McCain Watch: Watch This Space
by Ryan Sager
Mon, 2 Jul 2007 at 1:28 PM
updated Mon, 2 Jul 2007 at 1:30 PM
Watch this space, as we'll be coming to you live with the details of today's 2 p.m. McCain conference call, where we should find out his 2nd quarter fundraising total and hear a bit about these staff trims...
2:00: Pre-call, I hear: The campaign had a conference call about an hour ago with John Weaver and Terry Nelson. Messrs. Weaver and Nelson apologized to the political people about the announcements that are coming this afternoon. The fundraising numbers are going to be really bad, apparently. They said the campaign — what's left of it — is going to focus almost entirely on New Hampshire and South Carolina. Mr. Nelson announced that he will be working for free over the next couple of months.
2:04: Terry Nelson spoke first. "We are encountering the kinds of challenges that other Republican candidates are facing." All Republicans are faring worse than the Democrats. John McCain has always fought for change, which also makes fundraising harder. The immigration debate — in which Mr. McCain has been a principled leader, hasn't flip-flopped — has also really hurt. (They're really getting ready for a bad number, it sounds like.)
"Before the campaign began, we also made some incorrect assumptions about how much money we could raise." We thought we could raise $100 million. We no longer believe that to be true.
$11.2 million for this quarter
72,000 contributors to date (not just this quarter)
We're seriously considering taking public matching funds.
"Second, we've made a decision to restructure this campaign."
"These decisions will make John McCain the nominee of the Republican Party."
2:09: John Weaver takes over...
We believe the early primary states will determine the nomination.
2:12: Q&A portion starts...
Jennifer Rubin of Human Events (and, not infrequently, Latest Politics) asks whether McCain was well-positioned in the early states... The campaign says yes.
I ask: Is Terry Nelson working for free? Terry Nelson: Yes. I am working for free for the next few months.
Fox News asks whether McCain's stances on immigration or Iraq will shift... The campaign says no.
Nelson: "We feel very positive about what happens when McCain is actively campaigning."
USA Today asks whether staffers other than Mr. Nelson will take pay cuts. Campaign confirms this is the case.
New York Times asks whether the early states are really as important this cycle, given the new primary calendar. The campaign rejects the logic that the Early Three are less important in 2008. In fact, the campaign argues, they're more important than ever.
Politico asks how much the McCain campaign would qualify for in matching funds. The campaign says $6 million.
Dan Balz asks whether the campaign can really run a serious campaign with $2 million cash on hand, and under the limits of the public matching fund scheme. The campaign says it can do just fine on both counts.
AP asks why the spending was so high. Campaign refuses to answer.
Arizona Republic asks if the campaign could quantify how much immigration hurt. Mr. Weaver said they can't quantify it, and wouldn't if they could. But, he said, it's had a significant impact in this quarter. But: "That debate is now over."
Las Vegas Review-Journal asks if Nevada will be part of their early-state strategy. "It is an important part of our strategy. ... We have staff in the state."
UPDATE (3:30 p.m.): More thoughts here.
Related Topics: GOP Primary
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