Yesterday was the deadline for filing second quarter fundraising reports with the Federal Elections Commission. As I understand it, both Congressman Walberg and Senator Schauer have waivers to combine their second quarter FEC reports with their pre-primary reports, which will be due on July 24. It saves them paperwork, and I completely understand the value of that.

Sharon Renier, however, filed her second quarter report at its regular time. The following covers the period from April 01, 2008 to June 30, 2008:

	Column A This Period	Column B Election Cycle-To-Date
I. RECEIPTS
11. Contributions (other than loans) From:
(a) Individuals/Persons Other than Political Committees
(i) Itemized	4800.00
(ii) Unitemized	997.00
(iii) Total Of Contributions From Individuals	5797.00	7627.00
(b) Political Party Commitees	0.00	0.00
(c) Other Political Committees (such as PACS)	0.00	0.00
(d) The Candidate	0.00	0.00
(e) Total Contributions (11(a)(iii) + (b) + (c))	5797.00	7627.00
12. Transfers From Other Authorized Committees	0.00	0.00
13. Loans
(a) Made Or Guaranteed By The Candidate	0.00	0.00
(b) All Other Loans	0.00	0.00
(c) Total Loans ((a) + (b))	0.00	0.00
14. Offsets to Operating Expenditures (Refunds, Rebates, etc)	0.00	0.00
15. Other Receipts	0.00	0.00
16. Total Receipts (11(e) + 12 + 13(c) + 14 + 15)	5797.00	7627.00
II. DISBURSEMENTS
17. Operating Expenditures	6315.31	17681.18
18. Transfers to Other Authorized Committees	0.00	0.00
19. Loan Repayments:
(a) Of Loans Made or Guaranteed by the Candidate	200.00	200.00
(b) Of All Other Loans	0.00	0.00
(c) Total Loan Repayments ((a) + (b))	200.00	200.00
20. Refunds of Contributions To:
(a) Individuals/Persons Other Than Political Committees	0.00	0.00
(b) Political Party Committees	0.00	0.00
(c) Other Political Committees (such as PACs)	0.00	0.00
(d) Total Contribution Refunds (28(a) + (b) + (c))	0.00	0.00
21. Other Disbursements	0.00	0.00
22. Total Disbursements (17 + 18 + 19(c) + 20(d) + 21)	6515.31	17881.18
III. CASH SUMMARY
23. Cash On Hand At Beginning Of Reporting Period	45.04
24. Total Receipts This Period (line 16)	5797.00	7627.00
25. Subtotal (23 + 24)	5842.04
26. Total Disbursements This Period (line 22)	6515.31	17881.18
27. Cash On Hand At Close Of The Reporting Period (25 - 26)	-673.27

Sharon Renier raised $5,797 last quarter, with $4,800 itemized (larger than $200). For the entire election cycle, she has now raised $7,627. In the last quarter, she spent $6,315.31 (and she also paid back $200 of a loan from herself), and she currently has a cash-on-hand balance of -$673.27. She also still owes another $5,000 on the loan she made to herself in 2006.

I'll say that it's never good when your cash-on-hand is negative, especially if she's planning any sort of primary-day push next month.

Renier's $4,800 in itemized contributions came from four individuals. I'm not going to state their names here, but I did notice one troubling item. There is an individual who contributed $1,000 (and $1,150 to date). When I checked his name on OpenSecrets.org, it seems that he hasn't made many contributions, but his company (of which he is president) last made a contribution in 2001 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Now, that's just one person, but I'd rather not have Republicans trying to play games in our primary. (Of course, I could also be wrong, and he could have had a change of heart. In that case, welcome to the party!)

Renier's disbursements are available here. Each seem fairly reasonable-- web hosting, bank fees, and advertising.

We'll see if Schauer and Walberg can beat Renier's $5,800.

As of July 09, 2008, I have been working with the Schauer for Congress campaign in Lenawee County. My thoughts and writings are my own opinions, and I do not speak for Senator Schauer or anyone else in his organization.

NOTE: Edited, because on the first pass, I forgot this disclaimer.

Labels: 2008 Election, Fundraising, Sharon Renier