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Article published Oct 26, 2003
Lieberman keeps faith in Feb. 3 primaries; lags in fund-raising

LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Joe Lieberman is pinning his presidential ambitions on seven states with primaries on Feb. 3, but if fund-raising is any indication, he's fighting an uphill battle.According to Federal Election Commission reports, Lieberman is being greatly outgunned by his Democratic competition in most of the Feb. 3 battlegrounds.Since his focus turned in August to what his campaign termed the "Tidal Wave Tuesday" states in the South and Midwest, Lieberman's fund-raising jumped in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona but saw only a slight increase in South Carolina and Missouri.Meanwhile, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina -- who is mapping out a similar Feb. 3 strategy -- has out-raised Lieberman in six of the seven states. And former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, who is focusing on the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary in January, out-raised Lieberman in five.The Feb. 3 primaries, just a week after the Granite State vote, will be a critical turning point in the race for the nomination. They are expected to thin the field of nine Democrats, sending just two or three on to compete for the nomination.Edwards has opened up huge fund-raising leads in Oklahoma and his home state. And Dean, who is the overall money leader with about $25 million, is well ahead of the pack in Arizona and New Mexico.Lieberman, however, said he feels good about his fund-raising and doesn't expect to raise much in the Feb. 3 states."For some reason people in the early primary states seem to feel that they don't have to contribute, that the relationship works the other way -- that the candidates invest in the early primary states," he said.He also said his financial totals don't reflect lower support but are a result of his choices in fund-raising venues.Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, agreed that having the most money doesn't mean the most votes. But candidates need enough to get their message out, he said."To get a person's vote, you have to impress yourself on the voter's consciousness. If you don't have a significant amount of money, it's impossible to make that case," he said.All the candidates are concentrating their fund-raising on the traditional big money states of California, Florida and New York. Californians alone gave more than $11 million to Democrats this year.For Lieberman and Edwards, who don't expect to do well in Iowa and are trailing in New Hampshire, focusing on the Feb. 3 states could provide a vital chunk of support.While there are 27 delegates up for grabs in New Hampshire and 55 in Iowa, there are a total of 333 delegates in the seven Feb. 3 states. And supporters in those states who cared enough to write checks this year, sent them more often to Edwards and Dean.Edwards, for example, raised more than $223,000 in Oklahoma to Lieberman's $109,000. And Dean raised $152,000 in New Mexico compared with Lieberman's $26,000.The totals represent itemized contributions declared by the candidates as of Sept. 30.