McCain Raised $22 Million in June
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James Joyner | Thursday, July 10, 2008 |
John McCain and the Republicans are in much better financial shape than we thought, breaking his May record of $21 million with a $22 million haul in June.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain raised more than $22 million in June, his best fundraising performance of the year, and ended the month with nearly $27 million cash on hand.
Campaign manager Rick Davis said Thursday that McCain and the national Republican Party together entered July with about $95 million in the bank. The Republican National Committee, which has been raising money jointly with McCain, collected nearly $26 million in June and had nearly $69 million on hand, officials said.
The campaign’s fundraising has given McCain the ability to spend more on television advertising than Democrat Barack Obama in key battleground states. Davis said about half of its income had been spent on television advertising.
[...]
The McCain and Obama campaigns have significantly different fundraising calculations to make. McCain has agreed to take public financing in the fall, limiting him to about $84 million in spending for campaign activities. That means he will have to rely on the Republican Party to spend more to help his bid.
Obama has chosen to reject the public funds, the first major party candidate to do so in the general election in three decades. Obama is counting on raising far more than the $84 million he would be allotted by the taxpayer-financed presidential fund. While McCain must spend any money he raises now by the end of August, Obama does not. The Democratic senator could save that money to boost his general election spending.
“They have to determine whether they will husband their primary dollars to be used in the general election, or spend down their primary dollars to keep pace with our spending,” Davis said.
It’s a very bizarre strategy on Davis’ part to be bragging about McCain’s fundraising and ability to spend money. Wouldn’t they be better off continue to play up the fact that McCain is limited to $84 million but Obama isn’t because he broke his word? And, for that matter, poormouthing yourself while talking up the opponent’s advantages is a time honored tactic in the expectations game.
Photo credit: LA Times
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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It may be bizarre for the McCain campaign to brag about this, but it IS consistent - with the incompetence of this campaign.
If McCain ever had a chance, it is fast sinking away through the blundering of this Dole rerun.
Obama puts his foot in his mouth daily and never a sound from McCain.
Maybe he is too old, napping and surrounded by inside-the-beltway hotshots who don't have a clue.
Obama's campaign just released their June numbers: $52 Million
