Candidates’ cash trails reveal plans

Campaign finance reports filed Sunday with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveal Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) focus in the final dash to the presidential nomination finish line.

Clinton is pouring her money into Indiana and Kentucky, two states with high proportions of rural and blue-collar voters, groups that helped propel her to victory in big states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.

{mosads}Obama has focused on laying campaign groundwork in North Carolina and Oregon, two states with demographics that favor him.

These states contain the richest troves of delegates remaining on the primary calendar. On May 6, Indiana will apportion 72 delegates and North Carolina will allocate 115.

Each candidate’s distinct advantages in the remaining primaries make it likely that Obama and Clinton will split victories in the next several weeks. This could exacerbate Democratic anxiety over a sustained and bitter fight that could split the party in the general election by dividing two key Democratic constituencies — women and African-Americans.

Spending reports for March show that Clinton has outspent Obama in Indiana, even though her total campaign spending during that period was significantly lower than his.

She spent $38,000 while Obama spent $31,000.  

Indiana is a state with demographics favorable to Clinton. She also enjoys the backing of home-state Sen. Evan Bayh (D).

Obama spent significantly more than Clinton in North Carolina, which resembles states where he has proven dominant. North Carolina, like Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi —Southern states where Obama won landslides — is more than 20 percent black.

Obama spent $368,000 in North Carolina, a number inflated by payments to Bank of America and AT&T offices that may have supported operations in other states. Nevertheless, he spent significantly on campaign operations in the state, for example paying rent to 13 different landlords. Clinton reported only one rent payment in North Carolina, to Hendrickson Properties at the end of March.

West Virginia, which votes on May 13, has only 28 delegates to give away and has received less attention from Clinton and Obama than the states voting a week later: Kentucky and Oregon.

On May 21, 51 pledged delegates are at stake in Kentucky’s primary; 52 in Oregon.
Following the plan that has worked well for her in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Clinton is focusing on rural and blue-collar Democrats. She spent $21,000 on advance operations in Kentucky, which has lower average household income and a higher percentage of blue-collar workers than Oregon, according to the Almanac of American Politics.

Kentucky is also more rural, with 44 percent of its population falling into that category. About 21 percent of Oregon’s population lives in rural areas.  

Clinton spent only $10,000 in Oregon.

Obama spent about half as much as his opponent in Kentucky but 10 times as much as her in Oregon. Obama spent tens of thousands of dollars to rent event spaces and pay for sound and lighting equipment.

A Clinton campaign spokesman, Isaac Baker, acknowledged that Clinton faced tough contests in North Carolina and Oregon, but said the campaign expected to do well in Indiana, Kentucky and Puerto Rico.

Clinton officials say they expect to raise $10 million in 24 hours following her 10-point victory in Pennsylvania. “We will have enough resources,” said Baker.

Puerto Rico has 55 delegates at stake and is predominantly Hispanic. Clinton has done well in several states with large Hispanic populations.

Baker said the campaign has ratcheted up its activity in Indiana and North Carolina since the beginning of April. It says it now has 20 campaign offices operating in each state.

Clinton officials say they have also opened six campaign offices in Oregon and campaign headquarters in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Clinton is making West Virginia a priority. The state’s voters are known for their fierce support for gun rights, and Clinton hopes to benefit from Obama’s recent comment that rural Americans “cling” to guns because of economic frustration.

Clinton, her husband and daughter have all visited the state and her campaign spent $10,000 on a flurry of activities last month. Obama has spent $21,000 in West Virginia.

Obama aides did not respond to requests to comment for this article.