The State: Barrett campaign pulls in $500k+ in 3 months
By JOHN O’CONNOR
joconnor@thestate.com
U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett has raised more than a half-million dollars in the past three months for his 2010 gubernatorial efforts, according to his campaign.
Barrett, a Republican, has raised more than $800,000 since officially entering the six-person field in early March. The deadline to file second quarter campaign reports is Friday.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish from a finance standpoint in this unprecedented economic downturn,” Barrett finance chairman Barry Wynn said in a written statement. “A lot of the so called experts said we’d never exceed our first quarter tally, but when we’re finished counting, I’m confident we’ll demonstrate that we’ve kept the momentum from the 1st quarter going.
Staff said they could not yet determine how much cash the campaign had on hand because of issues with transferring money from Barrett’s federal account. Both Barrett and potential gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Henry McMaster reported more than $1 million on hand after the first three months of 2009.
Other candidates in the field include Berkeley state Sen. Larry Grooms, Lexington Rep. Nikki Haley and Furman University political scientist Brent Nelsen. Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer is also weighing a run.
