The Note's Sneak Peek:
July 30, 2007— -- Fred Thompson has been able to avoid putting his fundraising and spending numbers under the media's giant microscope by going the testing-the-waters route rather than by filing with the FEC.
But tomorrow, the campaign will release an IRS report detailing its contributions and expenditures through June 30, the first official glimpse at hard evidence that may back up, or knock down, some of the hype built around the former senator and actor this summer.
Thompson has been on the fundraising circuit since June 4th, with the launch of the "Friends of Fred Thompson" committee, and ABC News' Christine Byun reports that he is nearing a dozen total fundraising events since then.
Thompson is expected to report raising $3 million dollars in the month of June for his potential presidential bid, per Politico's Mike Allen. LINK
Monday night, Thompson is expected to pop in for a quick hello at a closed press fundraiser in downtown Washington, DC. On the host committee list – notables like Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Bob Corker R-Tenn., and former Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist R-Tenn. Approximately 300-350 people are expected to attend at $1000 a head, ABC News' Byun reports.
As for his plans on Tuesday, Thompson attends a fundraiser in Newport Beach, CA at 8:30 pm ET.
Rudy Giuliani delivers a 10:00 am ET health care address at a town hall in Rochester, New Hampshire followed by a press conference in Norwalk, CT at 3:15 pm ET.
The speech will lay out a broad set of principles that Giuliani will continue to address and expand upon through the primary season, campaign staffers said on a preview press call Monday, but reporters expecting a massive briefing book of specifics will be disappointed.
Giuliani favors individual health insurance and opposes employer and individual mandates. He also wants a $15,000 tax deduction.
ABC News' Jake Tapper reports that Giuliani staffers said the remarks tomorrow are more about a guiding set of principles, including empowering individuals and not government bureaucrats, respecting states as places where innovation occurs, limiting the role of the federal government to helping the market work more effectively, and creating a mandate-free health care delivery system that builds on what currently exists.LINK