Analysts Say Republican Is Struggling With Fundraising
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 22, 2008
RICHMOND, May 21 -- U.S. Senate candidate James S. Gilmore III lent his campaign $50,000 earlier this month, a sign he might be struggling to keep pace with his potential Democratic rival's huge money advantage.
In a filing Wednesday with the Federal Elections Commission, Gilmore reported that he made the loan May 11.
Combined with other fundraising, Gilmore's finance report shows, he has $204,000 in the bank after raising just more than $1 million since he announced his candidacy in November. He will face Del. Robert G. Marshall (Prince William) for the GOP nomination May 31 at a party convention.
Ana Gamonal, a Gilmore spokeswoman, said the loan was a "good-faith effort to show his commitment to the race." She said the Gilmore campaign is not having money troubles.
"He believes it is important to show his supporters and his donors his own commitment to electing a steady and common-sense senator for the commonwealth of Virginia," Gamonal said.
But some analysts say the loan is the latest sign that Gilmore, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and former governor of Virginia, isn't putting together the type of fundraising operation he would need to compete with former governor Mark R. Warner, the likely Democratic nominee.
"All the evidence on fundraising suggests that Gilmore has lost his touch," said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, who noted that Gilmore was known as a proficient fundraiser when he was attorney general and governor during the mid-1990s. "Where is the money? It's not there, and it's not going to be there."
Of the five Senate races this year in states with open seats -- Virginia, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska and New Mexico -- Gilmore's candidacy is among the worst funded among Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and the Swing State Project, both of which are tracking campaign finance reports.
Warner is the best-financed Democratic candidate for an open seat.
As of March 31, Warner had raised about $6.4 million and had about $4.4 million in the bank. Warner is expected to report Thursday that he has raised an additional $1.5 million since April 1, spokesman Kevin Hall said.
Hall declined to comment on Gilmore's fundraising.
The Gilmore campaign has sought to play down Warner's money advantage, saying even before he entered the race that he knew he would be outspent by Warner.
Gilmore has also been locked in a fight for the nomination with Marshall, forcing him to divert resources from the general election. Marshall has raised $52,000.
As the Gilmore campaign looks toward the general election, officials are confident fundraising will pick up if he's the nominee. On Wednesday, the campaign released a statement saying it has received contributions from prominent business leaders and Republicans from across the country.
Pete Coors, chairman of Coors Brewing, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, golfer Ben Crenshaw and Louis Beecherl, former chief executive of Texas Oil and Gas, have donated to the campaign in recent weeks, according to the statement.
J. Kenneth Klinge, a Republican strategist who has been critical of Gilmore, said he is failing to win over the Northern Virginia business community, once a major source of money for GOP candidates running statewide.
"Most of the people up here have blown him off," said Klinge, who is supporting Marshall. "Most of them will be supporting Warner."
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