Thompson has a way to go in Republican fundraising race

In an indication that his presidential campaign is off to a slow start financially, Republican Fred Thompson raised $8 million in the third quarter of 2007, which included his first month as a declared candidate.

Combined with the money he raised while he considered joining the race, Thompson has gathered $11.5 million for the year, putting him a distant fourth in the GOP money race behind Mitt Romney, Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain.

“It is not a number that is going to make Republican activists say, ‘Wow,’ ” said Claremont McKenna College political scientist John J. Pitney Jr. “It is a defensible number, but not an impressive one.”

Since Thompson formally entered the race a month ago, he has raised $5 million, or about $200,000 a day.

He was the only major Republican candidate to disclose totals for the quarter, which ended Sunday.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois reported a drop in his fundraising, with $20 million for the third quarter – down from $32.5 million in the second quarter. Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has not yet disclosed the amount she raised. Candidates must release their third-quarter reports by Oct. 15.

Fundraising typically slows in the third quarter because many potential donors are on vacation during the summer months.

For the year, Obama has raised nearly $80 million. It is likely he will meet the $100-million benchmark analysts have said is the amount that major candidates need to raise this year.

Obama’s campaign issued a statement saying he had tapped an additional 93,000 donors in the third quarter, pushing his total to 350,000, more than any other candidate in the race.

Democratic rival John Edwards raised $7 million during the July-to-September period, down from $9 million in the second quarter. Overall, he has raised $30 million for the year and has $12 million in the bank.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson announced Sunday that he had raised $5.2 million in the quarter, bringing his total for the year to $18.4 million.

Edwards is the only major Democratic candidate who has announced that he would accept federal matching money. His aides said they expected that to amount to $10 million in federal tax money.

By accepting matching funds, Edwards must abide by spending caps in the primary. That could place him at a disadvantage to Clinton and Obama, who can spend as much as they choose on the primary.

If he becomes the presumptive nominee, Edwards’ decision to live within spending limits could leave him unable to respond to Republican attacks next spring and summer.

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 dan.morain@latimes.com