Washington Post’s The Fix
April 9, 2009
Chris Cillizza
Anyone who follows politics with even passing interest knows that former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe is a fundraising machine. So, expectations (at least from the Fix) were high when it came to how much McAuliffe could raise for his gubernatorial bid in Virginia. And yet, McAuliffe managed to exceed them by collecting a stunning $4.2 million in the first three months of the year, a total that dwarfed the $800,000 collected by former state Assemblyman Brian Moran who is also seeking the Democratic nod. State Sen. Creigh Deeds had yet to release his own money numbers but it was expected they would be well below what McAuliffe brought in. "We are thrilled with the grassroots and fundraising support we have received over the last few months," said McAuliffe campaign manager Mike Henry in an email announcing the money total. Moran sought to spin his own fundraising by noting that he had eclipsed his original goal and that his cash position was "putting us in a position to have the resources to win," according to campaign officials. (That's an argument not dissimilar from the one top aides to former Sen. John Edwards made during the early months of 2007 when he was being badly outraised by then Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.) Money isn't everything in politics but with northern Virginia, which is covered by the pricey D.C. media market, seen as the critical area in the battle between McAuliffe and Moran, the former's cash position has to be seen as a major asset. One caveat: McAuliffe's $2.5 million cash on hand total shows that he is spending money at a rapid pace as well and makes the distance between him and Moran/Deeds slightly more manageable.
No comments:
Post a Comment