Democrat John Kerry, facing a looming deadline for spending the money he has raised so far, plans to rev up advertising, curtail heavy fund-raising and shift to a more personal campaign ahead of the next month’s nominating convention.
After a three-month fund-raising binge that shattered Democratic records, Kerry has only four weeks left to spend his remaining campaign money before he becomes the party’s nominee to challenge President Bush for the White House in November.
Under campaign laws, no money raised during the primaries can be spent after Kerry formally accepts the nomination July 29 in Boston, when he receives a check for about $75 million in public taxpayer funds to finance the general election campaign.
Facing a deadline to use the money, Kerry will buy another round of advertising in battleground states, cut back his fund-raising appearances and participate in more grass-roots events, beginning this weekend with a three-day bus trip in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.
“Obviously, it will be different now,” Kerry adviser Tad Devine said of the campaign’s changing emphasis. “There will continue to be fund-raising for the party, but it will be directed in different ways and the pace will not be as brutal.”
When he clinched the nomination in March, Kerry faced the biggest financial disadvantage in political history, a $100 million gap fed by Bush’s record-smashing fund-raising and the president’s move to decline public funds in the primaries and their accompanying spending limits.
Kerry, who also rejected public funds in the primaries, had $2 million in the bank at the end of January compared to Bush’s $104 million.
Outpacing Bush — recently
But Kerry launched a 20-city fund-raising tour in late March and never stopped, raising a total of $149 million by the end of May and outpacing Bush in the last three months through a combination of big-donor events, direct mail and individual online contributions.
The money allowed Kerry to advertise in key states in May and June at a combined cost of about $45 million, blunting the impact of more than $80 million in Bush ads aimed at defining the Massachusetts senator as a flip-flopping liberal.
“Our present intention is to have a strong media campaign in July,” Devine said, adding the the campaign will announce its plans for a new round of advertising after this weekend’s Independence Day holiday that will continue up to the convention.
Kerry, who had $28 million in the bank at the end of May, kept up his heavy fund-raising pace through June. Last week alone he raised more than $13 million at seven fund-raisers in Colorado, California and New York, including a $5 million haul at a Los Angeles concert featuring Barbra Streisand.
But no more big-ticket events are planned after next week’s concert in New York, postponed from earlier in the month after the death of former President Ronald Reagan.
With the convention so close and the choice of a vice presidential running mate expected in the next few weeks, the campaign’s focus will shift to traditional events like rallies and tours that draw heavy media coverage and crowds.
“It’s important for Kerry to be out on the campaign trail meeting people and participating in more public campaign events at this stage,” Devine said.
Because Bush will accept his nomination at the end of August he will have five more weeks to spend the money he has raised so far, but Kerry rejected a proposal to delay formally accepting his nomination so he could even the playing field.
A small amount of primary money can be spent on legal and accounting compliance efforts during the general campaign.