Fundraising Off to Great Start

Fundraising started strong and has stayed strong. I am so very pleased and truly humbled by the sacrifices so many have offered so early and so quickly in this race.

On January 31st, 2008 I had to file the required campaign finance disclosure detailing fundraising activity from our organizational filing in October, 2007 through December 31, 2007.

Financial support has included Republican leaders like Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, State Representative Mike Nofs, State Representative Brian Calley, and Ambassador Peter Secchia. More importantly, however, support has poured in from friends, family, and voters throughout the district. More than 115 households including almost 200 individuals have already contributed to our campaign.

These donations have been big and small, and have often been accompanied by very nice personal notes from people giving support they can afford to offer in these challenging times. Some of the smallest donations have been the most touching and had the biggest impact on me.

I am very encouraged that voters are agreeing that our message ‘jobs must come first’ is right. I know we’ve made the right decision to run and am honored that so many supporters are demonstrating they believe I have the right experience and right priorities to bring change to Lansing and our state.

We are poised to surpass $50,000 in total dollars raised this week. As of the report filed at the end of January we had the following update to provide:

Total raised: $ 41,072.00
Interest: 3.54
Total spent: 689.93
Cash on hand: $ 40,385.61
Loans outstanding (to Jase Bolger): $23,661.96

I believe that public service should be about serving the public and not personal gain. Molly, Nick, Megan, and I know that this campaign and the service will require personal commitment and sacrifice. Our loan to the campaign is one way we’ve started that commitment, and we know more dedication will come.

We’ll also need to buy multiple pairs of shoes for all the door to door walking we’re doing!