Today's Article
Which Democrats
and Republicans
might be left behind
after the second
quarter of
fundraising?
and Republicans
might be left behind
after the second
quarter of
fundraising?
The American Spark
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The 2008 Presidential Money Race, So Far
By Cliff Montgomery - May 29th, 2007
In the last week of June, each presidential campaign must close its books on second-quarter fundraising and
draw up its quarterly report for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on fundraising, spending and
cash-on-hand. While it won't exactly be a "make-or-break moment" for any campaign, the second-quarter
reports will reveal how well each candidate has appealed to its natural allies, as well as how each has made
that all-important jump to expanding its emotional and financial voter appeal.
In the first quarter, the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates for 2008 had raised more than
$150 million after a mere three months of fundraising--the most massive start for a presidential money chase in
American history.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan fundraising watchdog group, "by some
predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete--a record sum."
As one might expect, a great deal of first quarter cash was what the National Journal calls "love
money"--contributions from candidates' most fierce friends and supporters. But that is rarely enough. To be
truly in the race for the White House, a presidential campaign must appeal to a broader group of voters, and
obtain financial and emotional support beyond the candidate's Christmas card list.
Now here's an open Washington secret, something every political camp knows but no one admits:
everyone--from undecided voters to news organizations, political operations, and even rival camps--want to be
part of a winning team, and very few people will openly appear to be backing a "loser". Those in the know will
pour over the second-quarter reports to discover who is building momentum and who is not.
Many, if not most, voters will make their decision by picking the candidate who seems the least frightening and
appears to have the best momentum in the race.
While Republicans like to tout themselves as money savers over "free-spending" Democrats, the actual
numbers show they're the ones who have to learn a few things about money management.
All three top-tier Republicans are spending money as quickly as they get it. In the first quarter, they flatly failed
to properly handle their resources. During the first quarter period, Romney's campaign spent 55 percent of its
campaign funds, Giuliani's spent 39 percent, and "straight-talk" McCain almost sent his campaign straight the
poor house, burning up 64 percent of his campaign funds in the first few months.
Simply stated, the liberal Democrats weren't such free spenders. Clinton's campaign spent a mere 19 percent
of its first-quarter contributions, Obama's used a reasonable 26 percent, and Edwards' spent an even more
impressive 24 percent. In fact, each of the top five Democratic campaigns spent less than one-third of its
first-quarter funds. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware was the only Democrat among the top seven candidates to
spend more than one-third of his war chest, burning 56 percent in the first quarter alone.
Clinton beat out all others in cash-on-hand in part because she had saved $10 million from her Senate
re-election campaign.
Of the top nine G.O.P. candidates, only Rep. Ron Paul, (R-TX), and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
proved not to be wild spenders, using less than 33 percent of their total funds for the quarter. Six of the nine
Republican presidential hopefuls spent over half of their newly raised contributions; only one of the seven top
Democrats spent that much.
At this relatively early stage in the 2008 White House race, the four most important indications of a candidate's
appeal are the FEC reports, Iowa polls, New Hampshire polls, and national polls. A candidate who isn't already
placing first or second in at least one of those indicators probably doesn't have much of a chance.
First Quarter Reports
Democratic Candidates
Candidate Home State Raised Spent Cash on Hand
Clinton, Hillary NY $36,054,568 $5,079,789 $30,974,779
Obama, Barack IL $25,797,721 $6,605,200 $19,192,520
Edwards, John NC $14,031,662 $3,299,781 $10,733,641
Dodd, Chris CT $8,795,706 $1,313,239 $7,482,467
Richardson, Bill NM $6,249,354 $1,226,881 $5,022,473
Biden, Joe DE $4,013,089 $1,174,174 $2,838,915
Kucinich, Dennis OH $344,891 $194,217 $163,887
Gravel, Mike AK $15,534 $18,304 $498
Republican Candidates
Candidate Home State Raised Spent Cash on Hand
Romney, Mitt MA $23,434,634 $11,570,981 $11,863,652
Giuliani, Rudy NY $16,623,410 $5,688,207 $11,949,734
McCain, John AZ $13,087,559 $8,379,214 $5,180,799
Brownback, Sam KS $1,871,057 $1,064,431 $806,626
Tancredo, Tom CO $1,256,090 $711,012 $575,078
Paul, Ron TX $639,989 $115,070 $524,919
Huckabee, Mike AR $544,157 $170,239 $373,918
Hunter, Duncan CA $538,524 $265,971 $272,552
Thompson, Tommy WI $391,628 $252,404 $139,723
Gilmore, Jim VA $203,896 $113,789 $90,107
Source: Center For Responsive Politics
By Cliff Montgomery - May 29th, 2007
In the last week of June, each presidential campaign must close its books on second-quarter fundraising and
draw up its quarterly report for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on fundraising, spending and
cash-on-hand. While it won't exactly be a "make-or-break moment" for any campaign, the second-quarter
reports will reveal how well each candidate has appealed to its natural allies, as well as how each has made
that all-important jump to expanding its emotional and financial voter appeal.
In the first quarter, the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates for 2008 had raised more than
$150 million after a mere three months of fundraising--the most massive start for a presidential money chase in
American history.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan fundraising watchdog group, "by some
predictions, the eventual nominees will need to raise $500 million apiece to compete--a record sum."
As one might expect, a great deal of first quarter cash was what the National Journal calls "love
money"--contributions from candidates' most fierce friends and supporters. But that is rarely enough. To be
truly in the race for the White House, a presidential campaign must appeal to a broader group of voters, and
obtain financial and emotional support beyond the candidate's Christmas card list.
Now here's an open Washington secret, something every political camp knows but no one admits:
everyone--from undecided voters to news organizations, political operations, and even rival camps--want to be
part of a winning team, and very few people will openly appear to be backing a "loser". Those in the know will
pour over the second-quarter reports to discover who is building momentum and who is not.
Many, if not most, voters will make their decision by picking the candidate who seems the least frightening and
appears to have the best momentum in the race.
While Republicans like to tout themselves as money savers over "free-spending" Democrats, the actual
numbers show they're the ones who have to learn a few things about money management.
All three top-tier Republicans are spending money as quickly as they get it. In the first quarter, they flatly failed
to properly handle their resources. During the first quarter period, Romney's campaign spent 55 percent of its
campaign funds, Giuliani's spent 39 percent, and "straight-talk" McCain almost sent his campaign straight the
poor house, burning up 64 percent of his campaign funds in the first few months.
Simply stated, the liberal Democrats weren't such free spenders. Clinton's campaign spent a mere 19 percent
of its first-quarter contributions, Obama's used a reasonable 26 percent, and Edwards' spent an even more
impressive 24 percent. In fact, each of the top five Democratic campaigns spent less than one-third of its
first-quarter funds. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware was the only Democrat among the top seven candidates to
spend more than one-third of his war chest, burning 56 percent in the first quarter alone.
Clinton beat out all others in cash-on-hand in part because she had saved $10 million from her Senate
re-election campaign.
Of the top nine G.O.P. candidates, only Rep. Ron Paul, (R-TX), and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
proved not to be wild spenders, using less than 33 percent of their total funds for the quarter. Six of the nine
Republican presidential hopefuls spent over half of their newly raised contributions; only one of the seven top
Democrats spent that much.
At this relatively early stage in the 2008 White House race, the four most important indications of a candidate's
appeal are the FEC reports, Iowa polls, New Hampshire polls, and national polls. A candidate who isn't already
placing first or second in at least one of those indicators probably doesn't have much of a chance.
First Quarter Reports
Democratic Candidates
Candidate Home State Raised Spent Cash on Hand
Clinton, Hillary NY $36,054,568 $5,079,789 $30,974,779
Obama, Barack IL $25,797,721 $6,605,200 $19,192,520
Edwards, John NC $14,031,662 $3,299,781 $10,733,641
Dodd, Chris CT $8,795,706 $1,313,239 $7,482,467
Richardson, Bill NM $6,249,354 $1,226,881 $5,022,473
Biden, Joe DE $4,013,089 $1,174,174 $2,838,915
Kucinich, Dennis OH $344,891 $194,217 $163,887
Gravel, Mike AK $15,534 $18,304 $498
Republican Candidates
Candidate Home State Raised Spent Cash on Hand
Romney, Mitt MA $23,434,634 $11,570,981 $11,863,652
Giuliani, Rudy NY $16,623,410 $5,688,207 $11,949,734
McCain, John AZ $13,087,559 $8,379,214 $5,180,799
Brownback, Sam KS $1,871,057 $1,064,431 $806,626
Tancredo, Tom CO $1,256,090 $711,012 $575,078
Paul, Ron TX $639,989 $115,070 $524,919
Huckabee, Mike AR $544,157 $170,239 $373,918
Hunter, Duncan CA $538,524 $265,971 $272,552
Thompson, Tommy WI $391,628 $252,404 $139,723
Gilmore, Jim VA $203,896 $113,789 $90,107
Source: Center For Responsive Politics