- Feb 17, 2004
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WASHINGTON ? Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry has raised more money from California than any candidate has ever collected in one state in any election.
Fueled by a fierce sentiment against President Bush (news - web sites), California donors have given nearly $3 million more to Kerry's presidential bid than Bush has raised from his home state of Texas, traditionally his biggest source of campaign cash.
Though California has been a virtual automatic teller machine for national candidates, the amount of money poured into Kerry's campaign ? and into the liberal independent groups seeking to oust Bush in November ? is surprising even the most seasoned fundraisers in the state.
Altogether, Kerry, liberal groups and the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites) have raised $47.5 million in California, compared with $31.9 million for Bush and the Republican National Committee (news - web sites).
"They're reaching into their pocketbooks. They're doing it again and again. I've never seen anything like it," said Michael Thorsnes, a San Diego trial attorney who had raised $2.6 million for the Kerry campaign.
Kerry had raised $23.6 million from Californians by the end of June, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks campaign finance data. That amounts to about 21% of his donations nationwide.
The president, in comparison, raised $17.6 million in California as of the end of June. Bush raised $9.2 million in 2000, the most anyone had ever collected in the Golden State before he and Kerry smashed all records this year. Both candidates opted out of the public financing system in the primaries, allowing them to raise unlimited cash.
All fundraising totals are based on contributions of $200 or more ? which, by law, must be individually reported by the campaigns. They do not include the millions the Kerry and Bush campaigns have amassed from California in small donations over the Internet or through direct mail.
"California has been a huge success for John Kerry (news - web sites) because we have so many committed fundraising leaders," said Kerry state Finance Chairman Mark Gorenberg, a San Francisco venture capitalist.
Combined, the Kerry campaign and independent groups ? called 527s, after the tax code that regulates them ? have raised more in California than former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) collected nationwide for his presidential bid four years ago.
Gore raised $5 million in California from about 7,700 donors. In this election, Kerry's money came from more than 39,600 donors in the state, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.
Neither Bush nor Kerry is spending much time campaigning or airing many ads in California, since voters there are expected to back the Democratic nominee come November. But with its wealth and population, the state remains a popular money stop. It's No. 1 in the nation for political giving.
Bush and Kerry are returning to Southern California this month ? the president is attending a fundraising dinner for the RNC on Thursday in Santa Monica, and Kerry will attend a DNC fundraiser in Los Angeles on Aug. 26.
The explosion in California fundraising is due in large part to the fact that Kerry and Bush opted not to accept public funds during their parties' primaries. Doing so lifted federal caps on fundraising.
Political observers all point to the same reason Democrats outpaced Republicans: intense anti-Bush sentiment that was deepened by the administration's policies on the environment, energy and the war in Iraq (news - web sites).
"We're talking real anger here," said Larry Gersten, a political scientist at San Jose State University. "That has led folks to open up their wallets in ways they'd never thought they'd do."
Bob Mullholland, the state Democratic Party political director, said Kerry's familiarity with the state also had made fundraising easy for Democrats. "Kerry fits California like a surfer," he said.
He said the senator from Massachusetts could legitimately call the state his home ? he received naval training and was stationed in Coronado and Treasure Island in 1967 and 1968.
The president raised nearly twice as much this year in the state as he did in 2000 ? mirroring his success nationwide. Part of that can be attributed to a new federal law doubling contribution limits for donors ? to $2,000 per person this cycle.
"John Kerry might have Hollywood contributors in his pocket, but we believe Californians as a whole will support the president's policies, which have put more money in the pockets of everyday Americans and created 1.5 million new jobs since August alone," said Bush campaign representative Tracey Schmitt.
The president had 44 California fundraisers who collected at least $100,000 each in individual donations.
The Republican National Committee has collected more donations throughout the state than the Democratic National Committee ? $14.3 million for the RNC compared to $7.9 million for the DNC, according to figures provided by Morris.
Under the 2002 McCain-Feingold legislation, a $25,000 cap was placed on individual donations to political parties. So the wealthy Californians who traditionally donated millions to the DNC have instead given their money this year to the 527s, which under tax laws can accept unlimited contributions.
Donors who gave $200 or more to Kerry cut across a wide range of occupations: academics, government workers, Hollywood producers and actors, trial attorneys and corporate lawyers, and high-tech professionals who live in the Silicon Valley.
The largest amount came from people affiliated with the University of California. UC faculty members, students and campus employees are Kerry's largest givers, both in the state and nationwide, according to an analysis by Dwight L. Morris and Associates, a nonpartisan research group.
Money also rolled in from professors, students and employees at Stanford University, as well as people who work for the state of California, Time Warner, Kaiser Permanente and the law firm of Morrison & Foerster. The firm has eight offices in California and employs three of Kerry's top fundraisers, including Judy Droz Keyes, whose husband served with Kerry in Vietnam but was killed there. She protested the war with Kerry in 1969.
Kerry's finance operation in California ? the biggest in any state ? had 158 fundraisers who raised more than $50,000 each.
Los Angeles emergency room physician Stanley Toy, one of the campaign's deputy national finance chairs, said he had raised "well over six figures" for both Kerry and the DNC.
He first reached out to a network of Chinese American professionals in Southern California, then to his friends in Jewish and African American communities, eventually calling or speaking to thousands.
Toy said he had followed the candidate's career since Kerry was elected to the Senate 20 years ago, admiring his stance against the Vietnam War. He began raising money for Kerry after meeting him in 2002, motivated in part by his concerns about healthcare.
"A lot of us got involved because we're not happy with the direction this country is heading," Toy said. "Forty-four million uninsured Americans is something to be concerned about."
Among the people who were crucial to Kerry's fundraising were: Toy, Paramount Pictures Chief Executive Sherry Lansing; actor Dennis Hopper's wife, Victoria Hopper; former Jim Henson Co. chief executive Charlie Rivkin; former U.S. Rep. Lynn Schenk; Arden Realty chief executive Richard Ziman; state Treasurer Phil Angelides; state Controller Steve Westly; Esprit clothing founder Susie Buell; Palo Alto corporate lawyer John Roos; and longtime Berkeley residents Alison Teal and Sam W. Brown Jr.
Victoria Hopper, who has never raised presidential money before, said she got involved in the campaign after she gave birth to a daughter last year and her "perception of the future got a little more intense."
"It's not because I get great joy in asking people for things. I do believe in the results."
Teal and Brown began helping Kerry when he was campaigning in Iowa last winter. The couple have raised about $800,000 for the campaign, including about $300,000 from supporters in the East Bay area, which Teal referred to as "ideological money."
Brown, a student leader of the antiwar movement in the 1960s, served in the Carter and Clinton administrations.
He and Teal collected money for Kerry by hosting house parties, seeking donations from strangers on the grocery line, and soliciting contributions through Teal's online election blog.
Kerry made 10 trips to California before he announced his candidacy, cultivating supporters up and down the coast. He has spent another 34 days in the state since 2003.
Gorenberg, Kerry's state finance chairman, said the Democrat's money was evenly split between Northern and Southern California. Bush raised most of his money in the Southern part of the state.
Kerry stopped raising private donations on July 29, when he accepted the Democratic nomination in Boston.
Tracy Sturman, the campaign's national finance director in the West, said the finance staff was working overtime inputting the final tallies. The campaign expects to report that Kerry raised more than $225 million nationwide.
Looks like even Arnold can't save this state from going Democrat.
So...summary:
University of California staff and students, Hollywood rich stars, and Kerry's buddies are funding Kerry big time.
These people must die, be arrested, have their money seized in order for the Republicans to win:
Among the people who were crucial to Kerry's fundraising were: Toy, Paramount Pictures Chief Executive Sherry Lansing; actor Dennis Hopper's wife, Victoria Hopper; former Jim Henson Co. chief executive Charlie Rivkin; former U.S. Rep. Lynn Schenk; Arden Realty chief executive Richard Ziman; state Treasurer Phil Angelides; state Controller Steve Westly; Esprit clothing founder Susie Buell; Palo Alto corporate lawyer John Roos; and longtime Berkeley residents Alison Teal and Sam W. Brown Jr.
From the very Liberal (LA) Times
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