Blogging Against Senator Sam Brownback Since March 2005
According to the Kansas City Star, Senator Sam Brownback’s fundraising efforts for his presidential run are lagging many other potential candidates:
And Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, who spent much of 2005 testing presidential waters?
The Republican raised a little more than $242,000 for his Restore America political action committee.
“That’s awful,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. “It’s early, but that’s not an impressive number at all. He clearly is in the third tier, not even in the second tier.”
Ouch. That has to hurt. I haven’t blogged on Brownback’s lack of fundraising prowess because according to several sources, he hasn’t begun to heavily fundraise as of yet. David Kensinger, a Brownback aide, alluded to this in the Kansas City Star’s report:
“He is in very good shape if he decides to go forward,” Kensinger said of Brownback. “If he decides to go forward, by necessity then you want to kick everything into a higher gear.”
There is no doubt that Brownback is behind when it comes to fundraising. If he hopes to have a prayer of influencing the race, he must put some dollars in the bank as soon as possible.
That being said, I believe Senator Brownback’s strength in the fundraising arena will not come from $2000 donors but from smaller donations likely solicited from grassroots religious conservatives. I can see Brownback becoming a sort of “Howard Dean-esque” candidate who is buoyed by the ideological grassroots’ time and money.
Only time will tell.
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Blogging Against Senator Sam Brownback Since March 2005
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February 1st, 2006 at 9:52 am
Money isn’t as important to candidates on the ideological fringe. Brownback has access the the extensive machinery of the Religious Right. There’s an evangelical or catholic church is virtually every precinct in the country. He can get spread a message and mobilize voters for very little money.
I suspect Brownback’s strategy is to lay low. While he wants to be taken seriously … he also was to lay the groundwork for his campaign below the radar of most major media. Articles like Rolling Stone do a great deal of damage. Brownback cannot afford to be pegged as unelectable.
Brownback’s entire strategy is the “stealth campaign.” Remember how Ralph Reed summed it up: “you don’t know it’s over until you’re in a body bag.”
February 1st, 2006 at 3:55 pm
“Articles like Rolling Stone do a great deal of damage.”
–And what did Faranheit 9/11 do for Bush? I agree the RS article was damaging, but Brownback’s reputation among the Liberals couldn’t get much lower. Preaching to the choir doesn’t get much accomplished.