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Public funds would handcuff McCain in primary states |
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By Alexander Bolton
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Posted: 07/03/07 03:46 PM [ET] |
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would not be allowed to spend more than a few million dollars in crucial Republican primary states if he accepted public funding to supplement his disappointing fundraising.
McCain campaign officials said this week that they are considering accepting public funds for the primary campaign. McCain has raised $24 million for his presidential bid and has only $2 million in the bank.
McCain could accept up to $250 in federal matching funds for every contribution he collected, but the public assistance would be capped at around $21 million, according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) spokesman.
More arduous for McCain, however, would be the spending limits that public funds would trigger in key primary states. If the presidential primaries were held this year, McCain could spend only $818,000 in New Hampshire — a limit that includes funds his campaign has already spent in the Granite State.
In Iowa, if McCain accepted public funds, he could spend only around $1.5 million between the start of his campaign and Caucus Day, according to a list of state expenditure limits made available by the FEC.
The FEC has publicized hypothetical state spending limits for 2007 to let candidates know what caps they will face next year. The limits are expected to increase slightly because of inflation.
In South Carolina, publicly funded candidates can’t spend more than $2.2 million. In Nevada, $1.2 million is the limit.
The limits cover media expenditures, mass mailings, overhead expenses for state offices, phone banks and public polling.
Nationwide, McCain could not spend more than $50 million if he accepted public funds. That restriction would last until the Republican convention in September.
If McCain secured the Republican nomination in February or early March, he would have to spread his $50 million over several months while his Democratic opponent could pour tens of millions of dollars into attack advertising. Such a scenario developed in 1996 when spending limits curbed the ability of the Republican nominee, former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), to respond to Democratic attacks.
The third drawback for McCain, if he accepts public funds, is heightened scrutiny from FEC auditors. FEC officials would probe his campaign finance records to ensure he did not exceed spending limits in various states, said election law experts.
Larry Noble, a former FEC general counsel who now works at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, highlighted state spending limits as a particularly harsh restriction.
“One of the reasons that the candidates are not going to take part in public funding in the primary is because there are restrictions on what you can spend in each state,” said Noble. “State-by-state limits have been a problem in the law.”
"The FEC has recommended to Congress in the past getting rid of the state-by-state limits or at least taking a look at them,” he said. “A lot of people acknowledged in the past that the state-by-state limits were causing problems.”
Noble said that the state spending limits have received criticism because “they are based on voting-age population and don’t reflect the importance of the states.”
For example, publicly funded candidates can spend only about $818,000 in New Hampshire, even though the primary there may play a large role in determining the party nominees. In Pennsylvania, by contrast, candidates can spend more than $6 million, even though the Keystone State primary is expected to have no substantial impact on the nomination.
In 2003, McCain introduced legislation that would have repealed the state spending limits. During a floor speech at the time, McCain said, “The state-by-state primary spending limits have not worked. The limits have proven to be ineffective and have served to unjustifiably micromanage presidential campaigns.”
McCain also criticized the national spending limit and predicted it would give a major advantage to candidates who raise enough money to forgo public funds.
“The overall spending limit in the primaries for publicly financed candidates has failed to keep pace with reality,” he said in the speech.
“It will be easier over time for other candidates to reject public financing and raise private money in excess of the overall primary spending limit, thereby worsening the competitive disadvantage of publicly financed candidates.”
McCain’s campaign declined to comment for this article.
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