Edwards: Internet Fundraising Up, But How Much?

John Edwards, working to overcome his third-place showing in the Des Moines Register poll, turned the topic to fundraising Tuesday, with his Iowa state director saying the final months of 2007 were his best yet for fundraising on the Internet.

Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, the Iowa State Director, wants voters to see Edwards as a candidate who can wage a viable national campaign if he survives Thursday's Iowa Democratic Caucus.

Rivals have made Edwards' financial support an issue. On Monday Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe, in a briefing for reporters, said that Edwards, who is taking public financing, lacks the resources to be competitive in the Feb. 5 voting states - tantamount to a national primary when 22 states will go to the polls - because he will only have about $17 million left after Iowa.

In an email to supporters that came out Tuesday evening, as the three Democratic front-runners barnstormed across Iowa, O'Malley Dillion issued a plea to raise an additional $75,000 in the next 36 hours.

She did have a big hole in her memo: She did not mention how much money Edwards raised last quarter, saying only that it was his best of this cycle for the Internet.

"I just got word from Team Internet about what you all have accomplished -- raising more money last quarter for our campaign than any other quarter in 2007, with tens of thousands of contributors from across the country rising to change America," O'Malley Dillon wrote.

Earlier Tuesday, strategists told reporters that Clinton and Obama had both raised over $100 million in 2007, though neither campaign has yet to reveal fundraising totals for the 4th Quarter.

Check out the rest of HuffPost's Iowa coverage.

Comments

[Nutcase]

What is to stop Clinton, Obama and some of their friends from introducing an amendment to increase the amount of federal funding to help make Edwards competitive in the general election, were he to get the nomination?

Silly? Yeah. I know. Clinton and Obama don't care whether a Democrat gets elected if it's not them. It's not about hope. It's not about change. It's not about experience. It's not about us. It's about them.

[win2kpro]

John Edwards is the Democrats best chance of taking back the White House.
If John Edwards can win the Democratic nomination it MAY put some of the red States in play such as NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS and LA. Neither Clinton or Obama have a snowballs chance in hell of carrying any of these States.
If you just add a couple of these red States for Edwards it would negate Karl Rove's plan to have the CA electoral votes split.
Now I see a lot of postings with the statement that John Edwards couldn't carry his home State in 2004. Earlier last year the majority of Democrats wanted Al Gore to run in '08. They must have forgotten that Gore did not carry his home State (Tennessee) in 2000, however they still wanted him to run in '08. The fact that John Edwards did not carry his home State in 2004 is primarily based on the fact that people don't turn out to vote for a Vice President. The 2004 vote in North Carolina was primarily a vote AGAINST John Kerry, not a vote against John Edwards. What happened in 2000 or 2004 is not necessarily germane in 2008.
Unless John McCain is the Republican nominee you will see a low republican turnout in the south in the general election. The people in the red southern States will NOT vote for Giuliani or Romney. You may believe the evangelicals in the southern States would turn out and vote for Huckabee, however with some of the negatives that have come out about Huckabee he would suffer the same fate Ralph Reed (the leader of the evangelical choir) suffered in his campaign for Lt. Governor of Georgia in 2006 when he got only 44% of the vote compared to his opponent's 56%. Ralph Reed was a hell of a lot better known throughout the south than Mike Huckabee.
~GO JOHN GO~
JOHN EDWARDS IN '08 (the republiCONS worst nightmare)

[tuckgraph]

"But how much?" The headlines and imagery depicted on this website reminds me of the tactics employed by Rupert Murdoch's properties. How about, "Edwards Campaign Proclaims Fourth Quarter Internet Fundraising As Best In '07". Would that be maybe, a little more fair and balanced? I mean, c'mon. Hillary and Obama haven't posted their fourth quarter numbers either. "But how much?" How about, how much of this crap can we take? The slant and intent of Huffpo's editorial agenda may appear subtle to the blind, but give me a break!

[peachfuzz]

Edwards is representing all the people who do not have money, or have very little in comparison. Why is it a surprise that he has so much less money??--Does it grow on trees?? This is an EPIC battle and Edwards needs our support now more than ever. It's no accident that Nader threw him a bone. Keep up up the good work John!

[StrategicThinker]

If Edwards wins Iowa, money will come flooding in.

If John Edwards wins Iowa, Clinton and Obama will both "TANK" in New Hampshire, and Edwards will surge there and win NH, and then it's basically guaranteed that Nevada labor unions will rally to him and he'll easily take Nevada, and SC will come back around to their "hometown boy" (John Edwards).

In the meanwhile, after an Iowa win, money will pour into John Edwards' campaign from MANY FORMER BARACK OBAMA SUPPORTERS, as well as John Edwards' supporters and other Democrats out there. The liberal media (online blogs and magazines like "THE NATION", and AirAmericaRadio) will begin saying it's time to rally behind John Edwards and dump Obama so that all of that "anti-Clinton" vote is behind one candidate.

Edwards will easily raise around $15 million in the few weeks, and will have more than enough money for the long haul, limitations or not.

The Obama campaign, KNOWS, that this is what will happen, which is why they preemptively started this "VOTE EDWARDS, GET HILLARY" crap.

[postedby]

Seems I saw the same headline about Dean.

[leftoflennon]

Run John Run !

Go John Go !

[BUSHsurvivor]

Seems like HuffPo is now coming after the Edwards team on behalf of Obama!

[unchainthedogs]

Coonce - Buy John Edward's paper campaign book and you'll have the answers to your questions in black & white.

[tbone99]

Amazing that he's doing so well when the MSM have done very little coverage of him and of what they have done has generally been derogatory. Yet he's polling almost with the top runners who are well funded by corporations.

[coonce]

What does John Edwards keep telling us that he can do best? Doesn't he speak a lot about his ability to help citizens with their health care by taking on the insurance and pharmaceutical companies and his ability to get assistance to needy families - issues that make a difference to American families? He's always talking about taking 'on' the big corporations.

What position would that be in a White House cabinet? Secretary of Health & Human Services. Why would John be willing to take on such a, behind the scenes position, you ask?

John has tried for the presidency once before, the vice presidency once, even lost his own State. He's pretty much assured that he will not win this time around either (even if he wins Iowa). What's one of the next best things to be in the White House? A position in the President's cabinet, that's what.

As we all know, other then foreign policy, the War on Terror, Iran, North Korea, the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq, health care is the number one issue in the minds of most Americans. What experience does John bring with him into the position of Secretary of Health and Human services? His own biography on his website tells us, "For 20 years, John dedicated his career to representing families and children just like the families he grew up with in Robbins. Standing up against the powerful insurance industry and their armies of lawyers, John helped these families through the darkest moments of their lives to overcome tremendous challenges. His passionate advocacy for people like the folks who worked in the mill with his father earned him respect and recognition across the country."

It's been reported in the media that John Edwards and Barack Obama's health care plans are very similar. What better way to make the history books, when America's not ready for you to be president or vice president, but to be the one to help initiate Universal Health Care for All?

Perhaps Obama and Edwards should begin talking.
Coonsey's View www.freeweb.com/coonsey

[rfstevens]

The heck with it, here's hoping Joe Biden comes out of nowhere.

[unchainthedogs]

sorry, once again I have typos in my comment above....I must do better.

[citipearl]

Check out the fundraising numbers as reported by OpenSecrets.org. If you have corporate backing, you get bigger bucks. It's that simple:

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp

Do we really want to continue having "the best goverment we can buy"?

[unchainthedogs]

I know I've sent him a couple bucks and intend to send more when I'm able and I'm in the "red" state of Texas (however, I'm not red, but purple). I find it hard to believe, that with the brilliance, wisdom and passion of John (and Elizabeth Edwards), this campaign will not fail because of the lack of dollars. That is an insult to our intelligence, IMO.

Run John Run. You're the man.