Giuliani Reports Nearly $11 Million Cash On Hand

Friday, April 13th 2007, 2:46 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Rudy Giuliani spent nearly $5.7 million on his presidential campaign during the first three months of the year, a display of frugality that left him with a healthy amount of cash on hand.

The campaign reported nearly $11 million in the bank and contributions of $13.6 million for the primary election. The campaign also raised $1.1 million for the general election, which Giuliani cannot use unless he wins the Republican nomination.

The amount in hand is significant because it puts Giuliani on par with Mitt Romney, one of his top rivals.

Romney aides last week reported raising nearly $21 million and having more than $11 million cash on hand for the primary at the end of March.

Sen. John McCain, once perceived as a front-runner but who now trails Giuliani in public opinion polls, has reported raising $12.5 million during the first three months. McCain is expected to show a high spending rate.

The former New York city mayor was the first presidential candidate to file an official first quarter finance report. The deadline for filing the documents is midnight Sunday.

Giuliani aides said he only had 28,000 individual contributors during the first three months of the year despite leading the GOP presidential field in polls. Aides said the campaign received contributions from donors in all 50 states.

The number of donors is significant because it offers a glimpse of the breadth of a candidate's support. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, for example, has reported more than 100,000 donors. Romney aides have said the former Massachusetts governor had 33,000 donors for his $21 million raised.

``Our biggest challenge is catching our organization up to the popularity of Rudy,'' said Roy Bailey, the Giuliani campaign's national finance chairman.

Besides spending less than $5.7 million to build an organization in the expensive New York market, Giuliani also reported less than $89,000 in debts. Aides said the report illustrated Giuliani's tightfisted management. Giuliani has been touting his credentials as a fiscal conservative.

``That indicates the efficient nature of the campaign,'' said Patrick Oxford, the campaign's national chairman. ``Rudy is all over us on this just like he was when he was mayor.''

His contributions, from individuals and political committees, totaled $14.77 million. Of that $13.6 million is for the primary. He also transferred $1.85 million to his campaign from last year's presidential exploratory committee.