Webb's Money Problem
Recently we have seen the polls severely tighten with now Zogby saying Webb is actually in the lead. Even so, George Allen has a huge money advantage on Webb and has not brought the warchest to bear yet.
Certainly these polls will encourage more to donate to Webb's campaign and probably result in the DNC/DSCC giving him more support as well (since he has gotten no support thus far I assume he will get something now).
I have a few questions though. First off, who can he get to do big fundraisers for him? Do you guys think Barbara Boxer will be a big draw in Virginia? Moreover, will people like her give Webb bad publicity b/c of his association?
Second, since the race is tightening will Mark Warner work harder for Webb or stay on his presidential rounds; coming back for an event now and then?
The other thing to ask is whether the tightening of this race could actually cause an advantage for the GOP. First off, if the DNC/DSCC start giving more money here (and especially if they basically have to finance the race theirself), they will obviously be taking it away from other races like PA, MO and OH. Could that be what tips the balance to us in a couple of races? The RNC/RSCC will have to spend viturally no money on this race b/c Allen will always have a commanding money lead and will be able to raise however much he needs on his own.
Certainly these polls show the race getting closer, but Virginia is not so democratic that Webb can be outspent 5-1 or 10-1 and win. Its not going to happen. Until Webb shows he can compete in the fundraising arena, I still think George Allen will be fine in the end.
Certainly these polls will encourage more to donate to Webb's campaign and probably result in the DNC/DSCC giving him more support as well (since he has gotten no support thus far I assume he will get something now).
I have a few questions though. First off, who can he get to do big fundraisers for him? Do you guys think Barbara Boxer will be a big draw in Virginia? Moreover, will people like her give Webb bad publicity b/c of his association?
Second, since the race is tightening will Mark Warner work harder for Webb or stay on his presidential rounds; coming back for an event now and then?
The other thing to ask is whether the tightening of this race could actually cause an advantage for the GOP. First off, if the DNC/DSCC start giving more money here (and especially if they basically have to finance the race theirself), they will obviously be taking it away from other races like PA, MO and OH. Could that be what tips the balance to us in a couple of races? The RNC/RSCC will have to spend viturally no money on this race b/c Allen will always have a commanding money lead and will be able to raise however much he needs on his own.
Certainly these polls show the race getting closer, but Virginia is not so democratic that Webb can be outspent 5-1 or 10-1 and win. Its not going to happen. Until Webb shows he can compete in the fundraising arena, I still think George Allen will be fine in the end.
posted by GOPHokie @ 1:15 PM
8 Comments:
At 8/28/2006 2:57 PM,
Alice said…
The Washington Post reported that Bill Clinton would headline a fundraiser at Chuck Robb's house for Webb.
It is August, the election is months away, everyone has their work cut out for them.
At 8/28/2006 4:01 PM,
GOPHokie said…
Thanks for the info AM.
Even with that though, this is a federal election. Kilgore raising 3 mil with Bush, but that was 10-100k per person.
Tough to raise a million bux 2100 at a time.
At 8/28/2006 5:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Totally random comment: I see that you are from the Shenandoah Valley so maybe you can appreciate "MY Money Problems." My daughter is going to JMU and she just bought books for 2 classes for $200. So since the state of Virginia gives free textbooks to K-12 is this supposed to appease me when I have to pay over $600 for one semester of college texts? I have heard that some have shopped online and they are just as expensive when you have to add the shipping. What about the OUTPOST located on Port Republic Rd? Are the prices better there and does the bus transport Freshmen who aren't allowed to have vehicles and are stuck with using the regular bookstore? Webb isn't the only one with money woes!!!!
At 8/28/2006 7:12 PM,
GOPHokie said…
Well I actually heard a good theory on why textbooks are so high.
The basic reason is the selling back of books.
The publisher has to make their money once every 5-7 years whereas the bookstore makes money on the same book 5-7 times.
Books would probably be only about 25 bux a pop if we required new books every year.
Funny thing huh?
At 8/29/2006 8:03 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think, if you're Mark Warner, and your LG just trounced hig GOP opponent, with your coat tails, there could be nothing more beneficial to your presidential ambitions than to push Webb over the finish line, and you'd be the one to have the credit of turning Virignia Blue. And if Webb doesn't win, you still get the party loyalty votes for giving it your all.
If he wins, it's the Legacy of Mark Warner, if he loses, it's he did all he could do to help. It's win win scenario.
At 8/29/2006 12:47 PM,
GOPHokie said…
WJ, I agree is Webb wins. Even so, the question is whether the 2005 strategy will be used again this year.
Warner only went "balls to wall" for Kaine when it became apparent Kaine would probably win.
If Webb does not stay close in the polls, I think Warner will back off.
He has the VA party faithful either way.
At 8/29/2006 9:38 PM,
BDM said…
I think the question will be the types of ads coming out to the electorate in the coming weeks. as a result, we may see some shifts in the polls, but it is hard to say how it will all go. If I had to guess, Webb's "lead" is transparent at the moment because of the macaca thing and that if it was a chair running against Allen, it would be doing just as well.
At 9/05/2006 11:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
I think you've got really faulty logic on the DSCC funding for other races. Those candidates can self-finance much better than Webb, as they're either known for running statewide (Casey, McCaskill, Whitehouse) or they've run for office locally but have good state advantages working for them (Tester running against Burns corruption, Brown running against the corruption of the entire Ohio GOP). A tightened race in VA hurts the RSCC much more.
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