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Thompson’s June dollars are due to be revealed next week |
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By Sam Youngman
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Posted: 07/26/07 08:11 PM [ET] |
Some of the mystery surrounding Fred Thompson’s (R) fundraising efforts will be solved Tuesday when the former Tennessee senator’s campaign, officially still in the “testing the waters” phase, files its June fundraising numbers with the IRS.
Amid reports of dysfunction within the campaign, Thompson officials said Wednesday that the senator’s 527 group will file its required semiannual report July 31.
The report, however, only will include funds raised between the time Thompson formed Friends of Fred Thompson Inc., June 1, and the end of June.
During that time, Thompson attended at least one fundraiser at the Nashville home of recording industry executive Michael Curb. Guests were required to pony up $2,300, the maximum individual primary contribution.
That fundraiser generated an estimated $250,000.
Also in June, on the day Thompson formed his 527, Thompson’s initial fundraising team, the “First Day Founders,” each contributed the maximum and each were charged with bringing in the same amount from another 19 people. The goal was to raise more than $4 million total.
While the other campaigns are required to file quarterly with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Thompson is exempt because he has only formed a “testing the waters” committee. In doing so, Thompson filed with the IRS as a tax-exempt 527 organization that is required this year to disclose its contributions and expenditures semiannually if the sum is or is expected to exceed $50,000.
If Thompson fails to file Tuesday, his committee would be fined 35 percent of its total receipts.
Critics have questioned why the former senator-turned-actor would continue to operate in the “testing the waters” phase rather than formally declaring with the FEC and filing quarterly reports. Those critics are quick to point out that Thompson was closely associated with the creation and passage of the campaign finance reform law known popularly as McCain-Feingold.
“A McCain-Feingold-Thompson co-sponsor operating his non-campaign campaign as a 527 is not conducive to being a straight-shooter,” one Republican operative said.
Former FEC Chairman Michael Toner, who reportedly has signed on as Thompson’s general counsel, declined to comment.
Some Republican lobbyists have speculated Thompson is falling short of his fundraising goals. Some recently have suggested that may be the reason the campaign has delayed a formal announcement.
Some have said Thompson’s campaign wanted to announce with at least $5 million, but contend it has been able to raise only $2 million so far.
Thompson spokeswoman Linda Rozett said Thompson’s only stated goal thus far is to raise enough money to test the waters, something the campaign is financially able to do. She added that the campaign has put into place a “good team,” and is “meeting all of [its] own goals.
“I cannot help that others want to play that Washington parlor guessing game,” she said.
Two Tennessee fundraising heavyweights, Ted Welch and Fred Smith, did not switch allegiances from other campaigns to assist Thompson. Welch, however, told The Hill in June he was approached about doing so.
Thompson supporter and adviser Bob Davis, who was until recently the chairman of the Tennessee GOP, told The Hill in June “there is no question” Thompson would be able to raise money.
Since the June 30 mark, Thompson has attended at least five fundraisers, from Louisiana to Massachusetts, with another scheduled for Monday in Washington.
The travel might be taking a toll on Thompson’s coffers. Because he is acting as a 527, Thompson must pay the full cost of a charter flight. Declared candidates only are required to pay the cost of a first-class ticket.
If nothing else, next week’s report could serve to nip such speculation about weak fundraising in the bud and massage the energies of Thompson supporters who are growing impatient with the ex-senator’s reluctance to announce formally.
Impressive one-month figures could quiet other problems the campaign is facing before it gets off the ground.
Thompson’s first filing will come just days after he hired his second campaign manager.
Tom Collamore resigned Tuesday, and media reports ran rampant with reports that Thompson’s wife, Jeri, was part of the reason for Collamore’s departure.
Rozett said she “can’t really speak to rumors.”
Rozett would say that Collamore “did a good job of putting together a good organization” for the testing-the-waters phase and that the campaign was only looking to add to its “political strength.”
GOP operative Randy Enright is taking over for Collamore. Enright had reportedly been working for Thompson as political director.
Research director J.T. Mastranadi also left the campaign this week.
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