As seen on The Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog.
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich headed into tonight’s presidential elections with hardly two nickels to rub together (compared to Mitt Romney), but Santorum’s victories tonight could provide the fundraising boost needed to support his campaign through an otherwise uneventful month.
Santorum won Missouri, where Gingrich was not on the ballot, with 55 percent of the vote. He also placed first in Minnesota with 45 percent of the vote, followed by Ron Paul (27 percent), Mitt Romney (17 percent), and Newt Gingrich (11 percent). The Washington Examiner’s Conn Carroll observed recently that Gingrich can expect to perform better in some southern primaries to be held in March, but it’s not clear he’ll have the money to get there.
Gingrich has about $2.1 million cash on hand, according to the latest campaign finance reports, but over $1.1 million in debt. Santorum was in even worse shape at the end of last quarter: over $200,000 in debt, with less than $300,000 in hand, but his strong performance tonight could change that.
Momentum hasn’t meant much this cycle in terms of winning consecutive primaries, as Phil Klein pointed out, but it has generated strong fundraising trends. Herman Cain raised $245,600 in the 24-hour period after Politico first reported the sexual harrassment charges that dogged his campaign and conservative commentators defended him from the allegations. Rick Perry, on the other hand, saw his fundraising plunge after a series of debate gaffes that cost him the presidential primary. Similarly, both Michelle Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty both dropped out of the presidential race when they ran out of money.
People don’t stop running for president; they stop raising money for their presidential campaigns. Rick Santorum should be able to raise the money needed to compete in the Michigan primary on February 28, and possibly Super Tuesday on March 5. Gingrich, on the other hand, can only hope that he performs well enough in the February 22 debate to stay in the race.
