You’ve got to be kidding me. Howard Dean’s campaign manager, the infamous Joe Trippi, told reporters yesterday that the campaign is on track to raise at least $10.3 million this quarter.
Un…be…lievable.
Six months ago, Dean was working with a small staff (single digits) in a small office, talking about the excitement of running a presidential campaign on a “shoe-string budget.” In June, the campaign shocked everyone by raising $7.6 million in Q2, the best quarter of the Dem field. Many, including me, thought it’d be tough to keep up that kind of fundraising pace.
But $10.3 million? I’m speechless.
Oh wait, no I’m not. The fact that Trippi is using this figure sets a high bar for Q3 fundraising. As regular readers know, Trippi isn’t my favorite person, but he’s no fool. He knows full well how the expectations game works. He would never use an exaggerated figure a month before the quarter ends unless he knew for certain that the campaign would meet — or possibly exceed — that figure.
What’s all the more surprising about this fundraising success is its timing. Q3 isn’t always an easy quarter in which to raise money. These are summer months — people go on vacation, kids go to camp, parents are more focused on back-to-school sales than presidential campaigns.
One thing to keep in mind is that Dean may be raising money at a ridiculous pace, but he’s also spending it faster than any of his rivals. Starting next week, for example, the Dean campaign will begin airing television ads in six states with early Dem primaries — Arizona, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington. The cost is $1 million, which Dean obviously has to spend.
It’s an interesting strategy, to be sure. Dean holds precarious leads in Iowa and New Hampshire. This ad-buy suggests Dean is counting on winning both and wants to start to build a following in other early primary states so the campaign won’t run out of momentum after two early wins.
And, of course, Dean’s fundraising prowess is furthering discussion that he’ll brake his earlier promises and abandon the public financing system. If Dean does, prepare to see his rivals — particularly Kerry — use this against him.