Texas 3rd In Donations For 2008 Presidential Race

Even without a home-grown candidate in the race, Texas is proving to be a contribution-rich place for donations to those in the race for the 2008 presidential nomination for both parties. So far, Texas is the third largest contributor.

In the recent past, Texas donations have leaned heavily in favor of Republican candidates, but that is not true this year. Republicans have raised about $4.1 million, but Democrats have nearly equaled that by raising $3.9 million.

This is how the top five states break down according to the Center for Responsive Politics:

California.............$19,794,009

New York.............$18,205,240

Texas....................$8,076,240

Florida.................$6,625,101

Illinois.................$5,860,058

There are four Democratic candidates that are doing much better than the rest of the field here in Texas according to the CRP. This is how Texas donations look for Democratic candidates:

John Edwards..........$1,495,075

Hilary Clinton..........$1,233,254

Barack Obama..........$695,289

Bill Richardson........$396,946

Christopher Dodd....$53,525

Joseph Biden............$35,647

Dennis Kucinich.......$2,480

Mike Gravel..............$135

As you may know, I am a Bill Richardson supporter. While I am gratified that he is in the top four and getting some good money from Texas, the West Texas numbers look especially good for Richardson. In the areas of Texas that know him best, Richardson is leading all candidates in donations.

This makes me think that Bill Richardson has a really good chance of making up a lot of ground when the debates start, and he is able to get his message out to a wider audience. Here are the combined totals from the West Texas cities of Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Fort Worth/Arlington, Lubbock and Midland/Odessa:

Bill Richardson........$127,996

John Edwards..........$50,880

Hilary Clinton..........$18,775

Barack Obama..........$10,514

Dennis Kucinich......$205