"Candidate spending tells tale of dueling strategies; Priorities differ in governor race" by Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | August 22, 2010
Beyond the competition of ideas and governing philosophy, this year’s race for governor is shaping up to be a test of political strategy, an analysis of campaign spending shows.
On one side is Republican challenger Charles D. Baker, who has prioritized spending on consultants and advertising to raise his profile. Baker has said in a fund-raising appeal to supporters that the race “will be won or lost on the airwaves.’’
On the other is Governor Deval Patrick, the Democratic incumbent, who is investing heavily in a ground game to reach voters, a strategy he employed to great success in his come-from-nowhere run four years ago.
The rigged machines in place?
In the middle is state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, the independent challenger, who is spending more money than he is bringing in but retains a healthy campaign account that will keep him competitive into the fall....
All the better to rig.
And like I said earlier, Democrats are s***ting their pants:
"Donations to Democrats surge; Patrick, party raised twice as much money as GOP in August" by Michael Levenson, Globe Staff | September 3, 2010
Governor Deval Patrick, his running mate, and the state Democratic Party raised more than twice as much money last month as their Republican counterparts, further evidence of a significant momentum shift in the battle for campaign cash....
So says the Globe.
For months, Charles D. Baker and the Republicans had been bringing in far more money than Patrick and the Democrats. But the governor, after a sluggish start to his reelection campaign, has begun aggressively soliciting money in hopes of winning a second term.
In August, the governor held a $500-a-head fund-raiser at hotelier Dick Friedman’s home on Martha’s Vineyard, which was at tended by White House adviser Valerie Jarrett and coincided with President Obama’s trip to the island.
Patrick last month also organized a fund-raiser with singer John Legend at the home of Dan Fireman, founding managing partner of Fireman Capital Partners and a fund-raiser in New York at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery, where former GOP governor and Baker mentor William F. Weld is a partner.
State Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who was a prodigious fund-raiser before he left the Democratic Party last year to run for governor as an independent, has seen his numbers plummet in recent months. He and his running mate, former state representative Paul Loscocco, raised just $30,619 in August, according to state records and Cahill’s campaign.
It's over for him. No one invests in a loser.
Cahill, however, this week decided to accept up to $750,000 in public campaign funds in exchange for limiting his spending, for now, to $1.5 million. Cahill’s spending cap will automatically rise to match the spending caps that Baker and Patrick set for themselves later this month.
Yeah, thanks for looking out for us taxpayers, Treasurer.
Patrick’s aides held up his August haul as evidence of growing enthusiasm for the governor’s message that his leadership is helping the state recover from the recession. They said that, in addition to raising money at exclusive, high-dollar fund-raisers, about 60 percent of the governor’s donations last month came from those giving $100 or less. Many gave $54 as part of a fund-raising campaign that coincided with the governor’s 54th birthday on July 31.
“The people of Massachusetts understand that the hard work of Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Murray during these tough times has helped us weather this crisis better than most other states,’’ Alex Goldstein, a Patrick campaign spokesman, said in a statement. “That’s reflected in the strong support the campaign is seeing in our growing grassroots organization, and the surge in small-dollar donations the campaign received this month.’’
Baker aides pointed out that, as the race entered August, Baker had raised more money this year than Patrick and Cahill combined....
Related:
"In a potentially ominous sign for Patrick, Baker has raised some of his funds from traditional Democratic donors, including previous Patrick supporters"
Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein raised $12,000 last month and has, like Cahill, decided to seek public funds. Her treasurer, Ken Selcer, said yesterday that Stein hopes to raise $125,000 and get the same amount in taxpayer money....
No green for the Green, huh?
