Minnick announces first-quarter numbers

News Release

By Walt Minnick Campaign - April 15, 2008

Says momentum from 55 days on the road is the “real success” of the quarter

April 15, 2008
For immediate release

Walt Minnick today reported his campaign fundraising totals for the first quarter of 2008.

“I’m humbled by the number of people who are supporting this campaign with contributions of time and money,” Minnick said. “Our campaign’s real success over the last three months has been the growing momentum from the thousands of people we met in Idaho’s First Congressional District.”

Minnick reported to the Federal Elections Commission contributions to the campaign totaling $638,690 since mid-November and $228,336 since the beginning of the year. More than 98 percent of Minnick’s contributions in the first three months of 2008 came from individual donors, and less than 2 percent from political action committees.

“Idahoans have been incredibly supportive during this campaign, but we’ve won their support by getting out on the road,” Minnick said.

In January, February and March, Minnick spent 55 days in the communities of the First Congressional District, which stretches from Nevada to Canada. During that time he visited with voters in each of the District’s 19 counties. Moreover, during that time he also met with:

- mayors of Emmett, Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Orofino, McCall, Kellogg and Sandpoint;
- public officials in Gem, Shoshone, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Valley, Ada, Owyhee, Canyon, Bonner and Boundary Counties;
- presidents of North Idaho College and Lewis-Clark State College;
- weekly and daily newspapers, radio stations and television stations around the District;
- council chairs of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Nez Perce Tribe;
- chambers of commerce in St. Maries, Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Orofino, Wallace and Sandpoint;
- groups such as the Concerned Businesses of North Idaho and the Intermountain Forest Products Association;
- local union chapters and labor councils, including the Professional Firefighters of Idaho, the AFL-CIO, the Northwest Carpenters and the Idaho Association of Letter Carriers;
- conservation groups such as the Friends of Scotchman Peaks, the Rock Creek Alliance, Trout Unlimited and the Idaho Conservation League;
- and leaders and officials in each of the active local Democratic Party organizations in the First Congressional District.

“I learned a lot in the last three months,” Minnick said. “When I toured the Galena Mines in Kellogg I got to speak with folks who were dealing with tough economic conditions at home. I delivered meals to Meridian seniors who are struggling to make ends meet. And I met business owners in Orofino who are making a go of it despite the effects of this recession.

“I met tough, resilient people who don’t want a handout,” Minnick said. “Idahoans just want government to do what it is supposed to do - work for them, not against them.

“My campaign has invested in making sure we can reach out to voters, listen to them and talk to them,” Minnick said. “We are spreading the word that this is an important election, and that I am going to win it for Idaho families.”

By the Numbers
Details from the Minnick for Congress 1st Quarter FEC report

$228,336.81 - contributions for the quarter
$638,690.30 - total contributions for the campaign
98.6 percent - percentage of individual contributions this quarter
1.4 percent - percentage of contributions from PACs
440 - number of contributors this quarter

________________

For more information, call:

John M. Foster
Communications Director
208.559.3547 (c)
208.376.7623 (w)