Rudy Giuliani to make CdA fundraising stop

Former New York mayor and current presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will make a campaign stop in Coeur d’Alene next week to raise money at a $500-per-person reception at Kidd Island Bay.

Giuliani will appear at the residence of John Magnuson on Lake Coeur d’Alene in the late afternoon and early evening of Aug. 23.

The list of sponsors for the event includes some of North Idaho’s top business and development names, although the only GOP elected officials among the sponsors listed on the invitation are Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson and former County Commissioner Katie Brodie.

Giuliani tops many recent polls in the crowded Republican field but is third among GOP candidates in contributions reported from Idaho. The Federal Elections Commission reports that he had collected $18,500 from Idaho residents and political action committees as of June 30.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is first, having raised $398,500, or about 85 percent of all the Idaho-based money given to GOP presidential candidates, as of June 30. U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona was second, with about $31,800.

But those reports were filed before the Lake Coeur d’Alene reception was planned. Each of the 53 co-sponsors of the event, who are listed on the invitation, has contributed $1,000 to the Giuliani campaign.

Magnuson, a Coeur d’Alene attorney, said the reception could draw as many as 200 donors at $500 a head.

A campaign spokesman said Giuliani had no other events in Idaho or Washington on his schedule at this point but added the schedule is subject to change.

“It’s a big deal for North Idaho,” Magnuson said.

He asked his friends if they would help co-sponsor the cocktail party by paying $1,000 per person.

Watson said it’s early in the campaign, but so far Giuliani is the standout Republican candidate.

“I like the things he stands for,” Watson said.

Magnuson wasn’t specific about how Giuliani picked Coeur d’Alene over other Northwest towns.

Watson said Giuliani’s visit shows the Republican base in Idaho, especially North Idaho.

Yet the local GOP isn’t sanctioning the event other than announcing the visit at Republican Central Committee meetings and the North Idaho Pachyderm Club.

“We don’t usually get involved during the primaries,” committee Chairman Brad Corkhill said. “It’s strictly a private issue.”

Duane Rasmussen, president of the Pachyderm Club, said he signed up to volunteer.

A lot of people, even local Republicans who wouldn’t support Giuliani in the polls, want to see a front-runner candidate, Rasmussen said.

“Everyone is excited about him because he’s a presidential candidate, not because he’s Rudy,” Rasmussen said.

Black Rock Developer Marshall Chesrown said he was happy to donate when Magnuson called him for help.

A Republican who was active in supporting Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign, Chesrown doesn’t yet know how he will vote in the presidential primary.

“You’ll have to ask me that after I meet (Giuliani),” he said. “When you see a candidate in that realm, you get to see what they are like as a person.”

Donors who buy tickets will be ferried to the private event from the boardwalk near the Coeur d’Alene Resort at 4:15 p.m.