Money talks
The candidates have filed their end-of-year financial reports for 2009 and the both Frank Kratovil and Andy Harris continue raising money in anticipation of their November rematch. Let’s look at Frank Kratovil first.
During 2009, Frank raised $1,082,131 and spent $243,709. Together with the funds he had at the start of the year, this leaves Kratovil with a cash balance of $855,253 – nothing to sneeze at. Frank raised $237,430.27 during the last quarter of the year.
Andy Harris was not far behind. He raised $654,914 during 2009. His expenditures amounted to $222,030. His cash balance at the end of the year was $497,226. While less than Kratovil’s balance, this is also a substantial sum.
Kratovil’s fundraising shows, to some extent, the power of incumbency; the majority of his contributions came from Political Action Committees. Harris, on the other hand, raised more money from individual contributions, but a much higher proportion of his contributions came from outside the state. This reflects his endorsement by the Club for Growth in the last election and his continued popularity among the far right across the country.
It’s difficult to gauge how much Kratovil’s money lead at this point will matter in the election. Andy Harris spent more than $2.8 million in his losing effort in 2008. Frank Kratovil spent almost $1.9 million. Clearly there is a lot more fundraising to come and we should all brace ourselves for non-stop political ads and robo-calls this October.