Year End Fundraising Numbers, Iowa Money Bounce Will Shape Critical Weeks Ahead

Washington, DC-With the Iowa caucus only a day away and 10 months before the general election, presidential candidates have already raised nearly half a billion dollars in their quest for the White House. While many are declining to release official fourth quarter fundraising numbers until later in the month, the money story on Iowa caucus night will loom as large as ever.

Tomorrow night, the Clinton, Obama, and Romney campaigns, as leaders in the money derby, will tout their chances of succeeding in the 28 primaries and caucuses being held over the next 33 days because they can compete robustly thanks to the jaw-dropping sums of cash they have raised. And you can bet that the next tier of candidates, if they do well Thursday evening, will predict that their success will trigger an upsurge of contributions that will enable them also to compete.

For candidates who lag in fundraising, like Biden, Dodd, and Thompson, a poor showing in Iowa will leave them without the funds or momentum to compete further. Those who drop out will surely cite money as a factor.

While candidates are not required to file official reports with the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) until the end of January, some candidates are leaking news about their fundraising prowess in hope of boosting their chances in the "wealth primary."

A handful of estimates have been released, including those from Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). These candidates have raised at least an estimated $70 million in the fourth quarter. Clinton and Obama have each raised over $100 million for the primary and general elections this year. By this point in 2004, John Kerry had raised only $24 million. In all of 2007, candidates currently running for president have raised a record-setting $482,000,000, according to Public Campaign analysis and the Center for Responsive Politics. This is a substantial 80 percent increase from the $272 million raised in all of 2003, according to the Campaign Finance Institute.

"While most people welcome 2008 by resolving to exercise and call their mother more often, these candidates only have one resolution for 2008--continue to raise record breaking campaign cash," said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign.

In the first three quarters of the year, the increasing number of small donors got press attention, but the major donors are still the ones in charge. According to the Campaign Finance Institute, during the first three quarters of the year, collectively the candidates raised more than 80 percent of their contributions in chunks of more than $200.

"Every candidate says they'd bring to change to Washington," said Nyhart. "Let's bring real change to Washington by scrapping the pay-to-play political system and making elections about voters and not big campaign donors."

It's time for Fair Elections, or full public financing of elections. Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) are the lead sponsors of the Fair Elections Now Act, legislation modeled on successful public financing systems in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine. The Presidential Public Financing Act, introduced in December with bipartisan bicameral support, would update the current presidential public financing system.

To learn more about Fair Elections, visit http://www.publicampaign.org/federalaction.

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Public Campaign is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to sweeping reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big special interest money in American politics. For more information, go to www.publicampaign.org.