Rare News Desk
While the policy wonks, like me, are counting down until the SCOTUS decision or the big votes on the big bills on the state, local and national level, candidates are counting down until Sunday at midnight to get every single dollar they can into their campaign coffers.
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This is an antiquated system. Quarterly filings are so twentieth century. If you are in a runoff or a special election, campaigns have to report more often and sometimes daily. When you receive a contribution, if you are keeping the books right, you are entering the information in to this new thing called a “computer database” and submitting it to a third-party service and have it to review immediately. Candidate George Bush updated contributions on his website every 48 hours in 2000. Sonny Perdue was also ahead of the curve on reporting contributions in 2002. Why can’t we have a system giving real-time updates on contributions and eliminate the quarterly filing frenzy? I know my email inbox “is tired” of all the pitches for money I’m getting between now and June 30.
But if you are engrossed in the system as a candidate, consultant, staffer or donor, here are the five things you need to know about fundraising ahead of the quarterly deadline.
First, you have to make those phone calls. Candidates, their surrogates and their staff have to be involved in making the calls and following up.
Second, you have to have a team ready to go pick up the promised checks. “The check’s in the mail” is still one of the best lines used to avoid giving to a campaign.
Third, throughout the next quarter, ’cause it’s too late to do this now, networks of small donors have to be cultivated. The best fundraisers — like Gov. Chris Christie, Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Ted Cruz and others — have found an issue to tap into the small-dollar donors. In Georgia, if you can tap into the Common Core concerns and be the person who can get tea-party folks to give, even if it’s at $50 a pop, you are going to be ahead of the game.
Fourth, know when you’ve called a particular person enough. There are some folks who get called by everyone and you don’t want to be “screened out.” You will live to fight another day and you’ll need them to take your phone call. Also, while the economy is getting better, it’s not there yet and lots of folks just can’t give the way they used to, but they will be able to again and you need them in your corner.
Fifth and finally, it’s only money. You need it to run, but you need a message, too. A great message will help bring the money in.
Money is the lifeblood of politics. The Good ‘Ole Boy network will always support its own, so it’s time to start new networks.
Martha Zoller is the editor in chief of ZPolitics and co-host of Zoller and Bryant’s Georgia’s Morning News.
