What does it mean for this election that McCain all but matched Obama in fundraising for the month of May?
Both McCain and Obama reported raising an amount in the early $20 millions for last month, while the Democratic Primary dragged on. Was it the presence of Hillary Clinton? Obama Fatigue? Maxed out donors? Clinton's supporters joining the McCain fold? What?
The surprising cash parity between McCain and Obama means the candidates begin the general campaign more evenly matched than many experts expected, although things could change swiftly given Obama’s ability to raise money through small online contributions. [Politico]
This actually isn’t that “surprising” at all. Obama and Hillary Clinton set records for fundraising during their epic primary battle... tapping both an intense desire by Democratic partisans to take back the White House and intraparty motivation to beat the other candidate. Now, Obama has clinched the nomination and the fact that he has gobs of cash on hand... of course, his donations are going to slow down for a bit. [Outside the Beltway]
We wonder if this is an indicator that this is going to be just as tight a fundraising drive as the last two Presidential elections or if Obama's June numbers will be through the roof again. What do you think?