At this time in 2009, Charlie Crist was trouncing Marco Rubio in the polls and on the fundraising circuit. Over the months that followed, Rubio built up momentum and ultimately ran Crist out of the Republican primary. He won with what began as a bare-bones campaign while positioning himself as the most conservative candidate in the race.
When he announced his intention to run for the Senate seat now occupied by Bill Nelson, former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner said he would try to follow a similar path to victory, in a race where the candidates are jockeying over who can draw the most comparisons to Florida’s newest senator.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos has raised millions so far this year despite having to focus his energy on the legislative session, while former Sen. George LeMieux has assembled a big-name finance team and enlisted the fundraising help of a gang of sitting senators. Hasner’s campaign has done neither and sees that as a selling point.
From a statement sent out by his shop today:
To date, more than 98% of the money Hasner raised is dedicated toward the primary. More than 90% of Hasner’s contributors have the ability to donate repeatedly in future quarters. And the overwhelming majority – more than 85% – donated less than $1,000.
“Obviously, we’re not going to out-raise our opponents right out of the gate,” said advisor Rick Wilson. “One of them is running the Charlie Crist special-interest, establishment campaign plan. And the other one wrote it. Our approach is fundamentally different: we’re going to win this race, not by making deals with Tallahassee insiders or compromising our principles with the Washington establishment, but holding firm on principle and keeping the faith with conservative grassroots donors. We’re also building a campaign that can go toe-to-toe with Bill Nelson next fall.”
The campaign is still finalizing the quarterly report due on July 15th, but will show over $560,000 raised with a low burn rate and approximately $470,000 cash on hand.
