Economic Hard Times Not Stopping Donations
The economy may still be struggling to recover, but donors have once again opened their checkbooks to political candidates on both sides, renewing pressure on challengers and incumbents alike to post strong reports or to be relegated to second-tier status.
Some candidates are citing votes on health care legislation -- both for and against -- as the impetus for their donors' generosity. Certainly, party committees have seen that influx; the RNC announced it raised $11.4M last month, the most in a March off year, thanks in part to a campaign to raise money off an effort aimed at firing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which brought in $1.5M.
The DNC did not solicit donors on the health care bill, but sources said the committee took in $2M in online donations between the bill's passage, on March 21, and the end of the month. The DCCC also raised $2M off the bill. Other rumors, unconfirmed so early in the month, suggest other committees are going to have strong months too.
Candidates are flexing their fundraising muscle too. Several GOPers have bragged about their strong fundraising in the wake of their rivals voting for health care. And Dems like Rep. Betsy Markey (D-CO) pulled in big bucks too, raising $355K between her vote for the bill and the end of the quarter.
But the new success isn't all health care related. In the race to replace retiring Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), both state Sen. Roy Herron (D) and farmer Stephen Fincher (R) have raised more than $1M. State Sen. Tarryl Clark (D), running against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), added $505K to her coffers, while businessman Bob Dold (R) also beat the half-million mark, raising $504K over the last 3 months in his bid to replace Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL).
Ex-state Sen. Jonathan Paton (R), running against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and state Rep. Rick Berg (R), challenging Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) have also come close to the $500K mark.
On the Senate side, Kirk, ex-Rep. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and AR LG Bill Halter (D) reported raising more than $2M for their campaigns over the last 3 months (Halter did it in a month). Ex-Rep. Tom Cambell (R-CA) raised $1.6M; all 4 challengers raised more than incumbent Sens. Harry Reid ($1.5M) and Blanche Lincoln ($1M).
Earlier this cycle, members and candidates were claiming hard economic times were supressing their fundraising. Now, that's no longer a relevant storyline. Any candidate not keeping up with the hectic pace of fundraising faces the risk of being left behind.
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