| Update: Obama campaign now denying report. A spokesman called the number "way off the mark" but didn't offer the correct total. Back to waiting... The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Obama's fundraising total for June will come in around $30 million, following burnout and exhaustion after a lengthy primary, and leftover bitterness among Clinton supporters still unwilling to donate: June fund-raising for Sen. Obama appears to be falling below the expectations of some supporters. The campaign hasn't released its June numbers, but people close to the fund-raising operation say the total will likely be just over $30 million. While this isn't a poor showing, it is an underwhelming haul for a campaign that has ballooned in recent months, has promised a true, 50-state electioneering effort and has told its biggest fund-raisers that it wants to collect $300 million in general-election cash by mid-October.
This comes as McCain and the RNC report a planned $400 million budget for the fall campaign and already have over $90 million on hand. It's going to be a tough slog ahead for the campaign. It's worth remembering though that the Obama campaign has also begun to fundraise for the DNC in earnest, so the combined fundraising should be good. Second, remember that small donor fundraising can be fickle. Summer-time fundraising from small donors is difficult because it's harder to gain momentum; the candidates are in the news less; people are less plugged in; many are on vacation; there isn't the press of the primary schedule. But here's the main thing: Supporters don't necessarily feel the urgency to donate to a candidate if they don't know they're in trouble. The Obama campaign needs to be up front with small donors, if the campaign wants them to chip in an extra $25 or $50 dollars. Clinton found out that loaning herself $5 million at the end of January was the best fundraising move she ever made, since her supporters finally found out she was in trouble. And that was the genius of Ron Paul, who offered total transparency in terms of fundraising totals, and whose internet fundraising boomed as a result. |
