Political hopefuls struggle to raise money

There is an expression in politics that challengers have more time but incumbents have more money.

In most cases, a lot more money.

Barring major missteps by an incumbent, challengers for top political offices are typically placed in a difficult situation when it comes to asking folks for money.

And, as the bar to be competitive steadily rises in the prevailing campaigning environment, one of the four candidates running for one of the two U.S. House of Representatives seats that includes Iredell County could be viewed as being nearly broke.

5th District Race
According to a Federal Election Commission report, Democrat Roy Carter has less than $4,000 in his campaign war chest.

Carter, a former high school teacher and football coach, is hoping to unseat two-term 5th District incumbent Virginia Foxx.

Carter spokesman Ben Salt said the campaign has raised another $13,000 or so during the first few weeks of July, which would bring Carter’s total contributions to about $111,000.

Salt said that burst of fundraising and other factors related to the 5th District race have gotten the attention of the Democratic National Convention.

“We’re on their radar screen,” he said, explaining that the DNC “ranks races” and pumps money into the ones it deems winnable.

“And they are starting to track us to see if they are going to support us,” he said.

Salt said that even if Carter does not raise another dime he has already brought in more cash than Democrat Roger Sharpe did when he ran against Foxx in 2006.

The problem is that Carter had to spend most of that money in his Democratic Primary against Statesville businesswoman Diane Hamby. According to the FEC report, Carter was down to $3,843 as of June 30. Even with the funds raised this month, the campaign has only about $17,000 on hand.

By comparison, Foxx has almost $1 million to spend in advance of the November election.

She has added $810,217 to her war chest this election period. Slightly more than half that - $410,604 - came from 674 individual donations.

Of those, 43 donors are Iredell County residents, who contributed $19,575.

“Her fundraising speaks to the support she has across the district, the state and the United States,” said Todd Poole, Foxx’s chief of staff. “Fundraising is hard work and she works as hard as anyone I’ve ever known. She pounds the phone.”

In addition to raising money well, Poole said the campaign spends it wisely.

“We’re very frugal,” he said.

Frugal, perhaps, but not entirely stingy.

Despite the fact that Foxx did not have a Republican opponent to contend with in a primary, she has already spent nearly five times as much as Carter has raised.

Through June 30, the Virginia Foxx For Congress campaign has spent $493,630, according to an FEC report.

One single payment on the Foxx campaign’s itemized expenditure list dwarfs Carter’s entire campaign operation.

On April 14 Foxx paid Washington, D.C.-based Greener & Hook $150,000. The purpose listed for the payment on the FEC report is “advertising.”

Poole explained that Greener & Hook was a much sought-after political publicity firm and that he paid for advertising early to ensure Foxx didn’t get left out in the fall.

Foxx’s next-biggest expenses are to consultants. The campaign paid a total of $123,158 to three different firms between January 2007 and April 2008.

Carter’s expenses much more resemble the grassroots type of campaign the candidate has said he wants to run.

The campaign spent $11,937 on “Team Carter” signs, stickers, buttons, handout cards and T-shirts.

And, as a modern expression of the shoe-leather expended on the campaign trail, it shelled out a total of $2,497 on gasoline.

That latter amount is only about $1,350 less than the campaign spent on “consulting fees,” most of which was paid to former campaign media director Miranda Burgin.

10th District Race
As a challenger, Hickory attorney Daniel Johnson has been significantly more successful at raising money than Carter.

Where Carter has been out-raised by a ratio of nearly 8 to 1, Johnson trails 10th District incumbent Rep. Patrick McHenry by a margin of only about 3.5 to 1.

Johnson has raised just under $342,000 in this election cycle, while McHenry has collected nearly $1.2 million.

But McHenry has already spent about $840,000.

More than one-eighth of that amount - $106,598 - has gone to a Raleigh company, The Stewart Group, which is headed by political consultant Dee Stewart.

Stewart said he has known McHenry for more than 10 years and has been involved with all his political campaigns, the first of which - a failed 1998 run for the N.C. House of Representatives - when McHenry was only 23.

Stewart said he serves as McHenry’s “senior political adviser” and that his company “handles the congressman’s planning, advertising, communication and management needs.”

Stewart said McHenry’s ability as a fundraiser has grown with his incumbency.

“He’s a proven commodity that people have come to trust,” Stewart said.

Johnson said he knew going into his race that money was going to be tight.

“It’s always hard to raise funds when you go up against an incumbent,” he said. “And we fully expected to be outraised and outspent, but we’re very encouraged by how things have gone so far.”

In Iredell County, McHenry has outraised Johnson, $22,765 to $1,300.

Posted on 07/25/08 at 08:18 AM
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