WASHINGTON – It didn’t matter whether they raised more money or not, most presidential candidates boosted their spending in the second quarter of the year, and some outpaced their fundraising.
Democrats outraised Republicans about $80 million to $50 million from April through June. But Republicans kept pace with Democrats on spending – nearly $50 million spent on both sides.
The Democrats’ money advantage was helped in large part by the extraordinary fundraising of Sens. Barack Obama (Illinois) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York). In the current quarter, he raised $32 million for the primary; she raised $21.5 million.
Obama spent half of what he raised in the second quarter. Clinton spent 60 cents for every primary dollar raised; factor in the debt she accumulated in the quarter and her spending rate is about 64 cents per dollar. John Edwards raised $9 million and spent $6.4 million.
That was not the Republican model. Sen. John McCain (Arizona) raised $11.3 million and spent $13 million. Mitt Romney had to lend his campaign $6 million to stay even with his spending for the quarter.
The pattern was similar among GOP candidates with lesser finances. Only Rudy Giuliani, the Republican with the most cash on hand, and long-shot candidate Ron Paul kept their spending below their fundraising.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Col., spent almost as much as they raised in the quarter.
The Republicans’ penchant for spending beyond their fundraising was especially apparent with McCain. He ended the quarter with $3.2 million cash on hand and nearly $1.8 million in debts.
Adding to McCain’s troubles, his top three communications aides and several staffers in Iowa and South Carolina quit on Monday, the latest departures to hit the Republican as he struggles to rebound from financial and political woes.
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