NY Times: Source reports McCain raised “only $7M” in April and May
On Monday, the NY Times published a detailed analysis of the McCain fundraising operation. It was a long article and The Tower would recommend reading the entire story. Here are some key excerpts:
The twist is lost on no one: a candidate who has spent decades fighting to minimize the influence of money on politics is under extraordinary pressure to scare up tens of millions of dollars to prove he can jump-start his campaign. And after months of trying to make up with factions of the conservative coalition he has snubbed in the past, fund-raising has turned into another example of the balancing act he faces as he tries to appeal to the Republican establishment without giving up his aura as a straight-talking reformer…
Now Mr. McCain is jetting to 35 fund-raising events in the 30 days of June, hoping to raise more than $100,000 at each from small groups of big donors. He is passing the hat in six states — Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Massachusetts and Florida — in just the five days ending Tuesday.
There is of course a political benefit to Mr. McCain in being seen as untrustworthy to those who control big pools of corporate and special interest money. But there is little doubt that his record in Congress has made remaining financially competitive in the presidential race more difficult.
Once the presumptive Republican front-runner, Mr. McCain stunned political analysts with a first-quarter fund-raising total that badly trailed his leading rivals, admitting disappointment and vowing to catch up. Bu the McCain campaign brought in just $7 million in April and May, one person familiar with the campaign’s internal tallies said, speaking anonymously because the totals are confidential.
Trying to manage expectations, his advisers are saying publicly that their only goal is to exceed the $12.5 million Mr. McCain brought in the first quarter. But that result would do nothing to narrow the gap behind the growing war chests of his main rivals for his party’s nomination, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, who expect to exceed their first quarter totals as well.
The sprint for big checks is a stark contrast to his insurgent campaign for the Republican nomination eight years ago, when Mr. McCain relied more than any candidate on anonymous small donors mailing in checks. Out of about $29 million in total contributions to his 2000 campaign, about a third of his donors gave less than $200 and fewer than about a third gave more than $1,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics…
Mr. McCain has sometimes chalked up his fund-raising problems to his own lack of enthusiasm for the asking for money. “When you don’t like to do something,” he told reporters on an April bus trip through New Hampshire shortly after the disclosure of his disappointing first quarter, letting his voice trail off. “But we’re doing better. I’m working a lot harder at it. We’ll do better. We’ll do a lot better.”
If Mr. McCain feels any pressure, he does not show it, some fund-raisers said. Minutes before the start of a $2,300-a-head fund-raiser last Sunday at the Sonoma Valley home of the venture capitalist J. Gary Shansby, Mr. McCain was picking and eating berries as though he had not a care in the world, said Mr. Shansby, who has committed to raise $1 million.
Several fund-raisers said Mr. McCain was no more likely to tailor his messages to his donors in person than he has been in the Senate.
“I tell him all the time: ‘Everyone knows where you are on Iraq. Let’s talk about the environment, pork barrel spending, health care, dependence on foreign oil,’ ” Mr. Shansby said, reflecting the concerns of wealthy Sonoma Valley Republicans — many of whom are skeptical of the war.”
Read the entire article here.
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