The United States Democrat challenger for the White House, John Kerry, has raised more money in the past six months than President George W Bush, with his Democratic Party embracing the internet to help it cancel out what is a traditional Republican advantage.
Kerry raised more than $160-million in the first six months of this year, according to figures from the federal election commission, compared with $95-million for Bush.
The Republicans still have the overall advantage — and spokespeople noted that Bush stopped focusing on fundraising last April — but even so, Kerry has been raising money at an unprecedented rate.
Last month alone the Democrat raised $37,7-million, nearly triple Bush’s monthly take of $13-milllion.
Ralph Nader’s resources were meagre in comparison. His campaign finance report showed the independent candidate had raised roughly $500 000 in June, with just $207 000 in the bank.
The Democrats seem to owe their newfound prosperity to a confluence of events: technology; personal hostility to Bush and the passions aroused by the war in Iraq that have made this election a season for giving; and a shortened primary season that saw the early emergence of Kerry as the presumptive nominee.
Stealing a leaf from Howard Dean, the failed Democratic contender who used the Web to build a grassroots base, the Kerry campaign used new technology to great effect, said Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute.
That helped the Democrats overcome a traditional strength in Republican fundraising through direct mail, which is costlier and more time consuming than soliciting funds over the internet.
”The Republicans for 25 years had this very large advantage in small donors based on direct mail, but they spent a lot of money to get it. This year the Democrats in a sense leapfrogged the technology and were able to raise a lot of money on the Internet,” Malbin said.
”The Democrats in a sense went to the next generation of fundraising.” The Democratic surge still leaves Kerry far behind Bush, who has plenty of cash in hand — about $64-million — for a television advertising blitz scheduled to steal the thunder from Kerry after he is officially nominated at next week’s party convention in Boston.
But the Republicans will not have the field to themselves. Kerry, who had $37,2-million in the bank on June 30, has matched Bush’s spending in key battlegrounds, thanks, in part, to support groups such as Moveon.org, which have helped pay for media adverts.
Both candidates are expected to run through their coffers before they are formally nominated, after which, according to US election regulations, they will receive $75-million in public funds for campaigns.
But a Republican spokesperson said that the apparent advantage in Kerry fundraising was deceptive, noting that Bush — unlike his Democrat challenger — did most of his fundraising last year. The president has not actively courted donors since April, freeing him for his re-election campaign.
In contrast, Kerry has raised about three-quarters of his funds since March 2, when he defeated his rivals to become the presumptive nominee.
Bush continues to raise funds for Republican Senate and congressional races, and was due to appear at a dinner in Washington this week, at which organisers expected to net at least $21,5-million.
However, even that collection for a single event — with about 6 500 guests expected at the $2 500-a-plate dinner — pales beside the $38,5-million Bush raised at a gala event last May.
This year’s lavish cash flow is viewed as a measure of the intensity of this election season, with emotions running high on the war in Iraq and on national security.
Amid growing public disquiet about the war, with the death toll among US soldiers passing 900 on Wednesday, Bush has tried to reposition himself from a warrior to a man of peace. He is also under pressure to define his re-election platform.
”Nobody wants to be the war president. I want to be the peace president,” Bush told a rally in Iowa on Tuesday. ”The next four years will be peaceful years.”
That speech, in which Bush used the words ”peace” and ”president” 20 times, marked a change from his own view of his role last February when he told reporters: ”I’m a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind.” — Â