Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Democrats cannot be happy with John Walsh’s fundraising efforts. In the last quarter of 2013, he raised $583,000, ending the year with $435,500 in the bank. Republican Steve Daines raised $1 million in the same period, ending 2013 with $1.9 million in the bank.
I think it’s too early to conclude that national Democrats have written off the Senate seat Max Baucus is vacating, but Walsh’s anemic effort is a bright red flag that something is wrong. By comparison, Open Secrets reports that Jon Tester raised $13.3 million during the 2009–2013 cycle.
If Walsh doesn’t pick up the pace and pull in at least $2–3 million by the end of March, waging a winning campaign will become next to impossible.
Walsh’s competitors for the Democratic Senate nomination, Dirk Adams and John Bohlinger, are the functional equivalent of dead broke, reports Mike Dennison of the Lee newspapers:
Adams, a political newcomer, reported Friday that he raised $103,000 during the last three months of 2013, but didn’t provide a detailed breakdown on where the money came from. He said he had about $69,000 left in his campaign account and another $41,000 in campaign debt.
Bohlinger raised about $20,000 during the period, including $10,000 of his own money, and has spent most of those funds, said his campaign consultant, Bob Brigham.
Matt Rosendale, one of five seeking the Republican nomination for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, is not catching fire with Republican donors. He loaned himself another $250,000 and ended last year with $433,000 in the bank. But according to Charlie Johnson’s report yesterday, he’s raised only $105,000 from pockets other than his own. He appears to be gambling that if he wins the primary with his own money, the usual donors will open their checkbooks for him for the general election. I think he’s a long shot, a much longer shot than Ryan Zinke.