Despite losing campaign staffers in recent weeks, Herman Cain has raised a very respectable amount of money to make his presence felt in his run for the 2012 GOP nomination.
He may not have the most money to spend, but I gotta feeling the businessman from Atlanta will spend it wisely.
CBS NEWS
Businessman and former conservative talk show radio host Herman Cain has raised almost $2.5 million in the first weeks of his presidential bid and says he has no campaign debt.
Spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael says the total includes more than 27,000 nationwide online donations. Carmichael says Cain did put some of his own money in, but described it as "only a fraction" of the total and "modest seed money."
The latest fundraising quarter ended Thursday. The official deadline to file with the Federal Elections Commission is July 15.
Cain, who announced his candidacy in May, draws much of his support from Tea Party groups. He has steadily gained momentum with more mainstream conservatives and this week he finished third in The Des Moines Register's poll of Iowa caucus participants.
Bolstered by support from his loyal radio talk-show audience and tea party backers, Cain has revved up mainstream conservatives, rising recently to third place in a poll of voters in Iowa, the leadoff caucus state.
In his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination, Cain's views on the economy and his fiery delivery have resonated with some in the GOP. His campaign has also been marked by controversy, including his comment that he would not want a Muslim bent on killing Americans in his administration. Just this week, Cain accused comedian Jon Stewart of disliking him because he is an "American black conservative."
Already losing some of his cachet to Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann, Cain, the lone African-American GOP candidate, is trying to win over a party that hasn't had a black nominee. Sidestepping race as an issue in his campaign may have helped him gain momentum in recent weeks, but whether he can turn vigor into votes will depend largely on voters' ability to look past his skin color and perceive him as a serious candidate.
"He appeals to people because he doesn't talk about race," said South Carolina Republican strategist Chip Felkel. "I think that too often, if anyone does go into that discussion, it's then used by other people to criticize them. I don't think that needs to be part of his narrative. He's a business person. He's an American."
Cain has been on a remarkable trajectory since entering the race more than a month ago, when a crowd of 15,000 stormed a downtown Atlanta park to cheer him on at his campaign announcement. He was received well at the Republican Leadership Conference this month in New Orleans and drew nearly 100 in Greenville, S.C., for a discussion of his economic plan.
His narrative — outlined in a patriotic, four-minute video that winds across rolling hills and pastures and ends in a boardroom against the backdrop of the American flag — is that of a no-excuses, no-nonsense fighter who isn't afraid of a challenge. On the stump, he offers simplified stances on complex issues like national defense, the federal income tax and why he thinks America should return to the gold standard. He has been compared to Republican heroes like Ronald Reagan.
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