July 17, 2008

Republican Donors Starving Downticket Candidates to Feed McCain

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Interesting observation from MSNBC’s First Read:

McCain really doesn’t have a money problem. In fact, as Rick Davis bragged last week, money isn’t going to be the issue many thought it would be just two months ago. Why is this? It appears many Republican donors are buying into the argument that the ONLY shot Republicans have of winning anything is the presidency. And this is hurting Republicans running for the House and Senate where Democrats are dominating on the financial front. Yesterday, the DSCC released a list of 11 races being held in GOP-held seats, and the Democrats were nearly on par or ahead in every race, according to the most recent fundraising report. Question: Are we seeing the reverse ’96 effect taking place inside the GOP? In 1996, the word went out that Dole was a lost cause, and all of the GOP’s resources went to saving House and Senate candidates in order to preserve their control of Congress.

Obama raised $52 million in June, while the DNC raised $22.4 million. Together, they reportedly have $92 million cash on hand. McCain raised $22 million in June, with the RNC adding $25.7 million. Together, they have $95 million on hand.

So yeah, McCain is hanging tough in the money race. We’ll see if that continues into the general election period after the conventions.

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