WaPo: N.C. Senator Needs Money to Remain Competitive

[DeepModem Mom]

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 19, 2004; Page A08


John Edwards's outside hopes of winning the Democratic nomination are starting to boil down to a critical question: Does the North Carolina senator have enough cash for the final dash?

While Edwards's chief rival, John F. Kerry, continues to build up a big lead in fundraising, Edwards has been scrambling to pull in enough money to remain competitive, if not go toe-to-toe with the Massachusetts senator, as the race rolls toward the 10-state Super Tuesday primaries March 2.

Money is always oxygen to primary candidates, but it has loomed ever larger in the primaries this year. The front-loaded nature of the Democratic race -- more contests have been scheduled earlier than ever -- has dictated more spending earlier. The result has been a relatively fast and expensive war of attrition. Yesterday, for example, former Vermont governor Howard Dean quit the race after having spent about $50 million, a record for a Democratic primary candidate.

Now the race enters what is potentially its last lap, with two major candidates left and some of the nation's most expensive advertising markets still to come in the Super Tuesday states of California, New York, Massachusetts and Ohio.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52738-2004Feb18.html

[buckeye1]

1. Beat the Wapo.

This link end runs registration.

http://bugmenot.com

[Frodo]

2. Every dollar he raises...

...is one less dollar that can be donated to the eventual candidate AND $1 to $1.50 of Kerry's existing funds that have to be spent winning the nomination and not running against Bush.

Don't get me wrong. I'm in NC and would prefer Edwards to Kerry... but unless Kerry implodes over what appears to be a non-existent scandal... this fight is over.

Edwards just needs to "stay in" enough that the large states are still worth covering with free media time. Any more hurts the final ticket (which he could still be on).

[Warren Stuart]

3. On the other hand

The longer he says in and keeps the race competitive, the more attention will be focused on the primaries. The more coverage the candidates will get bashing Bush.

This in itself is worth a ton of money.

Go Edwards!