2008 hopefuls begin hunt for campaign funds

“We’re entering a brave new world of presidential fundraising,” said Michael Toner, an FEC commissioner. He said a perfect storm of conditions exist that have caused candidates to seek more money faster than ever.

The presidential campaign itself has started far earlier than before. With more than two dozen people running or considering a bid, fundraising has a way of winnowing out a crowded field. Also, since none of the major candidates are expected to accept public financing for the nomination race, they can ignore spending caps in early primary and caucus states—encouraging them to raise even more money.

At the same time, the political calendar begins with a crush of caucuses and primaries. It may get worse as several large states with expensive media markets seek to hold their contests early. That means candidates must ensure they have the cash to put organizations in place in more states and the money to spend on costly TV ads.

In this high-stakes environment, Romney’s campaign epitomizes the feverish hunt for cash.

Lesser known than McCain and Giuliani on a national level, Romney set out to prove immediately that he could bring in the money needed for a formidable challenge to both political celebrities. His goal for the first quarter was to start strong and continue building momentum.

‘Success’ on the Web
Just days after he created his presidential exploratory committee, Romney brought 400 volunteers to Boston to dial for dollars using a custom-made software program dubbed the ComMITT system that allows volunteers to set goals and gather pledges and actual donations online. The take was $6.5 million in a single day.

In the meantime, his Internet team focused on maximizing donations to his campaign Web site, http://www.mittromney.com. Aides say the campaign did a small-dollar Web ad buy on conservative sites and on Google to drive grass-roots donors to the site. From Jan. 3 until this week, the site brought in more than $1.4 million.

“The amount of money we’ve raised in our first month at mittromney.com demonstrates the success Governor Romney is having connecting with grass-roots supporters and online activists across the country,” said Matt Rhoades, a Romney spokesman.

By comparison, Howard Dean, the Democrats’ Internet fundraising pioneer who entered the 2004 race with low name recognition, didn’t reach the $1 million mark online until a couple months after he set up his Web site—and a full year after he created his campaign committee.

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