Republican Fundraising: It's Worse Than it Looks

Many of those engaged in conservative happy talk about the huge fundraising gap between President Obama's haul ($86 million) and that of all Republican candidates combined (about $35 million) suggest that the Republican haul should also include the $18 million or so that the Republican National Committee presumably has in the bank. (The RNC's June fundraising numbers aren't yet available but it had $12 million at the end of May and has been bringing in roughly $6 million a month.)

The RNC's haul should, indeed, "count" but the $35 million or so shouldn't. In fact, every penny raised by the individual campaigns to date will be dissipated attacking other Republicans in the primaries while Obama will be able to save his entire $88 million to attack the Republican nominee. Incumbents who have lost elections since World War II have always had credible primary challengers who caused them to spend money in much the same as the out-of-power parties' candidates did. Obama won't have anything like this.

While money alone doesn't win elections--Michael Dukakis' 1988 campaign invented "soft money" and thereby gained a slight fundraising edge over George H.W. Bush--it's obviously a huge help for candidates who lack the bully pulpit of the White House.  And Republicans are going to need more of it to win in 2012.