Gephardt Fund-Raising Falls Far Short
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By RON FOURNIER, AP Political Writer
WASHINGTON - Presidential candidate Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) fell short of his fund-raising goal by more than $1 million, raising questions Tuesday about his ability to excite Democratic donors and remain a top-tier candidate.
The former House Minority leader, who hoped to raise $5 million from April to June, collected just $3.87 million — apparently placing him in a distant fifth-place among the nine Democratic contenders.
Gephardt aides pledged to retool their fund-raising tactics as part of a broader reassessment of his campaign strategies. Privately the candidate was reassuring party officials as personnel changes were in the works at the campaign's finance operation. Last week, fearing his political strength would be questioned with release of the money figure, Gephardt shifted his message to increase attacks on Democratic rivals.
"Four million (dollars) ain't chicken feed," campaign manager Steve Murphy said in a telephone interview. "We're on plan to raise $20 million this year and be able to spend the maximum in every early state through February, which is when a front-runner, if not the nominee, will be decided."
Gephardt, the Missouri congressman, holds a narrow lead in most polls in Iowa, site of the first voting of 2004. But former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Sen. John Kerry (news, bio, voting record) of Massachusetts have narrowed his advantage.
Kerry and Dean lead in polls of New Hampshire Democrats, who vote a week after Iowa. Though he trails the pair in New Hampshire, Gephardt has been considered among the top three candidate because of his strength in Iowa, long ties to organized labor, his experience from running for president in 1988 and a national political network he built while leading Democrats in the House.
The network's strength is called into question because of the fund-raising totals. Aides for Kerry and Dean say they are quietly making inroads on Gephardt's labor base, though the Missouri lawmaker has the most endorsements.
Gephardt was making the rounds of party leaders and constituency groups, urging them not to give up on his presidential campaign despite the poor fund-raising performance. One meeting was with Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union has not endorsed a candidate although McEntee has spoken favorably about Kerry.
Democrats in key states said Gephardt's candidacy will be hurt, but not fatally so, by the fund-raising results.
"It's always easier to raise money if you've already raised a lot of money," said Dayton Duncan, a Democratic activist in New Hampshire. "George Bush proved that four years ago when he ran a bunch of other legitimate candidates out of the race simply because they couldn't keep pace with his fund raising,"
"Fortunately for Dick Gephardt, there is nobody doing that in the Democratic field this year," said Duncan, who at the same time faulted Gephardt for "shooting himself in the foot" by telling donors and activists he would raise more than $5 million.
Gephardt is not the only Democrat with money woes. Sen. Joe Lieberman (news - web sites) of Connecticut shuffled his fund-raising team after raising $5.1 million this quarter, good enough for third or fourth place but still a disappointment for the 2000 vice presidential nominee who leads in many national polls.
Lieberman's problem may be his expenses; he has about $4 million in cash on hand, less than Gephardt, Dean, Kerry and Sen. John Edwards (news, bio, voting record) of North Carolina.
Fund-raising totals are considered an early measure of candidates' strength, but the importance can be overstated. Many Democrats believe there will be five or six candidates who raise enough money to compete in the early primaries, and Gephardt is on virtually every Democrats' list of top five candidates.
Campaign officials had told reporters Gephardt would report about $4.5 million on his fund-raising report which is released Tuesday. But some donors did not meet their commitments and some money arrived after the second quarter ended June 30, Murphy said.
He said the campaign had $6.3 million in the bank, less than Kerry and Edwards are expected to report later Tuesday and about the same as Dean.
Gephardt raised $3.5 million from January to March and transferred $2.4 million from his St. Louis-based congressional account — a total of $9.8 million for the year.
"We thought we raised more and we should have raised more and we're going to raise more," Murphy said. "We've got a good financial organization. We're going to plug some holes and raise the $10 million we need to get through the rest of the year."
Murphy declined to spell out what holes would be plugged, saying he did not want to tip off the competition.
However, a senior campaign official. who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Gephardt plans to focus more on raising money from the Midwest, small donors and the Internet. The congressman's biggest Missouri fund-raisers are in the first and third quarters, the official said.
As expected, President Bush (news - web sites)'s campaign overwhelmed all Democratic rivals, raising $34.4 million since entering the race in mid-May, campaign manager Ken Mehlman said. The campaign spent $2.4 million in the second quarter and started this month with $32.6 million on hand, Mehlman said.
The campaign had 105,000 donors, he said. Beyond Federal Election Commission (news - web sites) disclosure requirements, the campaign planned to provide a searchable database on its Web site, including every donor who gave more than $1, Mehlman said. The FEC requires candidates to disclose only those who give $200 or more. |
