The Washington Post‘s Aaron Blake reports that Virginia on senator Jim Webb’s lackluster fundraising:
Webb (D-Va.), meanwhile, has been notably ambivalent about life as a senator, and that has apparently carried over into his off-cycle fundraising. In the third quarter, he raised just $16,620 and had $471,000 in the bank – both numbers the least of any Democrat who looks to be in for a hard challenge in 2012.
About half of Webb’s contributions in the third quarter came throughActBlue, a fundraising tool used by Democrats in which a candidate does not have to actively solicit donations. Another $11,400 came from political action committees, and only six individuals contributed directly to Webb’s campaign.
Over the nearly four years since he’s been elected, Webb has raised just more than $1 million. He was a weak fundraiser even when he was a candidate (he needed national party help to win the primary in 2006), but $16,000 raised suggests little effort at all.
About half of Webb’s contributions in the third quarter came throughActBlue, a fundraising tool used by Democrats in which a candidate does not have to actively solicit donations. Another $11,400 came from political action committees, and only six individuals contributed directly to Webb’s campaign.
Over the nearly four years since he’s been elected, Webb has raised just more than $1 million. He was a weak fundraiser even when he was a candidate (he needed national party help to win the primary in 2006), but $16,000 raised suggests little effort at all.
Blake also reports that Republican senator John Ensign, embattled by the scandal surrounding his affair with a staffer, has “raised just $18,550 and spent more than $550,000 on legal fees, seeing his cash on hand drop from $961,000 to $280,000 in three months.”
