Gore Lags in Money, but Leads in Delegates (posted December 31, 1999)

Democratic presidential aspirant Bill Bradley continues to surprise the experts by out-raising Vice President Al Gore. The end-of-year campaign finance reports reveal that in the period from October to December, 1999, Bradley raised around $8 million compared to $4 million for Gore. Bradley's fundraising success is surprising because typically a sitting vice president backed by an incumbent president is able to raise far more than a challenger in the months leading up to the first primaries.

Gore's fundraising difficulties should not obscure one notable success for his campaign. According to the New York Times, the vice president has garnered commitments from 520 of his party's 799 super-delegates, the party chairman, House members, Senators, and governors who are given automatic slots at the Democratic nominating contest. This gives Gore a major advantage over Bradley before the first delegate is chosen in a primary or caucus. Since the nominee only needs 2,169 delegates to capture the Democratic nomination, Gore is already 25 percent of the way towards the ultimate objective. His strong support among the Democratic establishment gives him a major advantage over Bradley, even though the vice president continues to lag in fundraising.

On the Republican side, Texas Governor George Bush continues to out-distance his opponents on fundraising. In the fourth quarter, he raised $10 million, compared to $6.1 million for Arizona Senator John McCain. Bush heads into the primaries with $31.4 million in cash on hand, which is more than four times the money that is available to McCain for his primary campaign.