Rod Roberts reports respectable fundraising numbers (updated)

State Representative Rod Roberts has about $102,000 on hand for his gubernatorial campaign, Tom Beaumont reported at the Des Moines Register today, citing the campaign’s Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board filing. (His post contains a pdf link to the summary page.)

Roberts raised just over $100,000 last year and loaned his campaign $13,000 while spending only about $22,000. More than half of all the money he raised came from his kick-off fundraiser in Carroll, the town Roberts has represented in the Iowa House for the last decade.

I have been expecting Roberts to drop out of the governor’s race so that he can run for re-election in Iowa House district 51, but his low burn rate indicates that he has enough money to go all the way to the June primary. He won’t be able to match the front-runners’ spending; Terry Branstad has 13 times Roberts’ cash on hand. But he can position himself as a unifying figure in the GOP, which may bear fruit if Branstad and Vander Plaats stumble or drive each other’s negatives way up.

Carroll-based journalist Douglas Burns makes the case here for Roberts as a successful dark horse candidate. I don’t see it, but stranger things have happened.

UPDATE: Roberts is going up with statewide radio ads this week. You can listen to them at his campaign website.

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  • What about Bob?

    I agree with you. I just don’t see room for a dark horse in this race. However, I think Roberts is making himself a very attractive running mate.

    What about Bob in all this? What does it say that he hasn’t released his numbers yet? I would guess that means they’re either really good or really bad–and the longer he holds out, the more it makes me think they must be pretty bad.

    • I have been wondering that too

      but if they were really bad, maybe he would have released them over the holiday weekend. Maybe they’re good and he wants to step on Branstad’s big road trip launch today?

      BVP raised about $1 million during his last campaign before teaming up with Nussle, I think.  

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