The Myth About Fundraising
The third quarter numbers are starting to trickle in and it looks like our candidate, Mike Huckabee, will pull in a little over $1,000,000 for the quarter. I would be lieing if I said this wasn't a little disappointing, of course we'd all love tens of millions of dollars to spend. But let me clarify a few things right now, before you start to hear the media pundits, the talking heads, and the other campaigns start the spin machine. In perspective, this isn't a horrible situation. In fact, I'm quite happy.
First things first. Mike Huckabee raised over 25% more than his previous quarter of roughly $750,000. While other candidates can claim a greater dollar amount, a little perspective is necessary. You see, Romney's fundraising is DOWN 29% from last quarter, and that includes yet another multi-million dollar loan to his campaign. Giuliani's fundraising is DOWN about 40%. McCain's fundraising is DOWN about 55%. Thompson? A dissappointing $8 million. Isn't he supposed to be "the chosen one" that we're all going to rally around?
Mike Huckabee is the only one moving in the right direction. (Vertical!) And these numbers don't even include a few of the largest fundraisers he has had to date, like the one in Texarkana the other night which raised at least $100k.
Here's another little tidbit for you. In 2003 a candidate named Howard Dean had raised $25.4 million by the end of the third quarter, placing him well above his Democratic challengers. Times change quickly. Notice not only that Howard Dean isn't President, he wasn't even his party's nominee.
There is lots of time. It is about momentum. Let's see who has it according to the most recent ABC News Poll.
From 9/7 results to the 9/30 results:
Giuliani is DOWN 6 points
McCain is DOWN 6 points
Thompson is DOWN 2 points
Romney is up 1 point
HUCKABEE is UP 3 points!
At the end of the day folks, we all must not be fooled that the race for President is decided by who has the most money. Dollars aren't votes. Votes are votes. When it comes to money, the two important questions are "how is it being spent" and "what are the results of the spending".
I think it is abundantly clear that Huckabee's results have been positive.
The media and other campaigns will equate the fundraising numbers to popular support. That, my friends, is the myth of fundraising: as the polls and energy clearly indicate.
Gov. Huckabee has always said that it is the last lap in a NASCAR race or the last mile in a marathon that counts. I believe Gov. Huckabee hasn’t raised more cash because he has been satisfied with how much money he has to spread his message and as you pointed out the polls are starting to solidify that strategy. Since the beginning of October, Huckabee has already raised about $200,000. It’s not a fund-raising problem, it’s part of his strategy. He’s not concerned about the media money game and maxing out his big donors early, he is waiting for this last quarter to collect contributions and make it count.
You probably read this from the most recent campaign email:
P.S. We have started this fundraising quarter with our strongest total yet: $160,000 through the first three days. Help us build our campaign warchest quickly with an emergency donation of $10, $25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or the maximum $2,300. Your financial support today will go towards providing campaign materials to our Volunteers, hiring staff and advertising in key states.
Now, while I don’t believe low fundraising is part of the strategy, that would be ludicrous, it is very nice to see that what they have raised has been sufficient to this point to elevate support. Of course, when the other candiates really start spending their warchests on media advertising and pretty mail pieces, that’s where we are going to have to step it up. I hope that what the campaign has in mind for their grassroots program works as intended. Of course, to some extent, that depends on us, the volunteers. I challenge everybody to sign up for the campaign’s volunteer efforts. A grassroots campaign with a good product will always be superior to a pure money campaign with a mediocre product. I’ve been involved in enough campaigns to see that truth over and over again.
I like your attitude Christian. This is one of the best posts that I have seen about the 3rd quarter numbers. Thanks for putting this into its proper prospective..
Always here to help!
But seriously, some strange karma is at work.
Last weekend I wrote a four page letter to the campaign outlining a number of issues and ideas that I had for the campaign. I never sent it, it was more of a venting action. As of today, with the call for volunteers, the opening of the online store, the availability of downloadable brochures, the possible use of meetup to coordinate events, etc… most of what I was hoping for is coming to pass. It’s like from my keyboard to their brain…almost like a twilight zone episode! I feel pumped. Let’s make this happen!