009 and nearly $600,000 cash on hand.

Baker was the final candidate for governor to file the key campaign finance reports, his filing hitting the State Ethics Commission Web site with 20 minutes to spare before the midnight Tuesday deadline.

Here’s a look at money raised by candidates for the top posts:

GOVERNOR

• Thurbert Baker (D): $704,331.00
• DuBose Porter (D): $231,250
• David Poythress (D): $150,000
• John Oxendine (R): $420,000
• Nathan Deal (R): $980,000
• Karen Handel (R): $430,000
• Eric Johnson (R): $962,773.40
• Austin Scott (R): $180,620.00
• Ray McBerry (R): $18,596.44

Update 6:00 p.m.: State House Minority Leader DuBose Porter (D-Dublin) has pulled in more than $230,000 in his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010.

Porter said Tuesday he has raised — to be exact — $231,250 and has $225,068 in cash on hand.

“For the time frame we had, we’re excited. We feel we’re just where we want to be,” Porter told my AJC colleague Jim Galloway.
Check back for more as reports are filed …

Update 5:27 p.m.: Former Adjutant Gen. David Poythress is the first Democratic candidate for governor to release his updated campaign finance details.

Poythress’ campaign says the former state labor commissioner and former secretary of state has raised more than $460,000 and that he has received contributions from each of the state’s 159 counties.

But, and this is an important but, that figure is for the length of Poythress’ campaign, not just the current reporting period. From Jan. 1 through June 30, however, Poythress’ campaign acknowledges that it raised about $155,000.

Poythress also points out that he raised more than $75,000 after former Gov. Roy Barnes announced in June that he would seek another shot at the Governor’s Mansion.

“The energy in our campaign continues to build as more and more Georgians see General Poythress as the strongest candidate to take on the Republicans next year and move our state forward,” Poythress campaign manager Wendy Davis said in a release.

Update: Nathan Deal is now the leader among the candidates for governor, having raised $980,000 for his bid for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nomination.

According to an e-mail Deal sent to supporters, a copy of which was acquired by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Deal, a veteran member of the U.S. House, transferred only $6,100 from his congressional account.

“Whether we like it or not, financial strength is often the measure of a campaign’s success,” Deal said in the e-mail. “With your help, we have made a statement that we have a strong and viable candidacy.”

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, meanwhile, considered a front-runner for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, raised $420,000, according to an e-mail from his campaign. While that figure puts him below the other top-tier candidates, he has more than $1 million left in cash on hand, which would lead the field. Oxendine, however, has been raising money for a longer period of time than the others.

“We are taking our positive message of strong, conservative values across this state and pledging to transform state government,” Oxendine said in the e-mail. “We need a governor who can get to work on Day 1.”

Update: 4:20 p.m. Secretary of State Karen Handel raised more than $430,000 for her bid for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Handel has $325,000 left on hand, her spokesman Dan McLagan said.

Handel told supporters in an e-mail, via Facebook and Twitter that “while we’re off to a great start, there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Over the next several months, you’re going to see my campaign in every corner of the state.”

Handel said she received contributions from more than 900 individuals in 77 counties.

Update 3 p.m.: State Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) has long said his goal at this point in the campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination was to stay “under the radar and out of the crossfire.” Apparently, he’s been doing that while also raising a ton of cash.

Johnson has raised more than $960,000 for his campaign, a huge number considering that he was originally running for lieutenant governor and that he only began his campaign two months ago.

“I’m happy to be in fourth place in name identification,” Johnson said Tuesday at the Capitol. “But this is real. These are votes with hard-earned dollars.”

Johnson was going to run for lieutenant governor before incumbent Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle dropped out of the governor’s race to seek re-election due to a medical condition. Johnson had to refund the more than $400,000 he had raised for his guv lite campaign, but was able to get more than $366,000 back from those donors.

Johnson has more than $913,000 cash on hand after this filing period.

“In only two months, we were able to exceed all expectations and our own internal fund raising goals, thanks to the generosity of so many Georgians and the hard work of our finance team,” Johnson said.

The tally thus far in money raised this period:

Update 1:15 p.m.: State Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), a GOP hopeful for governor, raised more than $180,000 in the past two months and has more than $85,500 in cash on hand.

Scott, considered a long-shot for the 2010 Republican nomination, had a strong showing at the state Republican Convention in May and is currently on a well-publicized walking tour of the state.

While his haul for this period in the campaign will most likely be dwarfed by the top front-runners for the nomination, Scott’s total has to be considered strong for a candidate with limited name identification in much of the state.

EARLIER:

States rights activist Ray McBerry, a Republican from McDonough, raised more than $18,000 for his campaign in the first six months of 2009.

McBerry is the first of the six GOP hopefuls to file campaign finance reports with the State Ethics Commission. None of the three announced Democrats have filed yet.

The reports show money raised and spent from Jan. 1 through June 30 and must be filed no later than midnight tonight. The reports are a key indicator of campaign organization and momentum more than a year out from the July 2010 primaries.

McBerry, a long shot to win the nomination, has raised more than $18,000 since the start of his campaign and has but $3,400 left in his account after spending more than $15,000.

Check back here through the hours and days ahead as we update this post with more filings as they become available.