Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Edwards’ Southern Roots Paying Off updated & bumped

… at least it looks that way according to one AP story today.

John Edwards has launched
his first TV ads. The aim is straight at Bush’s veto. But that’s not the
only news. Edwards is in third place according to all polling. But in the money
race down south there is now some evidence that he’s actually running first.

But in money raised in the South, Edwards was the leader. From Louisiana to the Carolinas, Edwards easily beat his Democratic rivals and — perhaps more importantly — raised more money than the top three Republican candidates combined. The two New Yorkers considered front-runners in the 2008 race — Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani — fared particularly poorly in the region. Some Southern states bucked the trend, mostly as a result of steady donations from Palm Beach and Miami in Florida and Virginia’s Washington suburbs. Counting only Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, Edwards raised $2,723,000. That’s more than six times Clinton’s take of $440,471 and nearly four times the $705,650 raised by Obama, according to numbers compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine.org, an online repository of campaign finance data. Among Republicans, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney led the way with $1,127,484, compared with $603,723 for Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and $384,500 for Giuliani. “For Edwards, he’s a Southern guy and there’s a comfort level there,” said John Anzalone, an Alabama-based Democratic pollster. For Clinton and Giuliani, “it’s kind of like the Pace Picante Sauce commercial: They’re from New York City.” … .. Edwards dominates money race in South

Fundraising in the south is an important realty for all our candidates, especially
if you believe like I do that the 50 state strategy is a winner. But only the
person who makes it out of the primaries can utilize it. The object for Edwards
is to keep pushing so he can try to break through in the early primaries and
win or split the votes. He’s not there yet, but there’s a long way still to go in the season. How he breaks out is another question, but Edwards is a fighter and I’m sure we haven’t seen the best from him yet.

But one point that should be noted. While Rudy is definitely a New Yorker, I think saying Clinton is in the same New York pod as the cross-dressing mayor is not only wrong but not supported by the facts. Clinton is a midwesterner. She was born in Illinois and spent most of her life in Arkansas and has the views to match. It’s likely the image issue Clinton might be fighting down south, which has little to do with her newly adopted New York base.

UPDATE… As for Obama’s place in all this, he’s got other troubles to sort through right now that have finally filtered up to the top. Got MySpace?

UPDATE II: Don’t miss Benny’s “Hot Topic” today on Democratic branding. It’s a must read.

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