Context, please

Some nice clarifications on the fundraising reports from the various candidates for governor by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Gold Dome Live.

David Poythress sent out a press release touting what he's brought in for the first half of the year ...

Later today General David Poythress, Democratic candidate for Governor, will file his mid-year campaign finance report showing steady progress towards his fundraising goals. Through June 30th his campaign has raised more than $460,000 from more than 800 donors.

That's fine and well, but the problem - again - is context.

The campaign reports due were those for the most recent reporting period, so while it's perfectly legitimate for Poythress to tout his mid-year total ... it's also cherry-picking how he wants to evaluate his statistics.

Poythress actually raised a little more than $150,000 for the period and not the $460,000 that he was touting in his press release. That total, to be fair, is the mid-year amount of cash he's raked in since declaring for office.

To put it in perspective, Rep. DuBose Porter raised more than $230,000 during the same reporting period ... meaning that Poythress has outraised Porter since the beginning of the year, but Porter wasn't even declared until a month or so ago. Furthermore, since getting into the race, Porter has outraised Poythress by more than $80,000.

And they both pale in comparison to the amount of cash Thurbert Baker's brought in.