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Bill Richardson enjoys high home-state donations, support
Spencer Green/Associated Press
Gov. Bill Richardson speaks during the American Association for Justice Presidential Forum. He was the only nonlawyer presidential candidate at the lawyer group's event in Chicago Sunday.
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WASHINGTON It's nice to be a popular sitting governor, especially when you're asking your constituents for campaign cash to run for President.
Gov. Bill Richardson is receiving more home-state support than any of the ex-governors running for president.
Richardson has received 3,527 contributions from individual New Mexicans, which has 2 million people.
From January to March, New Mexicans made up 45 percent of the contributors.
From April to June, Richardson broadened his financial base, even signing on some big Hollywood figures, but New Mexicans still contributed $1 out of every $4, according to his latest campaign filing.
Richardson raised just over $7 million in the second quarter on top of the $6.1 million he raised during the first three months of the year.
Richardson reported he had a $7.1 million in cash on hand. His largest expense was for direct mail, $1.6 million, followed by media advertising, $1.3 million.
New Mexicans contributed $1.3 million in the second quarter bringing their total for the campaign to almost $4.2 million, or about $3 out of every $10, according to a state-by-state breakdown by Political Money Line, an independent campaign Web site.
Richardson's campaign continues to be dwarfed by the two Democratic frontrunners. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York reported more than $52 million total for the six months. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois reported $58.5 million.
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards reported $23 million for the six months. But Richardson continues to be ahead of the remaining Democratic candidates, none of whom have raised more $4 million.
Richardson has raised more than twice as much in his home state than Edwards, $1.9 million.
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, withdrew earlier this year citing a lack of campaign cash. Former Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, a Republican, joined him on the sidelines last week for the same reason.
Former Govs. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin are getting more than half their cash from their home states, but have raised very little, just over $1 million for Huckabee and just $690,000 for Thompson.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, has raised $34.7 million but only about $3 million has come from Massachusetts, according to Political Money Line. Romney's two biggest contributing states are California, $5.5 million, and Utah, $3.9 million.
Where Richardson received 3,527 contributions from individual New Mexicans, Romney has received 2,331 contributions from residents of Massachusetts, which has 6.4 million people.
Richardson continues to lag in the Democratic mother-lode state of California, where he's collected $1.4 million compared to $8.4 million for Obama and $3.4 million for Edwards.
Richardson's campaign did report some Hollywood contributors, including directors Steven Spielberg, James Brooks and William Friedkin and actors Paul Newman, Edward James Olmos, Bette Midler, Jason Alexander and Whoopi Goldberg.

