According to a recent article published by Bloomberg, during the
first half of 2007, Barack Obama managed to raise $59 million for his
presidential campaign. In order to match that, any prospective
Republican, Independent, Libertarian, Green Party, and/or any other
challenging candidates to Obama’s re-election would need to raise
approximately $590,000 each day, until June 30th if they entered the race today.
Former Minnesota Governor, and Republican, Tim Pawlenty, announced the other day that he was setting up an exploratory committee to raise money for a possible candidacy. With some experts now predicting that President Obama could become the first billion-dollar candidate, every day that passes by other potential challengers to his re-election, will make it much harder to match the President’s war chest for getting re-elected.
“It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Republicans to raise as much money as Obama,” said former Republican National Committee finance chairman Al Hoffman Jr., who is a North Palm Beach, Florida, real estate developer.
However, this does not mean that the Republicans and/or any other party candidates can’t mitigate an Obama fundraising advantage. There are the popular outside groups, such as Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, who helped the Republican party take over control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and are preparing for the 2012 election as well. The prospective candidates are lining up major fundraisers and continually preparing efforts to attract small donors to boost funds.
“All of the potential serious candidates have been laying that groundwork for a long time,” said former Republican Representative Bill Paxon of New York.
“Just because they haven’t actually started collecting the resources doesn’t mean they haven’t been working on building the infrastructure that will allow them to collect the checks” when needed.
That infrastructure Paxon touched on includes the forming of teams of people to raise money from circles of high net worth donors. These circles of wealthy donors have been a staple of presidential campaigns since George W. Bush in 2000 became the first major-party nominee to be elected president after declining to limit spending for the primaries in exchange for federal funds.
“When they give the signal to go, the checks will be written and the money will be there,” said Frank Donatelli, a partner in the law and lobbying firm McGuireWoods LLP, who raised more than $100,000 for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
“The moment you start a committee, the overhead starts,” he said. “That’s what’s holding everyone back.”
Candidates MUST Attract Smaller Donors
This election cycle’s prospective Republican, Independent, and other party candidates are also making plans to focus on small donors, following Obama’s 2008 example of incredibly successful fundraising for his campaign. Obama raised 54 percent of his money in contributions of $200 or less from donors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.
“One is cognizant of that,” said Sam Fox, chairman of the St. Louis-based investment firm Harbour Group, who raised at least $200,000 for Bush. “A lot of attention will be paid to that particular aspect of raising money.”
Four years ago, nearly all of the main contenders for both Republican and Democrat parties’ presidential nominations had announced their plans to take on the White House. Presently, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia was the closest to an official announcement which came on March 3, as he announced he was setting up a website in order to raise money to explore a presidential run, besides Pawlenty.
Other prospective Republican candidates have been using political action committees to raise money and spend on activities that could benefit a quest for winning the presidency. The activities include hiring staff, developing targeted donor lists, while traveling around the country and meeting as many possible supporters as possible.
Without a doubt, President Obama ran the most successful political fundraising campaigns in history, propelling a Junior Senator from Illinois into the most powerful position in the world. Attracting small donations from millions of poor to middle-class supporters paid off handsomely for his run, while heavily fundraising via the Internet, which has made giving donations much easier for donors nationwide.
As the presidential race for the 2012 White House heats up, analysts predict strong growth in the online political fundraising space, where both sides of the aisle, including all those running for president, could reach $40 billion in money raised for their campaigns, with about $4 billion being raised online.
Former Minnesota Governor, and Republican, Tim Pawlenty, announced the other day that he was setting up an exploratory committee to raise money for a possible candidacy. With some experts now predicting that President Obama could become the first billion-dollar candidate, every day that passes by other potential challengers to his re-election, will make it much harder to match the President’s war chest for getting re-elected.
“It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Republicans to raise as much money as Obama,” said former Republican National Committee finance chairman Al Hoffman Jr., who is a North Palm Beach, Florida, real estate developer.
However, this does not mean that the Republicans and/or any other party candidates can’t mitigate an Obama fundraising advantage. There are the popular outside groups, such as Karl Rove’s American Crossroads, who helped the Republican party take over control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010 and are preparing for the 2012 election as well. The prospective candidates are lining up major fundraisers and continually preparing efforts to attract small donors to boost funds.
“All of the potential serious candidates have been laying that groundwork for a long time,” said former Republican Representative Bill Paxon of New York.
“Just because they haven’t actually started collecting the resources doesn’t mean they haven’t been working on building the infrastructure that will allow them to collect the checks” when needed.
That infrastructure Paxon touched on includes the forming of teams of people to raise money from circles of high net worth donors. These circles of wealthy donors have been a staple of presidential campaigns since George W. Bush in 2000 became the first major-party nominee to be elected president after declining to limit spending for the primaries in exchange for federal funds.
“When they give the signal to go, the checks will be written and the money will be there,” said Frank Donatelli, a partner in the law and lobbying firm McGuireWoods LLP, who raised more than $100,000 for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
“The moment you start a committee, the overhead starts,” he said. “That’s what’s holding everyone back.”
Candidates MUST Attract Smaller Donors
This election cycle’s prospective Republican, Independent, and other party candidates are also making plans to focus on small donors, following Obama’s 2008 example of incredibly successful fundraising for his campaign. Obama raised 54 percent of his money in contributions of $200 or less from donors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.
“One is cognizant of that,” said Sam Fox, chairman of the St. Louis-based investment firm Harbour Group, who raised at least $200,000 for Bush. “A lot of attention will be paid to that particular aspect of raising money.”
Four years ago, nearly all of the main contenders for both Republican and Democrat parties’ presidential nominations had announced their plans to take on the White House. Presently, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia was the closest to an official announcement which came on March 3, as he announced he was setting up a website in order to raise money to explore a presidential run, besides Pawlenty.
Other prospective Republican candidates have been using political action committees to raise money and spend on activities that could benefit a quest for winning the presidency. The activities include hiring staff, developing targeted donor lists, while traveling around the country and meeting as many possible supporters as possible.
Without a doubt, President Obama ran the most successful political fundraising campaigns in history, propelling a Junior Senator from Illinois into the most powerful position in the world. Attracting small donations from millions of poor to middle-class supporters paid off handsomely for his run, while heavily fundraising via the Internet, which has made giving donations much easier for donors nationwide.
As the presidential race for the 2012 White House heats up, analysts predict strong growth in the online political fundraising space, where both sides of the aisle, including all those running for president, could reach $40 billion in money raised for their campaigns, with about $4 billion being raised online.
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