Montgomery fundraising trails Blackwell and Petro almost 2 to 1 in 2005

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that State Auditor and anti-concealed-carry gubernatorial primary candidate Betty Montgomery was out-paced on fundraising nearly 2 to 1 by her Republican counterparts Ken Blackwell and Jim Petro in the first half of 2005.

According to reports filed Friday, Montgomery collected just $670,000, compared to Blackwell's $1.2 million, and Petro's $1.1 million. Blackwell's fundraising this year has outpaced all five major-party candidates for governor, while the news story reports that Montgomery is the only major-party candidate who did not raise $1 million or more since January.

From the story:

Polls show Blackwell leading his two opponents in the Republican primary. His front-runner status has allowed him to collect money from national Republican donors along with those in Ohio.

Republican Attorney General Jim Petro, who trails in early polling, raised $1.1 million this reporting period, placing him ahead of Montgomery but slightly behind Blackwell.

Still, Petro's $3.08 million balance is the largest of any candidate for governor and includes nine $10,000 donations.

In the Democratic contest, the Plain Dealer reports that anti-gun Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman raised $1.01 million since announcing his candidacy in February, and that U.S. Representative Ted Strickland, a pro-gun Democrat, collected $1.074 million even though he has been in the race for only about three months.