With polls showing his candidacy isn't gaining any traction among voters, it seems the spending is beginning to outpace the fundraising. His campaign account is down to half a million dollars, according to the New York Daily News:
GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain has less than half a million bucks in his campaign account, new filings show, while ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani has about six times that much at his disposal.
Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 31, McCain (R-Ariz.) raised $660,000 and raided $1 million from his Senate reelection account to his presidential fund, but he spent more than $1.2 million.
Read the rest at the link above. So far, McCain hasn't been spending like Al Sharpton on four-star hotels and limo service everywhere (well, Sharpton didn't even have the money - he just said "charge it" and didn't pay the bills), and no television ads are on, so we can assume the lion's money has gone to pay staff.
Campaigns often run short of cash. Remember John Kerry had to take out a mortgage on "his" house in December 2003 just to keep his campaign going. It is less usual for the frontrunner to find himself in such a position, though.
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2008 Presidential Race, McCain
Comments (3)
Curious how much more thoug... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Steve_in_Corona | February 1, 2007 2:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Curious how much more though he has in his 'Senate reelection account' - was the one million he took from there the entire amount? (I doubt it)
It seems like a guy like McCain who raises money all the time, and never has to spend any in a Senate race might have a tidy sum there.
1. Posted by Steve_in_Corona | February 1, 2007 2:22 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 1, 2007 14:22
2. Posted by Jim Addison | February 1, 2007 2:33 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I wouldn't doubt he has more in that account, and of Guiliani's bankroll, about $2 million is from his own Senate campaign in 2000, which he abandoned when diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Even the major portion of Hillary Clinton's funds are leftover Senate campaign money.
However, Guiliani isn't officially in yet, and no one expects he or Clinton will have any trouble raising money. McCain is the putative frontrunner, has been working on this campaign almost since the 2000 convention, and has been trying to create the image of a political juggernaut who could roll over any opposition.
It isn't happening. McCain's position is such that early troubles will magnify themselves. For example, this story about money trouble gets around, and the big donors start to wonder . . . "Why throw more bucks at McCain, who is struggling, instead of looking at Rudy or Mitt or someone else?"
Remember how fast the "Unstoppable Howard Dean" crashed and burned in the cornfields of Iowa? If McCain can't come up with a large influx of new cash soon, he may not last that long.
2. Posted by Jim Addison | February 1, 2007 2:33 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 1, 2007 14:33
3. Posted by Charles_in_Texas | February 1, 2007 3:17 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Let's pray that McCain, Hagel, Biden, Edwards and Obama ALL crash and burn PERMANENTLY!
I personally believe Clinton is ALREADY BURNT and TOO HATED by at least half of America to ever win, but we will see. I expect 2 govenors to face off in 2008, but I am not sure which ones yet.
Bill Richardson may be a Demoncratic surprise. Rommney and Huckabee for the Republicans bear watching. Gulianni... well, who really knows!
3. Posted by Charles_in_Texas | February 1, 2007 3:17 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on February 1, 2007 15:17