Kerry Finances Are Said to Improve Rapidly
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By GLEN JUSTICE
The New York Times
Published: January 28, 2004
nytimes.com
MANCHESTER, N.H., Jan. 27 — Even before the results were in on Tuesday night, officials at Senator John Kerry's campaign said their candidate's financial fortunes were rapidly improving this week as they scrambled to refill depleted coffers.
Louis B. Susman, the campaign's chief fund-raiser, said in an interview that the campaign had raised more than $1.1 million in the past week over the Internet alone. Mr. Susman said the overall total "far exceeds" that but would not cite specific figures.
Because contributions have risen markedly, campaign officials said Mr. Kerry was less likely to consider dipping into his personal money to help finance the campaign. They also said there were no plans for his multimillionaire wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, to make independent expenditures on behalf of the campaign.
"It has not even been considered," said Stephanie Cutter, a campaign spokeswoman.
Ms. Heinz Kerry, whose fortune is estimated at $500 million, said last year that she would consider such a step if she felt her husband were being attacked unfairly.
Though campaign officials have long said Mr. Kerry could spend more personal money, they were focused this week on raising it from others. Working on little sleep from a small back office in Mr. Kerry's warehouse-style headquarters here, Mr. Susman is trying to pilot the campaign off the financial rocks by riding a wave of support after winning in Iowa and New Hampshire.
"My phone is ringing," he said. "Since Iowa, the momentum of fund-raising for John Kerry and the results of that momentum have been tremendous."
The ringing phone is an abrupt change from before the Iowa vote, when downward-spiraling poll numbers caused contributions to dry up and Mr. Kerry took drastic steps to keep his campaign solvent.
Mr. Kerry declined public financing even as the campaign struggled to raise money. He gave up millions in taxpayer money and the spending limits that go with it in order to spend freely against the better-financed campaign of Howard Dean, who also declined matching funds. The senator also mortgaged his Boston home for $6.4 million. He lists additional assets in his own name worth $400,000 to $1.8 million, according to financial disclosure forms filed last year. Assets held jointly with his wife were valued at $300,000 to $600,000, and Mr. Kerry's aides have said that he has other holdings he is not required to report.
Mr. Kerry can tap only assets that he owns or a portion of those he holds jointly with his wife. He is prohibited from using her money directly for his campaign, though she could contribute the maximum $2,000 like any other donor. Ms. Kerry has also maintained that she can make so-called independent expenditures for such things as advertising supporting his candidacy, though she would be prevented from coordinating with Mr. Kerry or his campaign. Some campaign finance experts have said such an arrangement would present thorny legal problems, to say nothing of public perception.
Mr. Kerry directed most of his resources into Iowa, a strategy that worked politically and seems to be working financially as well.
Candidates will not report their January finances to the Federal Election Commission until three weeks from now, making concrete analysis difficult.
But Kerry fund-raisers from Boston to the Beltway said they were getting solicitation calls returned.
"The first two contests captured everyone's attention," said John Merrigan, a Washington-based fund-raiser for Mr. Kerry. "I don't see people losing their resolve."
At the end of last year, Mr. Kerry had raised about $29 million, including his personal money, while Dr. Dean raised about $41 million, according to the campaigns.
In contrast to Dr. Dean, who has relied on small contributions collected over the Internet, Mr. Kerry has built his financial base largely on bigger donors reached through traditional fund-raising.
More than half of Mr. Kerry's contributions came from donors giving the maximum $2,000 through September of last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Only about 13 percent of Dr. Dean's money came from donors who gave the maximum contribution.
The Kerry campaign's fund-raisers said they were now focused on finding new donors, either those who were affiliated with other candidates or those who have stayed out of the race so far. The campaign is also recruiting fund-raisers.
Because a crowded primary calendar leaves candidates little time to raise money, most of the work falls to Mr. Susman and an expanding group of at least 150 fund-raisers nationwide. "Fund-raisers who were on the fence are now getting off the fence and into the Kerry camp," said Mr. Susman, a Chicago-based investment banker.
Of course, the Kerry campaign is not the only one fund-raising through the primaries.
Gen. Wesley K. Clark, who did not compete in Iowa, has raised about $2 million since Jan. 10. Senator John Edwards, who has been trying to capitalize on his second-place finish in Iowa, raised more than $1 million since then. Both men are receiving federal matching funds.
The Dean campaign raised about $1.5 million on the Internet and through the mail since Iowa, said Stephanie Schriock, Dr. Dean's finance director. She and other members of Dr. Dean's financial team said that was a respectable showing in the face of adversity, made possible by the campaign's Internet-based network.
"This campaign has financial resiliency," said Steven Grossman, Dr. Dean's national campaign chairman.
With seven states voting on Tuesday, campaigns are already having to allocate resources.
"We need the funds to participate in every state and be competitive in every state," Mr. Susman said. "I have very high confidence that we won't be making decisions based on money." |
