Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
E-mail: mailbox@governing.comTwitter: @governing
If being an elected official doesn't work out for him, perhaps Rod Blagojevich has a career ahead of him as a professional fundraiser. From the Chicago Tribune :
Gov. Rod Blagojevich raised "just under" $2 million during the past six months, which would leave him with between $3.5 million and $4 million in the bank, according to campaign spokesman Doug Scofield.
That's far less than the embattled Blagojevich raised during a comparable reporting period---the first six months of 2004, two years before the next round of statewide elections. Back then, Blagojevich raised $4.9 million and spent only $877,000, which left him with more than $10.2 million in the bank heading up to his successful for a second term in 2006.
But Scofield said the governor is pleased with his fundraising results. He said over the last 12 months he's raised about $4 million, which is "right in the ballpark" for previous 12 month periods. Still, Scofield acknowledged that the governor has not spent time fundraising because he's been dealing with budget battles with the legislature and his plan last year to rearrange the state's tax structure.
Even though Blagojevich isn't keeping up his past fundraising pace, those numbers are still pretty impressive, since the governor's approval rating is in the teens. Consider that my backhanded compliment of the day.
Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
E-mail: mailbox@governing.com 
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