Governors Leading the Republican Party

Republican Governors are making news in Washington and the nation for their impressive fundraising in 2007. Yesterday, RGA released our record breaking 2007 fundraising numbers. We reported raising $21.59 million for the year, an increase of $5.61 million from the $15.98 million RGA raised in 2003 and more than $13 million more than the $8.59 million we raised in 1999.

More important than the money RGA raised was the cash we retained going into 2008. Heading into the new year RGA reports $9.23 million on hand, an increase of $8.26 million from four years ago, and twice as much as any other year.

The Politico wrote a feature story on how Governors can lead the Republican Party to success. Cox News picked up RGA’s fundraising success and wrote that unlike other committees RGA is outraising its Democratic counterpart by $9 million. A Mississippi paper also noted Governor Barbour’s role in the “GOP governors’ money machine.”

RGA added to the bottom line this week with our National Call Day. It was the most successful call day RGA has ever had and shows that donors are recognizing how important our Governors are to the future of our Party. Here are the two stories making the rounds in

Washington:Politico: “GOP governors take party reins”Cox News: “GOP governors raise record funds”

MyRGA

This month the Republican Governors Association launched a new online membership tool for our donors called MyRGA. We've added MyRGA so members could have up-to-date, real-time information on their membership and the latest events at RGA. MyRGA is a one stop shop to view event schedules, RSVP to forums, read the latest campaign news, and more.If you're a member of RGA, and haven’t registered your account go to www.rga.org and to register. If you're not a member and what to join contact our finance team for membership details. They can be reached at (202) 662-4920.

To help RGA members take full advantage of their membership opportunities RGA has already put out its 2008 schedule of events. The only way to ensure you get everything possible out of your membership is to renew it at the beginning of the year. This year's Annual Gala is scheduled for Monday, February 25th. Please mark your calendars now and save the date for RGA's most important fundraiser of the year.

Campaign Update

As we close in on Election Day RGA will keep you up to date on the campaigns.

Governor Daniels is looking good in Indiana. The Governor has $6.7 in his war chest; 3 times more than his opponents. He continues to produce positive economic results in his state like a company that will employee over 1,000 Indianans and is traveling to tout his popular tax relief plan. In North Dakota, Governor Hoeven has $1.2 million cash on hand. His opponent reports $33,000.

In Missouri, Congressman Kenny Hulshof entered the race. Lt. Gov. Kinder outlined his campaign themes in a video on his website, and Treasurer Sarah Steelman brought her campaign to the Kansas City area.