FEC Report: Jay's #1 in Least Amount Spent Second Quarter

Campaign finance reports recently filed with the Federal Election Commission by presidential candidates indicate that the Jay Leno for President campaign is still Number One in the least amount of campaign spending. The FEC report listed campaign spending for 15 major Democratic and Republican candidates during the period April-June.

Campaign Spending-2nd Quarter
(in ascending order)
Jay Leno for President Campaign: $0
Tommy Thompson: $502,330
Ron Paul: $530,592
Mike Huckabee: $702,622
Dennis Kucinich: $707,508
Duncan Hunter: $871,142
Sam Brownback: $1,800,000
Joe Biden: $2,500,000
Chris Dodd: $4,400,000
Bill Richardson: $5,000,000
John Edwards: $6,400,000
Rudy Giuliani: $11,000,000
Hillary Clinton: $12,200,000
John McCain: $13,000,000
Barack Obama: $16,000,000
Mitt Romney: $20,500,000

All told, Jay's presidential challengers spent over $96 Million during the 3-month period, with more than 75% of the total spent by the Giuliani, Clinton, McCain, Obama, and Romney campaigns alone. Meanwhile, the Jay Leno for President campaign spent nothing.

"It's hard to see where any of that money being spent by the major candidates is doing them any good," said one long-time political observer. "Nearly $100 Million spent and probably not one single voter mind has been changed. Even guys like Thompson and Paul, whose spending levels are closer to Jay's, still wasted a half-million bucks each and people still don't know who they are."

Meanwhile, Jay Leno's popularity is greater than ever as more and more Americans are getting behind the grassroots effort to draft Jay as a presidential candidate.

In fact, the dollars being spent by other candidates may actually be helping the Jay Leno for President campaign, according to campaign chairman Howard Lester. "Every time Hillary, Mitt, or Barack spend another million with absolutely no results, while Jay Leno gets more popular without spending a dime or even acknowledging the existence of this campaign, the impact on voters is pretty easy to see. They know its not about the money, it's about the character, honesty, integrity, and sense of humor the the candidate. In that arena, Jay's still on top and no amount of money spent by the other candidates is going to change that."

Staying true to its original commitment to raise consciousness, not money, the Jay Leno for President campaign continues to turn away offers of six and seven-figure campaign donations. "No amount of money raised or spent is going to change the mind of most American voters," Lester said. "But raise the consciousness about things in this country that are really important to people, then you've got something. Jay's been doing that for years on The Tonight Show. As president, he'd just be doing it to a larger audience."

Though Jay Leno has not yet declared his candidacy, grassroots supporters are anticipating an announcement some time in the next few weeks.