WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidates have already spent as much time in Iowa in the past two weeks as they did the entire month of September.
Presidential candidates, some flush with money, are ramping up their mailings, media and travel in Iowa and New Hampshire, continuing a trend that began in earnest last month.
Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama are especially well-positioned to spend, ending the third quarter with nearly $35 million and $32 million. That’s more than twice what Rudy Giuliani, who led the money race for Republicans, had in hand.
Overall, the campaigns spent $123 million in the third quarter, compared with $107.4 million in the second quarter and $51.5 million in the first three months of the year.
Campaign-finance reports filed Monday show a post-Labor Day spending increase in several of the campaigns as they headed into the fall stretch – the final push before the early primary contests that can make or break a presidential bid.
“This is the time when the money is going to go out the door very quickly,” said Tad Devine, a top adviser in Al Gore’s and John Kerry’s campaigns.
Several campaigns spent more than they raised in the July-September period, a function of dry summer fundraising and a need to use paid media – TV radio, mail – sooner than before. Of the leading candidates, only Clinton and Republican Fred Thompson raised more than they spent. Republican John McCain also raised more than he spent, but that amount included paying off a hefty debt.
Obama hit the Iowa airwaves in July and spent $3.5 million on media buys and production during the quarter. Clinton, who went on the air in Iowa in September, spent $1.7 million on media during the quarter. Republican Mitt Romney, who has been airing ads in Iowa since January and also has been frequently on the air in New Hampshire, spent $6 million for the quarter on media, his biggest single expense.
Giuliani, who spent $13 million in the quarter, has yet to spend on TV commercials, concentrating instead on radio and print advertising and an aggressive direct-mail campaign.
Of the leading Republicans, McCain was in the weakest financial posture. He had more than $1.6 million cash on hand for the primaries and an outstanding debt of more than $1.7 million. McCain aides said the campaign negotiated with various vendors to pay them back next year.
Poised or not to spend ad money in the weeks ahead, the timing has been made more difficult as the dates of the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries have been up in the air. The Iowa GOP announced Tuesday that the date of its precinct caucuses had been moved to Jan. 3.
