Money gap for GOP, Democrats narrows
February 2, 2008

Republican presidential candidates closed slightly the money gap with their Democratic counterparts in the last three months of 2007, but trailed overall for the year as both parties combined to raise and spend money at a record-smashing rate that doubled the pace of the 2004 campaign.


Led by libertarian maverick Ron Paul's nearly $20 million, GOP candidates raised a combined $67 million during the fourth quarter, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton raised $26.8 million and Barack Obama took in slightly less than $23 million. The Democratic field raised a total of $63.8 million.

For the full year, however, Democrats raised $291 million to the Republicans' $221 million, and together the parties spent more than $490 million. About $107 million has been spent on television advertising, according to a new report by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project.

The previous records were set in 2003, when President George W. Bush raised $131.8 million in the year leading into his 2004 reelection campaign. A field of 10 Democrats vying to face him in the general election took in a combined $126.5 million in 2003, for what at the time was a record total of $258.3 million for the year.

Democrats continued to outspend the GOP field for the quarter ($118 million to $102 million) and for the year ($253.3 million for Democrats, $237.2 million for Republicans). Obama and Clinton led all spenders for the quarter, spending $40.9 million and $39.9 million, respectively, with John Edwards, who dropped out of the race this week, spending $18.5 million.

The third-highest spender for the quarter at $34 million, but leading all spenders for the year at almost $88 million, was Republican Mitt Romney, who wrote himself checks for $18 million during the fourth quarter to bring to $35.3 million the amount of his own fortune he had dumped into his campaign by year's end. In 2007 total spending, Obama followed at $85.2 million, with Clinton at $80.35 million.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, raised a little more than $9 million from others in the last three months of the year, raising his annual take from outside donors to almost $54 million.

Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the race this week after a string of also-ran finishes, surged past Romney in fund-raising in the final quarter, taking in almost $14.2 million for a 2007 total of $59.2 million. Combined with money raised and spent in contests since Dec. 31, Giuliani will have spent well more than $60 million to win a single delegate, also a record.

John McCain, whose campaign took out a bank loan backed by a life insurance policy, borrowed $3 million to stay afloat when his campaign was in financial jeopardy late in the year. For the quarter, the senator from Arizona raised $6.8 million, bringing to almost $37.5 million the amount raised for the year. He spent more than $39 million in 2007 and ended the year in debt. He has picked up his fund-raising - $7 million during January - while winning major primaries in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida, however.

Paul, the Texas congressman who tapped into the Internet to raise money but has not come close to winning any primaries or caucuses, raised a total of more than $28 million for the year and had almost $8 million in the bank at the start of January.

The Wisconsin advertising study found Romney led all candidates in TV spending, with $29 million for almost 35,000 spots, more than half the $50 million spent by the GOP candidates. He was followed by Obama, who ran almost 30,000 ads at a cost of nearly $23 million, and Clinton, with more than 25,500 commercials worth more than $18 million.

The report was based on data through last Sunday compiled by TNS Media Intelligence/CMAG.

www.boston.com



This ALIPAC member has posted this entity be it editorial opinion, news article, column, or web creation as information for the General Population (public) only. It is not intended as an endorsement for this candidate by this poster. Its use here has not been anticipated to be used as, or used to discredit any candidate mentioned herewith.