ND House Candidate Bette Grande Announces $26,000 In Fundraising In 2011

From a press release just sent out by state Rep. Bette Grande’s campaign (Grande is one of the NDGOP’s US House candidates):

FARGO, ND – Movement Conservative Bette Grande has raised over $26,000 dollars at the years end. Her support and donations have come from all over the state.

Bette received donations from all regions across the state with a total of 114 unique contributions giving her more individual donors in North Dakota than her opponents.

“When you are not part of the establishment or political ruling class, you raise funds from your friends, family, and neighbors,” said Bette Grande, “I am humbled and honored with the number of people who have given to my campaign so far. I am not in this race looking for my next public service job, I am on a mission to change Washington.”

I like Rep. Grande as a candidate. I think she’s one of, if not the, most conservative candidate in the race. She has done fantastic work in the legislature, including work to reform the state’s pensions (an issue on which there’s been far too little leadership from Republicans in general).

But this is a really, really small fundraising total. Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer announced $215,000 in fundraising earlier this month (of which he’s only spent about $18,000), and Shane Goettle (former director of the state’s Commerce Department) announced $124,000 in fundraising. Both Cramer and Goettle have filed their totals with the FEC. Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk claims to have raised $150,000 so far, but hasn’t yet field his report.

Granted, donations aren’t votes. You don’t have to raise the most money to win. But fundraising is a measure of a candidate’s ability to do the sort of retail politicking it takes to win elections, and by that measure Rep. Grande is way, way behind.