It didn't take long for the winners of Tuesday's special election to send out the first fundraising notices as they restock reserves for their June 8 runoff.
Tom Graves sent an e-mail to supporters titled "Roll Up Your Sleeves -- Let's Get to Work!" about 6 p.m. Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he led the vote count for Georgia's 9th Congressional District.
More pleas from Mr. Graves and opponent Lee Hawkins are sure to come as the two Republicans reload for the runoff.
"There's no such thing as savoring it," Dr. Hawkins, a dentist from Gainesville, said Wednesday. "Obviously, we've got to raise money. We'll be asking folks to help us again."
Though neither campaign would discuss how much money it has left to spend, both say they plan more advertisements, yard signs and other efforts.
Through the April 21 reporting deadline, Dr. Hawkins had raised $677,671 compared to Mr. Graves' $607,021. At that time, Mr. Graves had $127,806 in reserve, compared to Dr. Hawkins' $328,220. The Hawkins campaign's reserve includes a $145,118 loan from the candidate.
"We are confident that we will have the resources we need to get the message out to voters," said Graves campaign spokeswoman Kate Monaghan. She declined to discuss anything else about the candidate's fundraising.
In an e-mail to supporters, Mr. Graves said his campaign needs "to raise a total of $180,000 to win this marathon." The figure includes $12 for each large yard sign, $2,571 per day for television ads, $1,428 per day for radio ads and $100 a day in travel expenses for Mr. Graves, who won 35 percent of Tuesday's vote and 11 of 15 district counties.
Dr. Hawkins drew strong support at home, drawing nearly twice as many votes in Hall County as any of his competitors.
"It's a shame that it comes down to raising money, but that's part of it," Dr. Hawkins said. He referred specific money questions to campaign staffers, who declined to discuss fundraising goals.
He said both candidates will face competition not only from each other but from other candidates running for statewide offices who will also be contacting potential donors.
Dr. Hawkins said he didn't plan to contribute any more of his own money to the campaign. Mr. Graves, a real estate developer from Ranger, Ga., had not contributed any money to his campaign through the last reporting deadline, according to records.
LOFTMAN RACE SUSPENDEDPickens County neurosurgeon Bert Loftman has suspended his candidacy in the July primary for the Georgia 9th Congressional District after drawing little support in Tuesday's special election. In an e-mail, he threw his support behind Tom Graves, the top vote-getter in the special election who will face Lee Hawkins in a June 8 runoff.
Dr. Hawkins said he was "pounded by mailers" from outside groups, alluding to ads from the Washington, D.C.-based Club for Growth, which said the dentist was not conservative enough for North Georgia.
"That's the problem we've got right now is we've got too much Washington in our lives and now we've got a Washington group coming down and backing a candidate," he said.
Mike Connolly, a spokesman for the Club for Growth, said Wednesday the group didn't have any more television ads planned, but still is formulating its strategy.
"Suffice to say we're going to do everything we can to get Tom Graves elected," Mr. Connolly said.
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