January 31, 2011 was the filing deadline for all Federal PACs for their 2010 Year-end report. It generally takes one day for the filings to be made public.
Here are the numbers for the four PACs we have been following all year long:
| (2010 Numbers) | Huckabee | Palin | Pawlenty | Romney |
| Starting Cash on hand | $192,151.24 | $928,436.61 | $884,075.19 | $1,125,375.21 |
| Contributions: | ||||
| Itemized | $292,535.34 | $1,078,001.76 | $1,604,814.32 | $3,362,449.35 |
| Unitemized | $651,822.48 | $2,437,317.88 | $417,050.22 | $1,289,992.17 |
| Other | $6,000.00 | $8,000.00 | $39,265.00 | $15,482.00 |
| Total | $950,357.82 | $3,523,319.64 | $2,061,129.54 | $4,667,923.52 |
| Other Income | $28,651.64 | $29,775.15 | $35,509.47 | $900,543.23 |
| Total Income | $979,009.46 | $3,553,094.79 | $2,096,639.01 | $5,568,466.75 |
| Federal Donations | $117,500.00 | $463,500.00 | $198,310.57 | $772,092.74 |
| Local Donations | $51,000.00 | $32,500.00 | $53,348.18 | $147,213.10 |
| Total | $168,500.00 | $496,000.00 | $251,658.75 | $919,305.84 |
| Other Expenses | ||||
| Total Expenses | $1,033,500.30 | $3,152,580.14 | $2,825,724.58 | $5,897,634.37 |
| Net Gain | -$54,490.84 | $400,514.65 | -$729,085.57 | -$329,167.62 |
| Ending Cash on Hand | $137,660.40 | $1,328,951.26 | $154,989.62 | $796,207.59 |
| Percentages of Interest: | ||||
| % Unitemized Contributions to Total Contrib. | 69% | 69% | 20% | 28% |
| % Donations to Contributions | 18% | 14% | 12% | 20% |
| % Local Donations to Total Donations | 30% | 7% | 21% | 16% |
Please note that these numbers only include the Federal PACs. I have found State PACs for all the candidates except Sarah Palin. Each state has their own rules and their filing requirements. Most states make the filings publicly available on the Internet. Some do not.
Bearing that in mind, here are some observations:
That last point is interesting. PACs generally spend more money than they take in during elections years. They save up money during off years so they can spend it when it is needed the most — an election year. So why did Sarah-PAC show a net gain of nearly half a million on the year?
It is doubtful that it is in preparation of a Presidential run. PAC money cannot be rolled over into Presidential campaign funds. A PAC can give a grand total of $5000 a year to a Presidential campaign. True, the PAC can help indirectly, but PACs have to be careful about such things. The FEC (and opponents) watch that sort of thing very closely. If PAC funds are spent helping a campaign beyond the $5K, the PAC can get into a whole lot of trouble.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:12 am
Mark:
As it is every quarter, I bow before your PAC posting prowess. Now as for the actual numbers, they are pretty good for everyone but Huckabee. The fact that T-Paw is financially competing pretty well (for an unknown) with such big names as Palin and Romney shows, at least to me that the quiet man from Minnesota shouldn’t be underestimated.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:53 am
Dems picked Charlotte for 2012. NC will be tough to win back.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:53 am
Wow, Huckabee seriously sucks and raising money. If he was able to pick this up I would say he is the frontrunner for the nomination, as much as that hurts me to say that.
February 1st, 2011 at 11:00 am
Max:
Not necessarily. After all, John Kerry had a North Carolinian on his ticket and he lost the state. Obama barely eked out a victory in North Carolina last time in an utterly miserable year for the GOP. Plus, the Governorship of North Carolina is up in 2012 and the incumbent Democrat Governor is very unpopulra. We can take the Tar Heel State back in 2012.
February 1st, 2011 at 11:02 am
marK asks, “…why did SarahPAC show a net gain…” I guess the answer is pretty simple…Palin is better at managing money than Romney.
What do you think about Romney only having 12 donors? Is that true? I read that one portion of his donations were from only 12 donors?
February 1st, 2011 at 11:13 am
It’s amazing that Palin is doing this with small donors, she is building a small donor army similar to Obama’s in 08. Problem is I don’t see the big donors jumping on board with her the way they did Obama.
Huck’s numbers are horrible, even more so considering Palin’s haul.
February 1st, 2011 at 11:20 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mitt Romney in 2012! and comMITTed to Romney, Matthew Newman. Matthew Newman said: Very interesting analysis of the major 2012 candidate's PAC funding from 2010. http://j.mp/fjorb7 #tcot HT @Race42012 [...]
February 1st, 2011 at 11:28 am
So Max. you don’t think the big donors would donate to a Palin General campaign? She most likely can fund the majority of her primary campaign via small donors. Without the need for name recognition added to her social networking, media template added to debate performances(key) she could easily fund a primary campaign via small donors and probably generate enough heat to wrangle in some large donors. Not to mention, the small donors, would probably be a lot more generous than they were during this past Christmas season.
February 1st, 2011 at 11:51 am
PPP TWEETS now:
Pretty much all of our 2012 GOP polling so far this year has been good for Huckabee. We’ll see if he takes advantage of it
13 minutes ago via web
Romney’s greatest appeal is to very small part of GOP base- folks who think party’s too far right:
15 minutes ago via web
Potential problem for Romney in SC- 38% of Republicans have unfavorable view of Mormonism:
15 minutes ago via web
Huck ahead with both Republicans who think party’s too liberal and ones who think it’s about right:
16 minutes ago via web
South Carolina poll particularly bad for Gingrich- would have to do better there if he ran:
17 minutes ago via web
Without DeMint in mix in SC Huck leads with 26% to 20% for Romney, 18% for Palin, 13% for Gingrich:
17 minutes ago via web
With DeMint in mix he gets 24% to 20% for Huckabee, 17% for Romney, 12% for Palin, 10% for Gingrich: 18 minutes ago via web
http://tinyurl.com/47xq45q
February 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
“I guess the answer is pretty simple…Palin is better at managing money than Romney.”
allowing money to sit around rather than using it in campaigns =/= being “better at managing money”. Particularly if such funds cannot be rolled over.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Palin only needs the big donors after she wins the nomination.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Does someone want to post this?
the DNC is going to Charlotte.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Notice when there is bad news for Huckabee, Craig always makes the sound of crickets?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Whoops! Sorry Craig, didn’t see ya?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:10 pm
“If you’re going to declare winners and losers in this poll the winners are Huckabee and Romney and the losers are Palin and Gingrich. Not winning South Carolina in 2008 punctured Huckabee’s chances at winning the nomination but it looks like he’d be able to change that outcome if he gave it a second try. Romney has been polling fourth in a lot of other Southern states so for him to be within striking distance of Huckabee and beating Palin and Gingrich with this particularly conservative primary electorate are very good signs.
The results are probably worst for Gingrich. He led the first time we polled South Carolina last May, but has lost half of his support since then. Given South Carolina’s next door status to his native Georgia this is easily the early primary state where he would have the most decent chance of winning but he looks to be losing momentum. For Palin a third place finish behind the relatively moderate Romney in a state with a very conservative Republican primary electorate does not bode well for her overall prospects.
The Republican Party has seen considerable division over the last year about whether the party should be more conservative or if its current ideological bent is acceptable. The key to Huckabee’s success is that he’s the leader with voters who fall into both of those camps. He leads Palin and Romney 30-19 with voters who think the party is ‘about right’ ideologically and he’s up 24-18 on Gingrich with voters who think that it’s gotten too liberal.”
http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2011/02/demint-up-in-sc-huckabee-otherwise.html
===
Newt & Palin are falling everywhere.
I say neither runs and this is our main field:
HUCKABEE
Huntsman
Pawlenty
Johnson
Romney
Daniels
Thune
February 1st, 2011 at 12:11 pm
That’s cool, Fred
February 1st, 2011 at 12:13 pm
10.Matthew Kilburn Says:
February 1st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
“I guess the answer is pretty simple…Palin is better at managing money than Romney.”
allowing money to sit around rather than using it in campaigns =/= being “better at managing money”. Particularly if such funds cannot be rolled over.
===
Matthew,
Exactly. I don’t think Palin knows the PAC rules.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Matthew, Palin donated to the campaigns she believed in and still was in the positive. I think Romney’s net loss is a little reminiscent of his 2008 campaign when he had to use his own money to fund the final nail.
At this point, there are few indicators that can tell the electorate how good a candidate is with managing money…Palin wins this round. It seems that maybe Romney was more interested in buying political favors than intelligently supporting candidates in a conservative manner.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Craig, I don’t think Huck has enough support where it matters. If he cannot generate the funds to run a campaign, he will not win…simple as that. If he does run, he will lose the free promotion on tv and on the radio…then what will he do?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pm
“buying political favors than intelligently supporting candidates in a conservative manner.”
intelligently supporting candidates? What, by building up your own bank account – that you can’t use – and leaving candidates in Delaware and Nevada to lose? Yup. She gonna be real dang intelligence like that ways!
February 1st, 2011 at 12:21 pm
That’s right…his standings in the polls will slide and he’ll have to pick up some gigs at the Little Rock Airport Holiday Inn.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:21 pm
21. Comment of the day!
February 1st, 2011 at 12:24 pm
20. I believe she donated the max to Delaware and Nevada.
It is amazing how the people on this site and Republicans, in general, can find fault out of anything that happens to Palin or that she does…I guess that’s why I’ll be one of the %s that goes third party…or will I?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:34 pm
“It is amazing how the people on this site and Republicans, in general, can find fault out of anything that happens to Palin or that she does”
You mean in the same way Palin or Huckabee supporters seem to find that any item, on any issue, about anything is a convenient place to bring up their hostility to Romney’s healthcare reform in Massachusetts?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:36 pm
BTW, Kilburn, I really appreciate your last sentence in your #20 comment, it truly shows the level of your intelligence…resort to assumptions of my intelligence to attempt to prove your delusion of intellectual(infantile) superiority. Congrats on making yourself look the fool.
SarahPAC now has more money on hand to use to promote Sarah Palin…be it to sponsor an event at CPAC or whatever else they might do in the coming year. Romney has to hit up his big donors…all 12 of them or he has to take money out of his own pocket…you’d think he would have learned his lesson but probably not.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:36 pm
23.
Jerseyrepublican,
Republicans that vote third party will probably receive invites to Obama’s next inauguration.
Is that what you want?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:40 pm
Kilburn the difference is that Romney supporters call Palin dumb because she says this…or that. Palin supporters question an actual policy that Romney enacted. Why don’t you try criticizing based on actual policy decisions by Palin or her positions on the issues. I must assume you would like to be taken seriously? Maybe I shouldn’t assume…
February 1st, 2011 at 12:44 pm
26. Craig, one thing I do know is that Palin supporters voted for McCain in the last election. We also know that Obama won based on Republicans voting across the aisle…I wonder whose camp supporters did that. Also, I never said that I would vote 3rd Party, if Palin isn’t the nominee, but I would like to think that I would belong to a Party that wouldn’t use the same tactics as the left to bring down one of our own.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Perhaps we could get Mark Lowe or another Front Pager to post the new South Carolina numbers on the front page when they get the time.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Excuse me?!?!
Just when did I ever, ever, just once call Palin dumb?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:49 pm
29.
JR,
I’m voting for whomever our nominee is. Period.
I work too hard to ever vote for the liberal, Obama.
And I don’t need Huck on the ticket at all to vote R.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Did I say that YOU did?!?!
My comments were directed to Kilburn.
February 1st, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Jersey,
“Kilburn the difference is that Romney supporters call Palin dumb because she says this…or that.”
I am a Romney supporter, am I not?
February 1st, 2011 at 12:53 pm
marK, I guess I do owe you an apology…in my haste, I wrote Romney supporters, instead of some Romney supporters. Kilburn was so quick to include me into the moron cabal of Palin supporters that I did’t check my comment before posting.
February 1st, 2011 at 1:08 pm
So Huck leads another Kos poll, while posting some of the worst PAC numbers of all-time. Wonder which will matter more in the long run, Kos polls or all-time worst funding.
February 1st, 2011 at 1:09 pm
I know that I’ve never called Sarah dumb….ever. I’ve merely suggested that she isn’t as prepared to be President as Mitt.
BTW, if I’ve neglected to make the suggestion that she’s similarly less prepared to be President than Mitch, Jon, John, or Tim…..let me correct that oversight.
February 1st, 2011 at 1:19 pm
JR – Romney kicked off with more cash on hand, so are we to assume he managed money in the periods leading up to this report?
Rather than cast aspersions (example “buying political favors”)why not address mark’s question from his post.
(As a bonus question, why not explain to the class Palin’s theory regarding the Sputnik Debt being the real reason the Soviet Empire collapsed.)
From Mark’s post above:
“That last point is interesting. PACs generally spend more money than they take in during elections years. They save up money during off years so they can spend it when it is needed the most — an election year. So why did Sarah-PAC show a net gain of nearly half a million on the year?”
“It is doubtful that it is in preparation of a Presidential run. PAC money cannot be rolled over into Presidential campaign funds. A PAC can give a grand total of $5000 a year to a Presidential campaign. True, the PAC can help indirectly, but PACs have to be careful about such things. The FEC (and opponents) watch that sort of thing very closely. If PAC funds are spent helping a campaign beyond the $5K, the PAC can get into a whole lot of trouble.”
February 1st, 2011 at 1:35 pm
Doug, I read that Sputnik comment of yours over at Rightspeak and I was going to let you slide because I figured you were just poking fun but since it seems you weren’t then…if you chose to actually hear what Palin was saying, you would have easily understood that Sputnik was an early example of the Soviets throwing money around,into programs, they didn’t have. That type of financial recklessness led to their demise, especially after the arms race in the 80′s. Several top historians agreed with Palin.
Also, I feel I answered the question fairly well…SarahPAC is better at managing money and getting more bang for the buck than Romney’s PAC.
February 1st, 2011 at 1:38 pm
36. and that is your opinion…I disagree. Now that that’s settled…
February 1st, 2011 at 1:42 pm
How are they getting “bang for the buck” when the election is now over? What are they spending the money on now?
(Read the tone of my Sputnik jab – I was tweaking you. But you do raise a question for me. Why do so many of her statements need clarification and explaination? Seems to me she should sharpen her style and content a little more efficiently, no?)
February 1st, 2011 at 1:47 pm
Doug, no. I think that her words get twisted just like anyone else’s could if the media wanted to…just like any Republican nominee’s will in 2012. I understood exactly what she meant. I think a lot of people just believe what they read instead of being thoughtful and intellectually honest.
Palin doesn’t have access to 12 large donors like Romney has, every bit of money helps. For instance SarahPAC is sponsoring an event at CPAC…god thing they had the money on hand. I guess Romney would have to pay for it out of his own pocket again(just tweaking you this time).
February 1st, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Another day,another Daily Kos poll.
Huckabee leads the poll,as he should.
He’s been slobbering all over both
Obamas while Sarah Palin was leading
the charge against socialist regime
in White House,taking arrows 24/7.
Plus,earning the title of Joy Behar’s
favorite republican,Huck confirmed
his political ideology:
Anti-abortion,statist,big goverment
liberal Baptist preacher.
He’s not popular,except some EC,if he
was he would get some money in his PAC.
If he runs,nobody think he will,he will
not have advantage to advertise himself
on 600 stations 3 times a day,plus
Sunday FOX show.
He knows all of that,this is why he will
keep his job and have a nice life.
February 1st, 2011 at 2:01 pm
42. You hope and pray he stays.
February 1st, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Mitt Romney always got most of
his money from big donors,his
Wall Street banker buddies.
Fine,he will live or die with
them.I’m surprised there is only
12 of them,but I’m sure Mitt will
get many more in the future.
He’s doing TV blitz,smart move,I
think he read my comments on this
site.
February 1st, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Is Romney now your second choice when Palin announces she’s not running?
February 1st, 2011 at 2:47 pm
TEX Says:
February 1st, 2011 at 1:51 pm
“Another day,another Daily Kos poll.
Huckabee leads the poll,as he should.
..earning the title of Joy Behar’s
favorite republican,Huck confirmed
his political ideology:
Anti-abortion…Baptist preacher.”
===
I doubt Behar is anti-abortion nor Baptist in any way shape or form.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Huckabee has a good balance — experienced executive and good communicator, savvy leader who has successfully governed as a Republican in a historically Democrat-dominated state, long proponent of Israeli sovereignty, uncannily courteous to those in opposition yet candid and principled, strong social conservative who can give palatable explanations of his positions.
If Huckabee enters the race, is there a campaign manager or money guru (or both) who might be engaged to improve his fundraising record?
February 1st, 2011 at 10:51 pm
[...] Year end financial reports for the PACs of potential Republican presidential candidates are out [...]