The reluctant confirmation of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) campaign that it raised $20 million in March is the latest indication that the stream of money flowing to the former first lady is slowing significantly, even though aides maintain that resources are not a problem.
{mosads}The mere fact that the campaign was slow to release the data is already a sign of trouble. When Clinton has done well, the campaign has sometimes not even waited until the end of the month to boast of the totals, such as in February, when the former first lady raised $35 million and the figure was announced on Feb. 29. Even after its poorest showing in January, the campaign acknowledged by Feb. 4 that it had taken in only $13.5 million.
Clinton is in a politically difficult position. While her fundraising numbers would be record-shattering in any other cycle, the former first lady has consistently been second best in this year’s Democratic primary. The millions she has raised often appear to pale in comparison to the contributions Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is raking in. When Clinton announced her February haul, the Illinois senator’s campaign subsequently pointed out it raised $55 million.
Now, also running behind Obama in the delegate count, Clinton has to play catch up with an opponent who appears to have near unlimited resources to counter any attack.
The figures that are publicly available suggest that Clinton is facing a steep uphill climb — despite the fact that she raised about $20 million in March, making it her second best month to date. The Clinton campaign confirmed those reports to several media outlets on Thursday after refusing to do so earlier this week.
“Our cash flow is good. Bills are being paid. We are continuing to raise a considerable amount of money,” said Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson this week, adding that the campaign has enough money to do what it wants to do. In addition, Clinton also announced Thursday that she would buy her first TV ad in North Carolina. Her absence on the airwaves in key states like North Carolina and Indiana had been seen as another indication that money woes were plaguing the campaign.
The $20 million estimate for March, however, shows that the flow of contributions to Clinton is clearly slowing, as it was earlier this year when she loaned her campaign $5 million.
After winning primaries in Texas and Ohio at the beginning of the month, the New York senator’s campaign announced that it had raised $6 million in the first six days of March.
That means Clinton raised $14 million throughout the rest of March, for an average of less than $600,000 per day. That is about half of what she has raised per day over the previous 40 days.
In comparison, Obama has raised more than $1.4 million per day this year.
When the Clinton campaign proudly released its figures for early March, Peter Daou, the former first lady’s Internet director, said, “Hillary’s supporters have come through every time we’ve needed them, and they are setting a record pace now as we move ahead to the upcoming contests.”
The numbers, along with reports that the campaign is not paying all of its bills — which Clinton aides have disputed — appear to indicate that the New York senator’s donor base might not be able to stem the Obama tide.