ANALYSIS | Finances may be a deciding factor when it comes to staying power after the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus. Maintaining high-budget campaign travel, buying ad air time and being visible to voters does not come cheap. The Washington Post highlights that Republican candidate Mitt Romney has succeeded in securing campaign contributions from at least 42 billionaires. Citing donor rolls and comparing them to Forbes' list of currently identified American billionaires, it is clear that Rick Perry has managed to court 20 of these high rollers, while Jon Huntsman has engaged the support of 12. Notably absent from this list are Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich.
"I'm not looking forward to anything being long and protracted. So I hope it ends rather quickly and we do real well in the beginning of the year," CNN quotes Paul. To shore up financial support, Paul has set the goal of raising $4 million today. The candidate reminds his supporters -- via a Ron Paul 2012 campaign website post -- that on Dec. 16, 2007, which is the actual anniversary of the 1773 Boston Tea Party, his campaign raised $6 million in a short 24 hours. The candidate hopes to repeat this feat and - as of the time I am writing this article - he has already received $1,773,767.56.
Also feeling the financial pinch is Michele Bachmann. Loyal readers remember my pointing out on Yahoo! News that even though Bachmann pulled ahead of the pack in the Aug. 13 Ames Straw Poll, her current New York Times/CBS News Iowa polling numbers place her at only 9 percent, which positions Gingrich, Romney, Paul and Perry in front of her. Perhaps it was the writing on the wall that compelled her spokesman - as quoted by Politico - to assert that "Bachmann is trying to grow an organic base of supporters, and Newt Gingrich is trying to buy off tea party groups. ? Newt Gingrich knows the only way he can get the tea party vote is to buy it."
Not surprisingly, unsubstantiated - and as per ABC News heavily denied - reports of a $20 million donation to a Gingrich super PAC do not sit well with the other candidates or their supporters. Reuters points out that Gingrich has in fact failed to shore up big-name support for his nomination, which is quite the opposite from Romney, who managed to snag the nods of Chris Christie, Tim Pawlenty, and other heavy hitters. Of course, if Gingrich does get the Iowa caucus vote, the resulting political momentum has the potential to bring big donors and endorsers to his campaign. In the same vein, it may create a fiscal dry spell for the other candidates.
Who has the financial staying power to weather low Iowa caucus numbers? Who does not?
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