Pennsylvania/Maryland Politics -- The Money Game

We're at that point in the election cycle where attention begins to shift from winnowing down the field of candidates, to competitive fundraising among the survivors of the winnowing process. Here incumbency is a big advantage.

In Pennsylvania the incumbents, Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Rick Santorum have big money leads over their challengers.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that Sen. Santorum raised 2.5 million dollars in the last three months of 2005 compared to Bob Casey's 1.7 million and has 7.75 million in his war chest as opposed to 3.4 million for Casey. Santorum's edge here is big and widening.

Read it here.

And the Philadelphia Inquirer notes that Gov. Ed. Rendell has a big lead over both potential Republican challengers, Lynn Swann and Bill Scranton.

According to his annual campaign accounting, Rendell rang in 2006 with almost $12.5 million in the bank, handily eclipsing his two main Republican rivals, who each have about $1 million.

Read it here.

A lot of media attention has focused on how the national parties are pumping money into the Pennsylvania Senate race, but Fast Eddie Rendell has already raised more money than both the Senate candidates combined. Last election cycle, Rendell and his opponents raised 70 million between them. With this kind of lead, the Inquirer describes Rendell as a "piranha of fund raising" whoever wins the Republican contest will be at a significant advantage.

Parenthetically, I have been assuming that Swann will best Scranton. He has easily won the three straw polls held so far and is far ahead, but now the contest moves east onto Scranton's home turf. One of my Pennsylvania correspondents, who is extremely well informed on inside politics there, tells me not to count Scranton out yet. Swann's victory is not yet certain.

Meanwhile in Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reports that Kweisi Mfume lags far behind other candidates to replace retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes. In the last quarter of 2005 Mfume only raised about 100,000 dollars compared to 780,000 for Ben Cardin, his rival for the Democrat nomination, and 850,000 for Republican candidate Michael Steele.

Read it here.

According to the Washington Times, Cardin's lead in fund-raising is threatening to split the Democrats' black base.

ANNAPOLIS -- Black Democratic lawmakers yesterday attributed Kweisi Mfume's paltry war chest to their party leaders' efforts to ensure that Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin wins the Democratic nomination for Senate. It reports:

"The Democratic Party ... [has] tried to orchestrate Ben's success from the outset. Them boys got together and said, 'Ben's the one,'?" said Delegate Nathaniel T. Oaks, a black Baltimore Democrat who has endorsed Mr. Mfume.

"It's a problem because of the message that it sends to individuals who may be interested in the future in holding elected office, especially African-American young people," said Senate Majority Leader Nathaniel J. McFadden, a black Baltimore Democrat and a Mfume supporter.

Read it here.

That the Democrat "powers that be" are solidly united behind Cardin is indisputable. The problem here, as the Times points out, is that there may be a perception among Black Democrats that Kweisi is being disrespected because of his race. That could be a big opportunity for Republican Michael Steele, who is Black, to peel off some Democrat votes.

Read about it here.