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Ben Quayle, a candidate for Congress in Arizona’s Third District, isn’t even the Republican Party’s nominee yet, but that isn’t stopping the probable Democratic nominee, Jon Hulburd, from bashing him for how — more specifically, where — he raises money.
Hulburd’s gripe: a lot of Quayle’s money has come from out-of-state donors.
Hulburd says, after looking over Quayle’s campaign finance reports, it seems that two-thirds of candidate Quayle’s $1.1 million war chest came from donors who don’t live in Arizona, and suggests Quayle’s famous last name is what’s rakin’ in the cash.
“Arizonans are tired of politicians pandering to out-of-state special interests and are ready to support someone who is going to focus on representing our community,” Hulburd said in a statement. “My fundraising numbers show that my candidacy reflects those values.”
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Arizonans don’t seem all that tired of it — Quayle’s parlayed that “pandering to out-of-state special interests” into leading the polls in a primary race that has 10 seasoned candidates.
In defense of his out-of-state fundraising, Quayle says the following:
“Conservatives in Arizona and across America have joined my campaign precisely to keep the likes of Jon Hulburd safely in private life, where he cannot insult and injure the taxpayers by rubber-stamping the Obama-Pelosi-Reid agenda,” Quayle says. “Arizona needs him in Washington like it needs yet another round of massive federal tax hikes.”
On election day, it doesn’t matter if Quayle raised his money on the moon, or panhandling in downtown Phoenix, he still has to convince Arizonans that they should vote for him, which he seems to be doing.
According to the latest poll, Quayle is leading the crowded pack with about 18 percent of the vote.
Former state Senator Jim Waring and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker — both of whom declared themselves candidates for other offices before learning there was an open Congressional seat — are in a statistical tie for the number-two spot, each with about 13 percent.
