Is Ron Paul’s Fundraising Drying Up ?
Say what you will about his campaign and his supporters, but one of the more remarkable political stories of 2007. There were moneybombs in November and December that brought in more in a single day than some candidates had raised all quarter. By the end of the 4th Quarter, the campaign had raised $ 20 million in three months.
Then, at the beginning of January, the campaign said that it would need an additional $ 23 million by January 31st to be competitive on Super Tuesday. That’s right —- they’d need to raise as much as they did in three months in four weeks.
Right now, it doesn’t seem to be going well.
The tally on the campaign’s homepage shows less than $ 900,000 raised through today, with only 14 days to go. And one site that’s tallying the “road to $ 23 million” shows them to be at least $ 21 million short.
Personally, I’m not sure that $ 23 million is needed just for the Super Tuesday states, but that’s what the campaign is saying.
The question is, what’s happening with the fundraising. Have people stopped giving ? Have they maxed out on the FEC limits ? I’ve got to think that the campaign’s poor showing in the last four primaries/caucuses has something to do with it. Truth be told, people get discouraged.
There is one solution to the money problem, of course, Paul could apply for federal matching funds. However, as I noted in October, doing so would involve violating the very principles Paul claims to be running on.
I think what we’re seeing is clearly a byproduct of disappointment in the ranks, and I’m not sure it’s going to get any better.