State Treasurer still mulling run for Governor

The state treasurer says he needs more time to decide whether or not to run for governor. Michael Fitzgerald says the large field of fellow Democrats in the race makes it a difficult decision. He says he’s speaking to Democrat groups, and while he gets a good response he says they’re weighing their options as they did in the caucuses when there were a lot of candidates out there. Fitzgerald had hoped to announce his decision on running by early to mid August. Now he thinks it’ll be more like September. If Fitzgerald DOES decide to run for governor, the 53-year-old father of two would join a list of at least five other Democrats who are either considering it or committed to running. One problem with such a crowded field of contenders — campaign contributions are hard to come by. “Money’s already hard to come by,” Fitzgerald laughs ruefully, “even if there aren’t many candidates out there.” He knows it’ll be tough, though he notes Secretary of State Chet Culver’s raised a “huge amount of money.” It’s going to take a little longer, Fitzgerald says. It’s a big state with a lot of people to meet and talk with, though he says already “the issues are evolving.” If he does get into the race, Fitzgerald says he knows how to run a campaign on a budget. After all, he says, that’s how he got elected state treasurer six times.