Johnson, Roemer and Karger Lag in Second Quarter Fundraising

According to their latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, Republican presidential hopefuls Gary Johnson, Buddy Roemer and gay activist Fred Karger are lagging far behind most of their rivals when it comes to fundraising.

Johnson, the libertarian-leaning former two-term governor of New Mexico, raised just $180,237 since declaring his candidacy on the steps of the state house in Concord, New Hampshire, on April 21.  The former governor had $6,007 cash on hand as of June 30, and reported a debt of $227,360.

Johnson’s contributors include at least 27 individuals who gave the maximum amount of $2,500.

Buddy Roemer, the former governor of Louisiana who is expected to officially announce his candidacy shortly, reported raising $95,660 since forming his exploratory committee in early March.  According to his latest FEC report, Roemer had $19,058 cash on hand at the end of the second quarter.

Deeply concerned about the corrupting influence of money in American politics, the 67-year-old Roemer refuses to accept campaign contributions in excess of $100.

Longtime political consultant Fred Karger of Laguna Beach, the first Republican to formally declare his candidacy for the party’s 2012 presidential nomination, raised about $80,000 during the second quarter bringing his total campaign budget to $266,611.  Karger’s fundraising figure includes more than $230,000 of his own money.

Karger, who surprised pundits earlier this year by winning a straw poll at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, recently indicated that his fundraising efforts are about to begin in earnest, including a planned fundraising event later this month at the Beverly Hills home of real estate agent Michael Libow.  Tickets for the event range from $100 to $2,500.

Karger, the first openly gay person to seek a major-party presidential nomination, is also planning to hold fundraising events in San Diego and San Francisco, as well as New York and Chicago.

Long-shot aspirant John Davis, Jr. of Colorado, a self-employed homebuilder and political newcomer who plans to visit every county in the United States — so far hitting about a quarter of them — has reportedly raised $136,792, all but about $9,000 of which has come out of his own pocket.

Jared Blankenship, a little-known farmer from Abilene, Texas, raised $24,785, according to his FEC filing.  Blankenship, 40, plans to compete in the Ames Straw Poll on August 13.