Anyone out there planning a run against Mayor Adrian Fenty's re-election bid in the 2010 Democratic primary? You? Well you might want to get moving on that, because Mayor Fenty is rich.
The Washington Times reports that Fenty's war chest for the 2010 primary has already swelled to larger than the total he raised for his entire 2006 primary run. And since individuals and corporations cannot donate more than $2,000 apiece, would-be last-minute entrants won't be able to play catch-up with a few quick calls to their friends on Wall Street.
So far Fenty's only declared opponent is "former Fenty volunteer" Sulaimon Brown, who may be a nice guy, but has raised less than $10,000 so far.
Since the winner of the Democratic primary is usually a shoe-in for the general election in this town, has the time come to simply declare Fenty the winner and save Washington taxpayers the logistical costs of holding an election? So Fenty would like you to believe! But consider these numbers from the Times regarding the $700,000 Fenty raised between February 1 and July 31:
About a third of that total, or about $270,000, came from 242 donations made by corporations, businesses or political action committees, according to campaign finance reports. The number does not include individual donors with interests in those organizations.
The rest of the money came from 671 donations from individual donors.
That's right: Fenty's massive haul over the last six months rests on the backs of a mere 913 donors. Surely someone with a decent base of support could jump in and quickly con a thousand galoots into forking it over? The stock market's back up, after all, so everyone must have piles of money!
Jim Newell writes for Wonkette and IvyGate.
