Clinton lends her struggling campaign $6.4 million

WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lent her presidential campaign $6.4 million over the past month, her campaign said Wednesday, underscoring the financial advantage held by her rival, Barack Obama.

The money more than doubled Clinton's personal investment in her bid for the Democratic nomination. She gave her campaign $5 million earlier this year.

A campaign aide said Clinton gave her campaign another $5 million on April 11, more than a week before the Pennsylvania primary. She then again dipped into her personal wealth for $1 million last week and $425,000 on Monday, one day before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries.

Clinton's campaign reported raising $10 million online after her Pennsylvania victory on April 22. Evidently, the money was not enough and her fundraising was unable to keep up with her expenses heading into Tuesday's contests.

Moreover, Obama has routinely outspent her in primary after primary and has shown little difficulty tapping his vast network of donors. He spent more than $7 million on advertising head of Tuesday's primaries in North Carolina and Indiana to her nearly $4 million.

According to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Obama began the month of April with $42 million in the bank for the primary to Clinton's $9.3 million.

But Clinton had debts of $10.3 million at the start of the month, much of it money owed to her main polling, phone banking and advertising consultants.

Comments

[jetset7777]

Given the ridiculous prospects for Hillary winning, maybe she SHOULD throw her lot in with a few economists­... they might help her realize what a bad investment staying in this race is.

[RJII]

Middle class blue collar people WAKE UP! Hillary is buying this election and selling racist fear mongering to the little people.

She don't care about ya. She don't understand ya. She doesn't drink beer!
She hasn't paid for groceries or gas since Billary won Arkansas.

[tipiglen6]

I have observed that donated dollars from individuals are a rather good proxy for votes, and bode well for the General Election.

Similarly, a lack of big contributions from the super-rich or interest groups merely indicates they've got the ability to recognise a loser.

I have suspected HRC might have been staying in the race for the simple reason that she needs to continue to raise funds to cover her deficit. Does anyone know if it's illegal (I know it's immoral) to continue to solicit funds for a campaign which has been terminated?

Also, I'm curious whether HRC's "loans" to her own campaign will receive precedence over other creditors (caterers, premises, services, etc.) when things eventually wind up. Anybody know how many simple honest folk are likely to get stiffed?

xx
ed

[jakie]

GO HOME HILLARY YOU CAN'T RUN YOUR CAMPAIGN WE DON'T WANT A BORROWING PRESIDENT AGAIN. IF YOU CAN'T MANAGE YOUR MONEY HOW WOULD YOU MANAGE THE COUNTRYS MONEY. GO HOME HILLARY WE HAVE ENOUGH OF YOU AND BILL. PLEASE DO THE DEMCRATIC PARTY A FAVOIR AND GO HOME NOW.......­..........­PLEASE

[BassMent]

Not to say "I told you so," but I commented several weeks ago on a thread here at HuffPo (when her first loan to her campaign was revealed) that lack of money would bring the end of Hillary's candidacy.

I don't think she has accepted in the least that Obama has won the nomination. I think she would love to continue the scorched earth strategy all the way to the floor of the convention. I think that, like Rush, she is dreaming of riots in Denver.

But at this point, it's going to be very difficult to get anyone to donate to her faltering campaign. So, at this point she and Bill have to decide whether they want to invest the rest of the family fortune in this process, or whether they just want to accept the $11.4 million loss and call it a day.

So now we get to watch and see whether the greater guiding force in the Clinton universe is greed or the lust for power.

[AngryAfricanOnTheLoose]

Hang on. How come she can len money? I thought she was from the blue-collar side - the "people"? Where did she get the money from? Did she get some from the elitist Obama? Come Hillary - you can't have it both ways you know.

[colbyb25]

I believe this democratic race is coming to an end, but where we go from here and how we get there is going to be up to us Obama supporters. Over the last several months there has been a lot of finger pointing and name calling as we both (strong supporters from both sides) dug in and got ready for a fight. And a fight we had. It was a good fight and a well fought fight regardless of what some will say. But the key to moving forward is not the continuation of "taking the low road" but in acceptingly welcoming her supporters to stand behind Obama.

If Obama is about change, hope and bring people together..­.we are all hypocrites if we don't follow along those characteristics that inspired us in the first place. Let me be the first to say welcome, there is plenty of room for everyone. Lets work together and get ourselves a democrat in the office come November.

Obama' 08

[obamagal]

Can I be second?

(Good post).

[Violist]

And I'm gonna third that. Thanks for posting that. Come on HRC supporters, Obama's not that bad. We all need to come together to put an end to Bush style policies in this country. What does it matter who does it as long as it gets done, right? Come and join us Clintonites!

[CKieffer]

I think that is exactly what Obama was saying in his speech last night. It was an excellent speech; very healing; very inclusive and gracious.

[redrobin]

So if hil lent herself 6.4 mil over the past month, but then says they also had 10 mil come in over the internet, shouldn't she be showing 16.4 mil as what she received total? OR ya think just maybe she might be LYING about that 10 mil from the internet and actually lent herself 6.4 mil of that 10 mil she reports that came in from the internet? Could it be possible hil just might be 'fudging' a little bit there? Or maybe she had another of what her husband called, one of her 'senior moments' and just got a little 'confused' about her internet landslide of 10 mil? You know, just another one of those 'mixups' like oh say, 'imagining' she got rained on with sniper fire? LOL

Get REAL. These Clintons are such liars. Why can't her loyal advocates see what shams these people are? Or marybe they're all the same bubbas that put bush into the white house over the last 8 years? That could certainly explain why they just refuse to see the truth about how these Clintons operate. Bubbas, not the sharpest tools in the shed for sure.

If being 'elite' means NOT being a dumb-shit, please, do call me ELITE! LOL

[Ashera]

Did we hear the FAT Lady Sing?
In a reality check Clinton is only in this race for herself, and not either for the DNC or Voters of America.

This is the UNITED States of America not DIVIDE States of America, and somebody should have told the Clintons.

[kellygrrrl]

Hillary, please don't waste any more of Chelsea's money.
Think of the grandchildren!

[justobserve]

Well, at least that is HER money, not voters'. Last night she asked voters for more and that is disgusting when she knew the real state of the coffer and her unelectability, yet this woman is blind by her own ambition. She is now running on adrenaline, if not something else, to self- destruction. Hopefully all superdelegates can see it: Obama is the one voters chose. But they just kept holding up endorsing Obama! Can anyone really take the nomination away from Obama and give it to Clinton based on the spin of "electability"? It seems within the party, either the Clintons' machine is too powerful or SUPERDELEGATES themselves are divided in endorsing a first black nominee. If that is true, it is really sad for a party that has the black community as its most loyal supporters. If superdelegates have the nerve to deny Obama his rightful nomination, they can count on the black community walk out from the party in drove. Maybe they would be the one , together with the Clintons, who are the cause that forces the creation of a black party.

[kellygrrrl]

i trully believe it's more an issue of the power of The Clintons
and the fear instilled in any traitors

[huffhuffpass]

Exactly who is the "elitist" here? I don't think anyone would claim that Mitt Romney isn't an elitist, so why doesn't that stick on the Clinton's? I wasn't aware that the position for presidency was for SALE rather earned through truth telling and running a dignified and respectful campaign that addressed the problems our great nation faces. Sen.Clinto­n has always said that this was like hiring for a job or that the presidency was like being a CEO of a company, well with that said is it possible for the Sen.Obama campaign to offer a buyout of her company(campaign)?

[Emper0r]

Un-pledged super delegates, you need to pull the reins on this race if Hillary doesn't have the responsibility and foresight to drop out of the race. You need to publicly announce your support for Obama and end this race so the party can unite and we can focus on being victorious this fall!

[IkeChicago]

The media is saying that Hillary is staying in the race for campaign contributions, they think that if she get out no one is going to contribute to her debt reduction. How foolish, no one is contributing now and they won't contribute because she's lost. Isn't it going to cost her about 1/4 million dollars a day just to stay in, that means that she has to get one million a day to do any good.

Get out now Hillary, you ain't getting any more money.

[jetset7777]

Claims that Clinton does well in some races despite being outspent are missing the point. Americans support Obama, which is why they are giving him money. It's kind of like a national poll, only better, because Clinton gets her money from an increasingly smaller number of supporters while Obama has millions of small donors. Loaning her campaign $11 million is just further evidence of that.

[thinkb4uleapII]

Excellent point jetset... one that seems to be lost on the corporate mass media. Actually I suspect that they ignore the point purposely. As you stated, the fundraising metric alone is a sufficient barometer of who the preferred nominee is.

[Trittydi]

I wish I could loan my campaign to remain in the middle-class that kind of money.
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