|
Hillary has fundraising lead for 2006 { April 19 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/nyregion/metrocampaigns/19hillary.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/nyregion/metrocampaigns/19hillary.html
April 19, 2005
Senator Clinton Piles Up a Fund-Raising Lead for 2006
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
WASHINGTON, April 18 - Even as Republicans struggle to find a candidate to challenge Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York next year, she has embarked on a furious fund-raising drive that appears to have left her with a larger reserve of cash than any other senator seeking re-election.
Her campaign reported on Monday that she had amassed nearly $4 million in contributions in the first three months of this year, meaning that she will close the first quarter with $8.7 million in the bank.
Mrs. Clinton's advisers are reluctant to say what the senator's fund-raising goal is for the 2006 re-election campaign. But she raised and spent roughly $30 million in 2000, when she won Daniel Patrick Moynihan's old seat in the most expensive Senate race in New York history, according to campaign finance disclosure records.
This time around, Mrs. Clinton, whose popularity rating in New York is soaring, may end up facing only token opposition. But Republicans are nevertheless vowing to spend millions to attack her, no matter who her opponent is, because she is considered a leading presidential contender in 2008.
The amount raised by the Clinton campaign during the first quarter of the year strongly suggests that her base of support is swiftly mobilizing, even though Republicans are having trouble recruiting a big-name candidate to run against her.
Two potentially strong opponents - Rudolph W. Giuliani and Gov. George E. Pataki, both formidable fund-raisers, have shown little interest in running against her in 2006. At this point, the most likely Republican candidate is Edward F. Cox, a lawyer who is the son-in-law of President Nixon.
Mrs. Clinton's total - collected during a fund-raising sprint that included as many as two events a week - solidifies her position as one of the most formidable fund-raisers in politics, with an almost unrivaled ability to rake in huge sums of money in a relatively short period.
But remarkably enough, the nearly $9 million that Mrs. Clinton has in the bank does not capture the full extent of her fund-raising ability, say her campaign advisers and other Democrats.
That is because Mrs. Clinton spent her first four years in office playing host to fund-raising events not so much for herself as for House and Senate candidates around the country, as well as the three major Washington-based Democratic campaign committees.
Her campaign advisers estimate that she brought in at least $45 million for other Democrats, including Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic candidate for president. Indeed, Whitehaven, the Clinton home in Washington near Embassy Row, has been a hub of Democratic activity, with frequent fund-raising dinners and receptions.
Mrs. Clinton's efforts on behalf of Democrats have enabled her to forge new alliances around the country, alliances that will almost certainly come in handy should she decide to run for national office, Democratic officials say.
While the public is paying almost no attention to the 2006 campaign, Republicans who are thinking about running against her are closely scrutinizing her fund-raising totals.
More than that, Republican leaders in New York and around the country are making impassioned appeals for money to help her eventual challenger, adding to the pressure Mrs. Clinton's advisers say they feel to raise money.
In one instance, a prominent conservative Republican strategist, Arthur J. Finkelstein, is setting up a political action committee, called Stop Her Now, to raise $10 million to run a hard-hitting advertising campaign against Mrs. Clinton in 2006.
Republican strategists say that raising large sums of money against Mrs. Clinton will be relatively easy no matter who her opponent is because of the strong anti-Clinton sentiment among conservatives.
Indeed, in her previous campaign, Mrs. Clinton faced two Republican challengers who managed to raise staggering sums from Republicans across the country: Rudolph W. Giuliani, who spent about $20.7 million before dropping out, and Rick A. Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island, who spent $40.6 million, according to campaign finance records.
In that context, Mrs. Clinton's advisers say she cannot take anything for granted, particularly since her Republican opponents have successfully employed anti-Clinton appeals both to raise money and to expand their own donor bases.
"We have to take this seriously," said Patti Solis Doyle, the executive director of Friends of Hillary, Mrs. Clinton's re-election campaign committee. "It almost doesn't matter who runs against her. He or she will be very well funded. Let's not forget that Rick Lazio raised more than $37 million in six months."
While the latest financial reports were not available for every single senator who is up for re-election in 2006, Mrs. Clinton's tally was so impressive that it seemed unlikely to be surpassed, according to officials in both parties.
In fact, a spot check showed that Mrs. Clinton had larger cash reserves than even Republican and Democratic senators who have been among the most aggressive fund-raisers in preparation for the 2006 campaign season.
These senators include Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas ($7.2 million), Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts ($6.2 million), George Allen of Virginia ($3 million), Bill Nelson of Florida ($3 million), Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania ($2.8 million) and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan ($2.8 million), according to their aides and campaign disclosure statements.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
|
|
