New Mexico governor raises $2 million for his 2008 presidential campaign

(AP) New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson raised at least $2 million for his presidential campaign, a tally that puts him in good standing in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Almost 1,000 people attended the event Thursday night at a New Mexico resort, Amanda Cooper, Richardson's deputy campaign manager, said Friday. Individual contributors gave $2,300 _ the maximum individual donation allowed under federal law for the primary election _ and became "Friends of Bill." For $1,000, donors were dubbed "Supporters of Bill."

"We had a key group of 50 to 60 people committed to raising $25,000 each," said Cooper, who added that the campaign received some bundled checks with $25 contributions.

A former U.N. ambassador, Energy Department secretary and congressman, Richardson has an impressive resume, but faces tough odds against better-known candidates such as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and John Edwards.

As a second-term governor of a small state, Richardson does not have the national fundraising network of those rivals. He repeatedly has acknowledged his underdog status and said in announcing his intent to explore a presidential bid that he "will not have the money that other candidates will have."

Attendees at Thursday's event included Richardson and his wife, Barbara; Lt. Gov. Diane Denish; Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez; and University of New Mexico regents president and longtime Richardson supporter Jamie Koch.

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ While Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has the backing of Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, rival John Edwards is getting the endorsement of the state's Democratic Party chairman.

Former state legislator C. Richard Cranwell announced his support for the former North Carolina senator two days after officials with close ties to Kaine said the governor will back Obama.

"This indicates that Virginia is in play for the presidential sweepstakes for the first time in a long time," Cranwell said in an Associated Press interview Friday.

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WASHINGTON (AP) _ Republican Newt Gingrich has a message for all the presidential candidates: it's just plain stupid to start running this early.

The former House Speaker who might end up being a candidate derided the early entry into the presidential race by so many candidates.

"I think the current process of spending an entire year running in order to spend an entire year running in order to get sworn in January 2009 is stupid," Gingrich said at a National Press Club event with Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York.

"I wouldn't consider thinking about running for president prior to late September," said Gingrich.

The only reason to start this early, he said, was to line the pockets of the high-paid political consultants.

The man behind the 1994 "Contract with America" that won control of the House for the GOP said a big part of the problem was current finance laws that force candidates to spend so much of their time fundraising.

Gingrich and Schumer appeared together to promote books they had written.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ Arkansas' ethics panel dismissed a complaint Friday against former Gov. Mike Huckabee over the presidential candidate's destruction of computer hard drives from his office.

By a 3-0 vote, the commission voted to dismiss the complaint filed last month against Huckabee. Jim Parsons of Bella Vista, Ark., accused Huckabee of violating the state's Freedom of Information Act by crushing the computer hard drives before he left office last month.

Graham Sloan, director of the commission, said the panel ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in the case.

"We're just not the enforcement agency with regard to the FOI," Sloan said.

Huckabee has defended the destruction of the drives, saying it was done to protect sensitive information such as employees' or constituents' Social Security numbers and credit card information.

Huckabee spent the remaining $13,000 in the governor's emergency fund to destroy the computer equipment before he left office Jan. 9.

Hard drives for 83 computers and four servers were destroyed, or crushed, after some information was downloaded onto backup tapes, the Department of Information Systems said.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ Democratic presidential candidate Tom Vilsack says being a punch line to Jay Leno's jokes is a plus.

"When you are just below the margin of error in polls, anything anybody says about you is important," Vilsack said Thursday on NBC's "Tonight Show."

In the show's opening skit, a security guard would not allow Vilsack on the set because he did not recognize him. Leno came to Vilsack's rescue and verified that he was a presidential candidate and the show's guest.

Though Leno often poked fun at Vilsack's relative obscurity in the presidential race, the former Iowa governor argued that his appearance with Leno will help his candidacy and distinguish him from the better-known candidates.

"I think any time you get an opportunity to be in front of a national audience, especially an opportunity to show an interesting life story, it's going to help," Vilsack told reporters during a conference call after the show's taping.

Leno ribbed Vilsack about having a small campaign staff and asked him how he would compete with candidates such as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

"I saw your skeleton crew out there _ two guys and a Hertz rent a car. How's that work?" Leno asked.

"Well, I'm not a rock star," Vilsack replied, "I'm rock solid."

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Associated Press Writer Henry C. Jackson in Des Moines, Iowa, Bob Lewis in Richmond, Va., and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.