Fundraising gives 2008 candidates early edge
by Elan Ronen
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: News
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Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., led the pack with a reported $26 million in contributions, followed closely by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with $25 million.
The former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney gained media attention by raising $23 million.
Despite recent popularity polls, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., trail Romney in contributions, with $15 million and $12.5 million, respectively.
These figures shattered the previous record for first-quarter fundraising of $7.4 million, set by Sen. John Edwards in a similar period prior to the presidential primary in 2004.
Damien LaVera, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said the first-quarter results are a strong indicator of popular sentiments towards the George W. Bush administration.
"The energy is on our side," LaVera said. "The American people are clearly looking for a change in the White House."
The DNC has raised $14 million thus far, $6 million more than the same quarter in 2003. He said the success of the DNC is a result of the new "50-state strategy," a plan which provides resources to local democratic parties in every state rather than in only swing states.
"It is happening county by county, neighborhood by neighborhood and district by district, in every state in the country," LaVera said.
Members of the Republican National Committee could not be reached for comment, but a statement by McCain's campaign manager, Terry Nelson, downplayed the significance of the first-quarter fundraising victories of Democratic candidates.
"Fundraising in the first quarter is no more important than fundraising throughout the entire election campaign," Nelson said in a statement on MSNBC's Web site.
While the first-quarter results may or may not be a reflection of "Bush fatigue" or certain strategies employed by the two major parties, the sums aggregated by the pack of presidential hopefuls shed light on the importance of fundraising in presidential elections.
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