New Loyalties for Old Fundraising Networks

The two most dominant political fundraising networks of the past quarter-century have splintered during the wide-open 2008 presidential race, newly released campaign finance records show.

Large numbers of the Rangers and Pioneers who fueled President Bush's campaign machinery are staying on the sidelines for now, while many of President Bill Clinton's biggest donors and fundraisers have migrated away from the campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Hundreds are hedging their bets by donating to multiple candidates.

Those who have made the jump say it was inevitable that the Clinton and Bush money machines would scatter as donors face a race with an array of potentially historic choices.

"This is the first time in generations that we have not had an heir apparent -- a clear-cut, significant figure long agreed upon as the next in line," said Bill Paxon, a Republican former congressman from New York who was a Bush Pioneer. "It's a jump ball."

Bush grew a network started by his father, adding a touch of Texas bravado and a strong appeal to religious conservatives, and bestowing the titles of Pioneer on those who raised $100,000 and Ranger on those who collected $200,000.

The migration of these big-time Republican bundlers out of presidential politics, at least for now, may help explain the anemic first quarter, compared with that of Democrats, posted by the party's White House hopefuls. Democratic contenders finished March with $76.4 million on hand, compared with $30.7 million for their Republican counterparts.

Not all of the Republican fundraisers have remained neutral. Rangers and Pioneers who have donated money were split among the three leading GOP contenders. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney received $209,450 from 97 of them; Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) took in $183,125 from 80; and former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani collected $159,494 from 55, an analysis of campaign reports showed.

Paxon, who is aiding Giuliani, said the courtship of the former Bush backers has been extremely aggressive by every major candidate. Most of the roughly 630 Bush supporters who received Ranger or Pioneer designations have been contacted directly by each candidate, several of them multiple times.

And yet most remain uncommitted. Their reasons vary widely: Some said they are holding back as a result of personal circumstances, such as the fact that they are now ambassadors or federal appointees and are limiting their political activities. Others gave reasons that reflect broader trends playing out in the campaign, such as dissatisfaction among Christian conservatives with the leading GOP contenders and a calculation to wait and see if any emerge as a clear front-runner before choosing sides. A large number of Texans said they were drawn into fundraising in previous campaigns solely out of loyalty to Bush and are sitting out the race for now.

"For a lot of Bush donors, the president's campaigns were a special time," said Jack Oliver, a Bush campaign finance adviser who helped devise the Ranger and Pioneer programs. "The Bush campaigns' fundraising success was built around the president."

On the Democratic side, loyalties also have been divided.

Bill Clinton created and grew a Democratic fundraising machine to rival that of Republicans, using his youthful appeal in 1992 to lure many first-time donors and fundraisers to the party. Loyalty was then fostered by an aggressive "donor maintenance" program that rewarded top givers with such perks as overnight stays in the White House's Lincoln Bedroom and coffee klatches with administration officials or even the president himself.