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I thought I would take a minute to put Jim Himes' fundraising numbers into perspective.
When you think about the qualities every Congressman should have, one that instantly comes to mind is "Does he understand the value of a dollar, and know what to do with it?"
A look at Jim Himes' campaign finances offers a clear answer to that question. The guy makes every dollar count.
Himes's nine-month fundraising total of $944,000 -- including $325,000 in the third quarter -- is more than any challenger to Chris Shays in an off-election year. (Diane Farrell had raised about $575,000 at this point in her 2006 campaign.) Even more impressive is that Himes' "burn rate" -- the percent of the money he's spending -- is just 15%.
Of the $944,000 Himes has raised, he still has about $800,000 in cash on hand. By comparison, Chris Shays had a burn rate of $37% through September, after spending more than $300,000. (Latest totals for Shays are not in yet.)
Equally important is that a good number of Himes' donations are coming in small amounts -- nearly 1300 donations of less than $250. Those $25-$50 gifts add up, especially when you have a large base of support.
Having seen Jim Himes at his living room table stuffing envelopes with teams of volunteers, I can attest to the fact that he values every donation -- and every volunteer.
Maybe it was the years he spent managing scarce dollars for nonprofits like the Enterprise Foundation. Or maybe it was his years at Goldman Sachs (the one investment firm NOT burned by the mortgage crisis). Wherever the experience has come from, Himes is demonstrating that he'll put your tiniest little donation, or your tax dollars, to good use. As a Congressman, that's a valuable trait to have.
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