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Started by R McCartney; Last updated Feb 28, 08 1:51 PM CST by D Lim | View history

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Campaign Finance

Beyond the poll numbers is an ongoing race to raise money

The 2008 Presidential Election is turning out to be the most expensive race in American history. Although it's not a top issue on anyone's platform, campaign finance is a driving force in almost every presidential hopeful's run for election. Bank balances are mentioned in the same breath as poll numbers and many candidates have dropped out for lack of funds in what FEC Chairman Michael Toner predicts will be a "$1 billion election."

Stories

Stories 61 - 80 of 99

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March 2008
- $1M Embezzled From GOP
  
  Washington Post | Mar 14, 08 7:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One of the Republican Party's former top bureaucrats is suspected of embezzling up to $1 million from the party's campaign coffers, reports the Washington Post. The former National Republican Congressional Committee treasurer allegedly diverted money into his personal accounts for four years. The news is a tough hit for congressional Republicans in an election year. More »
- $55M Another Record Month for Obama
  
  Chicago Tribune | Mar 6, 08 4:10 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama has 55 million reasons to keep his chin up despite losses this week in Democratic primaries, the Chicago Tribune reports, with the Illinois senator taking in $55 million in February to shatter, again, records for political donations. About 750,000 people donated last month; $45 million came online—an amount that itself eclipses Obama's January haul of $36 million. More »
- Dem Donations a Nightmare for GOP
  
  Associated Press | Mar 1, 08 8:44 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Republicans may be enjoying the death match between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but likely not the phenomenal fundraising of the Democrats. "I look at the Barack Obama campaign in some horror," the GOP national treasurer tells AP, citing Obama's $50-million take in February, along with Clinton's $35 million—together seven times that of John McCain. More »
February 2008
- Obama Rakes in $50M, Clinton $35M in February
  
  New York Times | Feb 28, 08 9:14 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama's campaign will have raised roughly $50 million by the time February ends, the New York Times reports. The record figure overshadows Hillary Clinton's tally of about $35 million for the month, her highest total yet. "It's an extraordinary number for us," said Clinton's campaign chief. The Obama camp hasn't released official figures, but major donors familiar with the tally provided an estimate. More »
- DNC to File Campaign Fund Complaint Against McCain
  
  Washington Post | Feb 25, 08 7:07 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Democratic National Committee will file an FEC complaint today against John McCain, accusing the likely GOP nominee of violating policy when he obtained campaign loans by promising to repay them with federal funds, the Washington Post reports. The FEC so far hasn't granted McCain's request to now opt out of the public matching funds system. More »
- Clinton Spending Vexes Donors
  
  New York Times | Feb 22, 08 10:52 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The $25,000 Hillary Clinton's sputtering campaign dropped at Vegas' posh Bellagio last month is raising eyebrows among those cutting her the checks, reports the New York Times. Add $5 million for the very strategists who engineered her string of recent failures, and donors looking over her latest campaign finance report are having some serious doubts about Clinton's spending priorities. More »
- Feds Taking Closer Look at McCain Loan
  
  TPM Muckraker | Feb 21, 08 12:32 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Today just isn’t John McCain’s day. The Federal Elections Commission says it may not allow the presumptive Republican nominee to drop out of the federal matching funds program, because he used it as collateral for a $4 million loan he took out to fund his cash-strapped primary campaign in December. If the FEC doesn't allow him to opt out, McCain will be restricted to spending just $54 million through August. More »
- January Take: Obama $36M, Clinton $13.5M, Mac $11.6M
  
  Associated Press | Feb 20, 08 2:51 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama vastly outpaced his rivals in January fundraising, scoring $36 million to Hillary Clinton’s $13.5 million and John McCain’s $11.6 million. The Democratic front-runner drew $28 million online, with 90% of donations at or below $100. Obama is now on the spot over a 2007 pledge to accept public financing; the fundraising-averse McCain campaign has lambasted Obama’s “backpedaling and waffling." More »
- McCain, Obama Clash Over Campaign Funds
  
  New York Times | Feb 16, 08 6:29 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - John McCain is baiting Barack Obama over campaign finance, the New York Times reports. Obama pledged last February that he would accept public financing—which comes with spending limits—if he became the Democratic nominee and his Republican opponent did likewise. He hasn't recommitted and GOP front-runner McCain is wondering out loud if Obama, the race's most prodigious fund-raiser, will try to back out. More »
- Huckabee Flies South for the Weekend
  
  Newsweek | Feb 15, 08 12:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Mike Huckabee vows to stay in the presidential race, but a man has got to make a living, too. Huckabee is leaving wintry Wisconsin today for the Cayman Islands, where he will give a paid speech tomorrow, Newsweek reports. The only candidate without a government paycheck or personal fortune, Huckabee draws most of his income from speaking engagements, says his campaign chief: "This is his job." More »
- Obama Expects to Rake in $30M This Month
  
  Politico | Feb 7, 08 4:04 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - After hauling in an epic $32 million in contributions in January, Barack Obama is expecting a near record-busting $30 million in donations this month. Even more striking, the candidate for change seems to raise most of his money in just that—change. Half of January's yield came in online contributions of $200 or less, many as little as $5 to $10, Politico reports. More »
- Risky Loan Helped McCain Hold On
  
  Washington Post | Feb 1, 08 7:45 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - John McCain's Lazarus-like return to the top of the race for the Republican presidential nomination required a huge gamble, writes the Washington Post —a $3 million loan last November to fund his struggling campaign, which was not only broke but $500,000 in the red. McCain had put up his fundraiser list as collateral, but the bank also required the 71-year-old senator to take out a special life insurance policy in case he died on the campaign trail. More »
January 2008
- Obama Pulled In $32M in January
  
  Washington Post | Jan 31, 08 11:34 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama has raised $32 million this month, the Washington Post reports—a massive number in such a short span. The Democrat's campaign manager reported 170,000 new donors in January, raising the total number of contributors to 650,000. The best fundraising day was immediately following Hillary Clinton’s Jan. 8 victory in New Hampshire—which the Obama camp interprets as showing “the resolve” of supporters. More »
- Sketchy Donor Could Sully Obama's Image
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 23, 08 4:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s relationship with a longtime contributor facing federal fraud charges could mar the candidate’s image as a politician unfettered by special interests. On Monday, Hillary Clinton slammed Obama with the allegation that he represented Antoin Rezko, a “slum landlord.” While that was an exaggeration, Rezko’s connection to Obama’s political career is stronger than he has acknowledged, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Right-Wing MoveOn Rival Raises $250M
  
  Talking Points Memo | Jan 21, 08 5:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A new political advocacy group pitching itself as a right-wing answer to MoveOn is mobilizing to spend $250 million to support candidates in 2008, more than twice the figure spent by the largest liberal group in 2004. Freedoms Watch's principals are two former Bush officials, Talking Points Memo reports, and the group’s spokesman is former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer. More »
- '08 Prez Campaigns Going Broke
  
  New York Times | Jan 19, 08 3:54 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Despite record fund-raising, top presidential hopefuls in both parties have blown almost all of their cash, the New York Times reports. Efforts to knock out opponents early have cost candidates at least $320 million, or 80% of what they have raised. With Super Tuesday fast approaching, “there is definitely some belt-tightening,” said one Barack Obama spokesman. Unless, of course, if you have Mitt