ORLANDO, FL — Is it time to declare Cainmentum 2.0?
Since Thursday night’s debate here, Herman Cain has banked “several thousand” new donors and raised more money in a 2-day period than he has for the entirety of his presidential campaign, spokesperson Ellen Carmichael tells TPM. She declined to provide specific dollar totals.
Here in Orlando, Cain was very well-received by delegates at the Presidency 5 straw poll. Stickers were affixed to a lot of them and talk of Cain was everywhere. The St. Petersburg Times‘ political editor, Adam Smith, noted that many delegates who couldn’t choose between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry in the straw poll voting were taking a look at Cain.
Cain spoke here live before the voting, while Perry sent a video and Romney didn’t participate at all.
Carmichael chalked up the boost in cash flow for Cain to the debate, where she said Cain was asked the most questions he’s received (seven) since the Romney- and Perry-free debate back in May that many said Cain won.
In the lead up to the straw poll voting, Cain crisscrossed Florida on his campaign bus. Carmichael said the campaign did not pay for any delegates to attend nor, to her knowledge, directly campaign for their votes through robocalls like Perry did.
We’ll find out if the new Cainmentum carries through to the final tally at about 6:00 ET. For now, it seems that Cain — who had all but dropped off the radar since an initial flurry of attention early in his campaign — is back in a big and lucrative way.
