Money signals campaign interest

The Baltimore Sun

WASHINGTON -- One day after Sen. John McCain scaled back his campaign operation for lack of funds, Mitt Romney proved once again that he has the deep pockets necessary to pay for his presidential campaign, while Rudolph W. Giuliani demonstrated a knack for bringing in big money.

But in contrast to most past presidential contests, Republicans are lagging sharply behind Democrats in fundraising. That disparity signals an energized Democratic base compared with Republicans, who are dispirited after losing control of Congress and watching President Bush's job approval ratings plummet under the weight of the Iraq war.

"Public opinion polls say Democrats are much more excited about their candidates than Republicans are about theirs," said Stephen Wayne, a government professor at Georgetown University. "There is a belief that it will be a Democratic year."

Romney's campaign announced yesterday that the former Massachusetts governor raised $14 million in the second quarter of this year and lent himself $6.5 million of his own money.

At the same time, Giuliani officials said the former New York City mayor had raised $17 million in the same period, the most of any Republican candidate, with $15 million of that to be used for the primary rather than the general election.

Romney's funds are strictly for the primary, usually considered the true measure of financial strength at this stage of the race.

But those figures are dwarfed by those of the Democrats. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois announced this week that he had raised $32.5 million in the second quarter, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has brought in roughly $27 million, meaning the leading Democrats are close to doubling the fundraising of their GOP counterparts.

That gap, analysts said, suggests a far higher level of excitement among rank-and-file Democrats for their top candidates.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, attributed the GOP's money struggles to a broad malaise in the party. Republican voters, he said, "are depressed. Things are going poorly. Immigration split the party, Iraq is splitting them more than they're admitting."

In contrast, Obama and Clinton have been drawing enthusiastic, sometimes exuberant crowds.

Still, the Republican campaigns portrayed their fundraising numbers as a sign of momentum.

The most important figure, however, is how much cash each campaign has in the bank - that is, income minus expenditures. Giuliani said he has $15 million; Romney reported $12 million; and McCain has just $2 million.

Altogether, Romney has raised $43.9 million this year, making him the leading money-raiser among Republican candidates. Giuliani has raised $32 million for the year. McCain trailed them both, with $24.3 million.

The excitement gap between the parties is being reflected in other ways. Obama has reported receiving contributions from 258,000 people. In contrast, Romney's campaign said its campaign contributions came from 80,000 individuals, and McCain officials said 72,000 people contributed to their effort.

Neither Giuliani's nor Clinton's campaigns released the number of their donors.

The fundraising disparity is particularly notable because Republicans usually out-raise Democrats.

Jill Zuckman and Naftali Bendavid write for the Chicago Tribune.

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