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  [TN Gov] Bredesen bankroll deters challenge
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Nov 26, 2005 11:02am
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News DateSaturday, November 26, 2005 05:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionPossible GOP hopefuls can't match governor's fundraising clout

By TRENT SEIBERT
Staff Writer
Saturday, 11/26/05

Can you do a pretty good stump speech? Got a command of the issues? Maybe you have a smidgen of charisma and don't mind kissing a baby or two? The ability to raise millions of dollars quickly is a plus.

Well, then, head over to the state Republican headquarters. It's less than a year until Election Day, and the GOP still doesn't have a candidate to run against incumbent Gov. Phil Bredesen.

It's not tough to figure out why. Bredesen is a master at raising money, pulling in $1.7 million in 2004 alone. Just this month he raised $500,000 over a two-week period, attending fundraisers in Chattanooga, Brownsville and Nashville. And the Bredesen machine is already sending out campaign literature, with a 100,000-piece mailing landing in mailboxes last week.

Although campaign finance figures will not be public until January, Bredesen's war chest probably is in excess of $3 million and will triple or quadruple by next November.

Even though it appears Bredesen's popularity is slipping, a recent poll showed support at 52%, tumbling from a high of 72% in the spring of 2004. That has happened against the backdrop of his controversial cutting of thousands from the rolls of the state's TennCare medical insurance program.
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