Sarah Palin's political action committee raised about $2.1 million in 2009, $1.4 million of in the last six months of the year. SarahPAC has $900,000 cash on hand:
"We are thrilled. Common sense Americans know the direction we need to take this country and that Sarah Palin will be instrumental in taking us there this year. We look forward to the journey ahead!," said Meghan Stapleton, senior adviser and spokesperson.Most of SarahPAC's money came in the form of small donations, as the former governor's PAC didn't hold large fundraisers:
They are solid fundraising numbers that show the Republican mega-star's organizational strength.
By comparison, fellow 2012 GOP nomination front runner Mitt Romney's PAC raised about $800,000 more for the year and Tim Pawlenty's PAC raised nearly $1.3 million in the last quarter of 2009.
SarahPAC officials feel they did the majority of this while Sarah was writing her book and raised most of the money with the help of the Internet and small events.Political columnist Chris Cillizza says Sarah Palin's PAC raised money on a par with the political action committees of other Republicans considered to be top contenders for the party's 2012 presidential nomination:
"We are excited as we feel that we've just begun to tap the governor's support. More than 14,000 everyday men and women contributed more than $2 million to SarahPAC last year with little effort on our part. The money came in through the Internet and a handful of fundraisers and we are grateful for everyone's support," said Tim Crawford, SarahPAC treasurer.
While Palin's six-month total is roughly comparable to the $1.3 million Minnesota. Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) raised in just the final three months of the year through his Freedom First PAC and approximately $800,000 less than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC collected in 2009, her aides suggested she did very little active fundraising.SarahPAC's disbursements in the last 6 months of the year, listed here, went to the campaigns of Doug Hoffman, John Kasich, Sen. Jim Demint, Sen. Tom Coburn, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Michele Bachmann and others.
Sarah PAC sent no direct mail -- a potential treasure trove of small-dollar donations for the former governor who is beloved by the grassroots of the party -- and raised the majority of her money via the Internet and small events. For the 11 months that Sarah PAC has existed, she has received contributions from more than 14,000 donors.
The full set of reports SarahPAC filed with the FEC is here.
- JP
It is good news but SarahPAC fundraising methods could be much improved. To beat Romney, SarahPAC communication and advertising must become more effective.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that her PAC's pr needs to be fine-tuned for the comming battles, but the progress it's made is most impressive--particularly given the small-donor demographic, and Sarah has had a major transition in the past six-nine months, obviously. I get the sense that she needed to recalibrate & secure her personal financial situation and that required promoting her book and obviously the negotiations with Fox, her booking agents, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow that her financial future is laid-out with a little more clarity, she will presumably be able to fund the necessary industry scaffolding required to promote a PAC of her scope and ambition.
As it is, I think she's multi-tasking with absoute brilliance; the woman is one relentless worker--just as her memoir indicated and as we have all seen in the past year on the national stage.
Why does she have to "beat" Romney's PAC? I don't think she should be put under any pressure to "beat" anyone with her PAC's political fundraising.
ReplyDeleteRemember, Sarah Palin is just a private citizen who is working to advance the principles she believes in.
She is not an announced candidate for president in 2012, and I don't think she will become one. She's done nothing to put together campaign organizations at the state level, especially in Iowa and New Hampshire. This is a step that any candidate seriously considering a 2012 preisdential run would have taken by now.
Enough pressure has been put on Sarah as it is. Please, let's not add to it by treating her fundraising efforts like they were part of a pissing contest with Romney or anyone else.
- JP