The cumlative polling data for the presidential primaries can be found
here.
The Presidential candidates have filed their third quarter financial reports
as reported by
OpenSecrets.org and
listed below in whole dollars.
The data are also available in .csv format.
What is striking is how the Democrats dominate the money race. The net worth of
Hillary Clinton's campaign is $48 million, more than twice as much as the net worth of all the
Republican campaigns combined. Even Barack Obama's campaign has 1.5 times as much as all
the Republican campaigns combined. Not bad for a guy only 3 years removed from the
Illinois state Senate.
However, the net worth figures are a bit misleading. Mitt Romney is last because he has
a debt of $17 million, but that debt is entirely to himself. Sometime next year, Mitt the
banker could say to Mitt the candidate: "You did a great job. Tell you what. You don't have
to pay me back." It is harder to do that (not to mention, illegal) if the creditor is an arline or hotel chain
Thus while Romney has raised $63 million, only $45 million came from
other folks, which puts him on par with Rudy Giuliani, who hasn't invested his own money
in his campaign.
The Ron Paul phenomenon is also noteworthy. His campaign's net worth exceeds that of
McCain, Huckabee, Brownback, Hunter, Keyes, Tancredo, and Romney.
And with a bit of luck, he could pass Fred Thompson for the #2 slot by the end of the year.
We're talking about a fringe candidate here, after all; it is as if Mike Gravel were
coming in just behind Obama on the Democratic side. Paul is clearly tapping into
the mother lode of unhappiness among Republicans with their "top-tier" candidates.
Paul is also the only Republican to oppose the war in Iraq and call for the
troops to come home. On one of the debates he had to nerve to suggest that maybe
our stationing troops in Saudi Arabia might just have something to do with
"why they hate us." All the other candidates, led by Rudy Giuliani, began
frothing at the mouth when he said this, but it is likely some Republicans
watching the debate reacted by reaching for their credit cards. While Paul is
not registering in the polls at all, things could change. Remember Harold
Wilson's dictum: In politics, a week is a long time.
To anyone who has followed the money trail for a long time, these numbers are nothing
short of astounding. Historically, the GOP outraised the Democrats by a huge margin.
This year the Democratic presidential candidates are far outstripping the Republican
candidates. And the picture is just as gloomy for the GOP in terms of
Senate and House fundraising
where the Democrats hold huge leads.
One can't but have the feeling that major Republican donors are
holding back because they see the handwriting on the wall. When you give money to the eventual
winner, you are buying access to the people in power. Politicians are the last bargain left
in America. For $100,000 you can have lunch with a senator whenever you want to.
You can't even buy a parking space in Manhattan for that.
For $1 million, you get the President's personal cell phone number and for $10 million
they'll change the colors in the American flag for you.
If you bet on the loser, it is money down the toilet. This is why following the money
race is imortant--it shows you what the big guys are thinking.
Yes, small donations via the Internet are becoming more important, but the big bundlers are still
where the real action is.
Candidate
Party
Q3 raised
Q3 spent
Tot raised
Tot spent
Cash on Hand
Debt
Net
Hillary Clinton
Dem
27,859,861
22,623,680
90,935,788
40,472,775
50,463,013
2,347,486
48,115,527
Barack Obama
Dem
21,343,292
21,519,790
80,256,427
44,169,236
36,087,191
1,409,740
34,677,451
Rudy Giuliani
GOP
11,624,255
13,300,650
47,253,521
30,603,695
16,649,826
169,256
16,480,570
John Edwards
Dem
7,157,233
8,271,938
30,329,152
17,932,103
12,397,048
0
12,397,048
Fred Thompson
GOP
12,828,111
5,706,367
12,828,111
5,706,367
7,121,744
678,432
6,443,312
Bill Richardson
Dem
5,358,585
6,666,681
18,699,937
12,878,349
5,821,588
75,222
5,746,366
Ron Paul
GOP
5,258,456
2,169,644
8,268,453
2,824,786
5,443,667
0
5,443,667
Chris Dodd
Dem
1,522,061
4,025,458
13,598,152
9,723,278
3,874,874
0
3,874,874
Joe Biden
Dem
1,757,394
2,635,896
8,215,739
6,329,324
1,886,340
128,210
1,758,130
John McCain
GOP
5,734,478
5,470,277
32,124,785
28,636,157
3,488,628
1,730,691
1,757,937
Mike Huckabee
GOP
1,034,486
819,376
2,345,798
1,694,497
651,301
47,810
603,491
Dennis Kucinich
Dem
1,011,696
888,774
2,130,200
1,803,576
327,094
0
327,094
Sam Brownback
GOP
925,745
1,278,856
4,235,333
4,140,660
94,654
0
94,654
Duncan Hunter
GOP
536,357
618,117
1,890,873
1,758,132
132,742
50,000
82,742
Alan Keyes
GOP
21,218
10,139
22,768
10,139
12,629
12,876
-247
Mike Gravel
Dem
130,510
99,866
238,745
207,604
31,141
64,716
-33,575
Tom Tancredo
GOP
767,152
1,209,583
3,538,244
3,458,130
110,079
295,603
-185,524
Mitt Romney
GOP
18,396,719
21,301,756
62,829,069
53,612,552
9,216,517
17,350,000
-8,133,483
This page is the prototype for 2008. The data and map will refer to previous
elections until serious polls begin in 2008. The blog will be updated when
there is interesting news about the 2008 races.
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