Speaking of cash:
story.news.yahoo.com
Dean Lacks Money in the Bank
Mon Jul 7, 5:57 PM ET
By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON - Despite a recent fund-raising surge, Howard Dean lags behind his top Democratic presidential rivals in a key category: Money in the bank.
The former Vermont governor cemented his standing as a top-tier candidate by raising $7.5 million between April and June, first among the nine Democratic candidates for the quarter. That gave him a total of $10.1 million raised since the beginning of the year.
Dean is the only candidate airing TV ads — $300,000 worth in Iowa — and he invested thousands of dollars to build an Internet-driven grass-roots operation. Those expenses and others, including a growing campaign staff in Burlington, Vt., leave Dean with more than $6 million cash on hand and fourth overall, aides said Monday.
Officials with the other top Democratic campaigns, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said:
_ Sen. John Kerry (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts has about $11 million in the bank, including $2.6 million he transferred from his Senate campaign account. Kerry raised about $6 million in the second fund-raising quarter, second to Dean.
_ Sen. John Edwards (news, bio, voting record) of North Carolina has about $8.5 million on hand, none of it from his Senate account. He raised about $5 million this quarter, tied for third with Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut.
_ Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri has close to $7 million in ready money, including $2.4 million from his congressional campaign account. Gephardt raised just $4.5 million in the second quarter, at least $500,000 below his goal and a disappointing fifth-place finish.
_ Lieberman has about $4 million in the bank.
_ Sen. Bob Graham (news, bio, voting record) of Florida, who got a late start in the campaign, has more than $1.5 million on hand.
While fund-raising totals offer one test of the candidates' viability, many party activists argue that the money-in-the-bank figure is more important. It illustrates a campaign's ability to not only raise money, but to save and spend it when voters begin to pay attention late this year and early 2004.
"What matters in the campaign is how much money do you have to communicate with voters," said Gephardt adviser Steve Elmendorf. "It's a question of how much you're raising and spending and how much you're keeping. We're on plan to have what we need."
Said Robert Gibbs, spokesman for the Kerry campaign: "Television stations in Iowa and New Hampshire don't take credit cards."
The campaigns will scrutinize each others' cash-on-hand figures, looking for evidence that money has been wasted or expenses have been hidden. The Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) releases the reports July 15.
With the second quarter behind them, candidates are meeting with their advisers this week to plan strategy for the next three months. Lieberman's inner circle met Monday; Dean's team meets Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.
Each campaign knows that FEC financing reports are a measure of their political pulse.
_ Graham may be the most vulnerable of the top six candidates. He lags far behind in the money chase, collecting $2 million in the second quarter, and may be forced from the race unless he improves his fund-raising totals in the next three months, senior Democrats said.
_ Gephardt failed to hit his $5 million goal this quarter, and polls in Iowa suggest his lead has narrowed in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. But he is still considered one of the three strongest candidates, along with Dean and Kerry.
_ Lieberman and Dean did better than expected in second-quarter fund-raising, though their money-in-the-bank totals are low.
_ Edwards is raising and saving plenty of money, but thus far has little to show for it in the polls.
_ Kerry may have the best combination: He has the most money in the bank while leading in New Hampshire polls and gaining ground on Gephardt in Iowa. Kerry also has raised the most money since Jan. 1 — $13 million — with Edwards a close second and Dean third.
The FEC announced Monday that Dean qualifies for federal matching money. Candidates who receive public financing for the primaries get a match of up to $250 for each contribution, up to a certain limit, and must abide by state-by-state and overall spending limits.
Dean believes he has an edge in matching money, because he is getting donations from more people in smaller amounts.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (news, bio, voting record) of Ohio has said he will raise about $1 million in the second quarter. Two other long shots, Al Sharpton of New York and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, are expected to report $100,000 or so. |
