HispanicBusiness

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson expects to raise $2 million tonight at a single fundraising event in Albuquerque that hopes to draw close to a thousand supporters from across New Mexico.

The event, which his campaign says is the largest fundraising event in New Mexico history, comes three and a half weeks after Mr. Richardson, New Mexico's two-term governor, announced he was forming a presidential exploratory committee.

An early stumbling block to his efforts was removed last week when New Mexico's attorney general ruled that the presidential campaign was purely a federal matter, and not something that fell under New Mexico's ban on raising campaign money during the state's legislative session.

An online ranking of candidates by the National Journal projects Mr. Richardson will raise $6 million, plus or minus $3 million, in his primary bid.

"My wife, Barbara, and I are overwhelmed at this tremendous outpouring of support from our fellow New Mexicans, including my friends and colleagues Sen. Jeff Bingaman, Congressman Tom Udall, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish," Mr. Richardson said in a release. "I plan to use this successful event here at home as the springboard for our fundraising efforts across the country."

Mr. Richardson is the second Hispanic to seek a major party nomination for president, and is arguably the first to have a realistic shot at the office. The National Journal site, for example, lists Mr. Richardson as fourth among 10 Democrats: "Being everyone's second choice in this field ain't bad, especially because he never intended to start this early."