Posted on 07/19/2002 7:53:19 PM PDT by Colombia59
In California, running for statewide office takes a lot of cash. But Gov. Gray Davis has broken all records, amassing a war chest one opponent describes as unprecedented in the political history of the United States.
The coffer will allow Davis to mount a vigorous re-election campaign this fall, but it also gives his Republican opponents a club.
You'll often see Davis meeting state workers, mingling with soldiers, touring here and there. What you won't see is Davis mingling with the well-heeled, wealthy individuals and interest groups who come bearing campaign checks.
Like many politicians, Davis has declared those fund-raising events off-limits to media. But the amount that he's raised astounds even the most jaded political observers. According to records filed this week, the governor has hauled in more than $50 million. That breaks down to more than $1 million a month since taking office. He's raised $14 million this year alone and still has $31 million in the bank.
"We're not here to break records. We're here to win this campaign," said Davis political advisor Garry South.
But they have broken records. Davis has raised more than double what George W. Bush did during his 1998 Texas re-election campaign.
"That kind of level is a level unseen in the history of the state of California and unseen in the history of the United States," said Assemblyman Rod Pacheco, R-Riverside.
"It is so phenomenally large. I cannot imagine it doesn't intrude on his time to be governor. I've had to raise money for my campaigns for decades, and the amount just boggles my mind," Assemblyman Bill Leonard, R-San Bernadino.
Republicans in the Legislature have been hammering Davis for months on the issue, accusing him of neglecting his official duties and creating a pay-to-play atmosphere at the Capitol.
The governor's chief strategist says that a professional fundraising team does most of the work and that Davis' decisions are not linked to contributions.
"On any given day, I can tell you from personal experience, some of our biggest donors are furious with the governor because he hasn't done something they thought he would do or he did something that they didn't want him to do," South said.
Davis rationalizes his race for the cash this way.
"All I do is run against billionaires. I do the best I can," Davis said.
Davis is referring to Republican Bill Simon, who has a large personal fortune. How large is unclear, since Simon's tax returns are kept secret. Simon's advisors say that they expect to raise $40 million for his campaign, meaning the November showdown will easily break all previous spending records.
If you would like to know who Davis contributors are, click here. Keep in mind that this is a large file and may take a while to download.
The thing I am not sure about is what did he have to promise or threaten people with to get this kind of money.
They are real scared of us getting a solid foothold in cali.
A sharp governor who could make the power grid work and bring some fiscal disipline to California would make them look like utter fools.
If he can, could it be possible that he expects to lose and lose big and is ammasing a fortune to retire on?
(Well, the toon is getting a library.. So I guess it's possible.)
$30+million and still fundraising makes you wonder, if he doesn't start the bonzai campaign until September it will be a monmuntal job to spend that much before election day and he's still fundraising every day.
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