Posted on 12/02/2004 7:41:06 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Capping a stunning year of record fund raising by both sides, the Democratic National Committee said Thursday it outraised President Bush's GOP this election cycle. Its Republican rival wasn't disputing that, but noted the money didn't buy victory.
Figures the DNC planned to file with the Federal Election Commission showed the DNC took in at least $12 million more than the Republican National Committee since Jan. 1, 2003.
DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe said he considered the fund raising - combined with a lack of debt - all the more remarkable because the party finished the 2000 presidential race with $18 million in bills to pay. Now, it can spend four years building the groundwork to try to reclaim the White House in 2008, he said.
"We're going to need every bit of support we can get to do what we need to do. We've got a long battle ahead, but compared with where we were four years ago or eight years ago we're in great shape," McAuliffe said in a phone interview.
The DNC said it raised at least $397 million from January 2003 through Nov. 22, the period covered in its new campaign finance report; the RNC said it took in $385 million and wasn't questioning the Democratic committee's financial edge.
"I think that you had an energized and engaged electorate this election cycle on both sides of the aisle and that's reflected in the fund-raising totals that you're seeing," said RNC spokesman Brian Jones.
Still, added Jones, "The bottom line at the end of the day is we won, we did what we needed to do." Besides keeping the White House, the GOP strengthened its House and Senate majorities in the Nov. 2 election.
The Democratic total is noteworthy in part because the DNC had been operating at a multimillion-dollar disadvantage. After a financial surge during President Clinton's years in the White House, it found itself with no sitting president or congressional majority leaders to woo donors.
Strategists in both parties had predicted a campaign finance law imposing new contribution limits after the 2002 elections would hit the Democratic Party harder than the GOP. The Democrats historically were more reliant on the unlimited checks from unions and others that the new law banned, while the GOP was much better at collecting lots of small donations.
However, it was the RNC along with the California Democratic and Republican parties, not the DNC, that sued unsuccessfully to try to overturn the new restrictions. The Democratic National Committee redoubled its efforts to collect donations up to the new $25,000-per-year limit and in more modest amounts, using Internet "Web-a-thons" like those pioneered by presidential hopeful Howard Dean in the primaries to raise millions in a matter of days or even hours.
In the end, the DNC and the RNC raised more heading into the election than they had when they could collect corporate, union and unlimited donations. It's too soon to say which side had more cash on hand overall; finance reports by outside groups are still coming in.
At least $23 million of the DNC's total comes from presidential nominee John Kerry's leftover primary money, while the RNC's total reflects $11.3 million that Bush transferred to it from his primary campaign fund after the election.
Bush and Kerry both raised record sums for their primary campaigns, then accepted $75 million each in full taxpayer financing for the general-election phase of the race.
Kerry raised a Democratic record $249 million for his primary campaign fund. As of Nov. 22, the last date covered in an FEC report he filed Thursday, Kerry had $1.2 million of his $75 million in general-election money left, and $861,000 in bills to pay.
According to Bush's new report, he had $4.4 million left in his general-election campaign fund and $1 million in bills to pay as of Nov. 22. He had $15 million in a legal compliance fund that he could have tapped in the event of a recount fight.
Bush's general-election campaign paid several companies from mid-October through Nov. 2 for flights on their corporate planes, including Alticor, $17,460; Barr Laboratories, $6,963; FedEx Corp, $6,252; Mozart Investments, $22,293; and Outback Steakhouse, $3,272, an analysis by the nonpartisan Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service found.
Bush ended his private fund raising with $273 million collected, close to triple the then-record $106 million he raised for his 2000 primary campaign. The cost of television ads consumed much of Bush's money.
Like Kerry, Bush was no longer allowed to use private contributions on his campaign after he was nominated at his party's national convention in late summer. Bush's primary campaign fund had $2 million left as of late November after he gave millions to the RNC and $1,680 to the White House Historical Association.
Prayer does a lot more than money...
The Dems outraised the Repubs by $12 million, roughly the amount of doe left in Kerry's account on November 3rd. I love it!
Wasn't something posted a few days ago, about a brewing revolt among the state DNC chairs, to get the national DNC to stop focusing ONLY on 4 year Presidential cycles..and to put more work into congressional, state, and local campaigns?..obviously, Terry, didn't get the message..
score board baby, score board!
Yet the Democrats came up on the losing end. All the money in the world won't win elections, it's results that count. Bush has proven that since day one.
He never does, even when he does.
"...the Democratic National Committee said Thursday it outraised President Bush's GOP this election cycle..."
Well when you look at it this way - Hey, us Democrats WON!
(I only wish Soro's had followed through with his threat of spending every thing he had. He still has plenty left over for global gun control, U.N. brribes, etc.)
Makes the victory all the more sweeterer
The DNC likes to waste money on it's campaigning just like it does on failed social policies with our tax dollars, unfortunately on a much larger scale.
You don't know how true that complaint is. I live in Ohio where the Dems only get the vote out once every 4 years, during presidential elections. All state races (governor, sec of state, treasurer, etc) are all in off years and the GOP wins those with 55-60% of the vote. We are effectively a one party state in off years.
Just saw your FR handle, and your wise comment. For whatever reason, I don't recall ever replying to you, but last night on PBS, I caught the special on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and one of the piece they performed was BHOTR....just magnificent. Thought you'd like to know..(G)
"outraised"
*yawn* They still lost horribly...
Too damn bad they lost the election. LOL!
Just shows how BAD THEY ARE....they cannot even BUY AN ELECTION anymore...how unfortunate for the radical left...
The Dims always stereotype the Republicans as "rich", et they raised more than the Republicans.
Plus they ran a billionaire for Prez and a multimillionaire for Vice Prez.
And they claim they are the party of the little guy.
In their dreams.
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