Recently, polls show that presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama and presumed GOP nominee John McCain are in a tight race. But fundraising is a completely different story.
As anticipated, the US Presidential election ticket will be presumed Democratic nominee Senator
Barack Obama of Illinois going up against presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona. Recently, a poll of polls taken reveals that Obama and McCain are virtually tied with each other. Obama has a bare two-point lead over McCain.
Recently, the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) had prepared a volley of attack ads against Obama. Several months ago at a donor event, the RNC had outlined a five-point attack plan against Obama. It looked as if many in the GOP were preparing for Obama to be the eventual Democratic nominee. And Obama did become the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Obama and McCain have plenty of ammunition to use against each other.
However, McCain’s campaign faces a serious threat: Obama’s ability to raise funds. New campaign finance data shows that Obama has been raising more funds than McCain has.
In the Democratic race, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York could not compete with the fundraising prowess of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. Clinton ended up $20 million in the red zone. It was at a point that Clinton had to put her own money into her own campaign.
Before dropping out of the GOP race, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney had to use his own money.
Numbers indicate that Obama’s funds were in the nine-figures while McCain’s funds were in the eight-figures. Between the two numbers, there is a very sizable gap between Obama’s funds and McCain’s funds.
Funding has given Obama a valuable advantage over McCain. Also to make matters worse for McCain, many of Bush’s former donors have started to back Obama. Those that have donated to US President George W. Bush during his re-election campaign, have now started to donate to Obama.
Recently, Obama has received the financial support of figures such as: Don King, Richard Mellon Scaife, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and so forth. While it is good for Obama, it is bad for McCain. Many economic conservatives are frustrated with the GOP’s performance in Washington.
One major advantage Obama has over McCain is raising funds. In McCain’s case, it is revealed that he is not good at raising funds. Still, McCain has yet to get the support of the Republican Party’s base, the conservatives. At this moment, McCain has to juggle several balancing acts. If he is not careful, McCain could risk losing the conservative bloc of the GOP this November.
