Group Readies Ads to Fill Void

Sen. John F. Kerry’s presidential campaign manager said Monday that the Democratic candidate would suspend his television advertising next month, but a separate pro-Democratic group pledged to help fill the void.

The emerging ad strategy for Kerry and others who want to put him in the White House reflects the vagaries of campaign-finance law and the near-certainty President Bush will mount a television blitz in coming weeks.

Under federal law, Kerry and Bush are both eligible for $75 million in public funding after their nominations and cannot raise money privately if they accept it. But the Democrat has to stretch his dollars longer. Kerry is to formally accept his party’s nomination Thursday, while Bush will not be renominated until the GOP convenes in New York from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.

“We’re going dark in the month of August,” Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said. “This is the president’s last hurrah I think in terms of tactical advantage, in terms of spending.”

Cahill’s remarks to reporters at a breakfast here came as Media Fund was spelling out its plans. By law, the group cannot coordinate with Kerry because its funding sources are not federally regulated.

“We intend to be on the air,” Erik Smith, Media Fund president, said. “Our mission is to be sure a Democratic message is competitive on the airwaves.”

Another probable pro-Kerry advertiser next month is the Democratic National Committee. That effort too cannot legally be coordinated with Media Fund. “We will have very aggressive spending on behalf of John Kerry,” party chairman Terry McAuliffe said Sunday. “If the party has to do some spots to enunciate the differences between George Bush and John Kerry, then we’ll do that.”

Media Fund and other anti-Bush groups, known as 527s after a provision in the U.S. tax code that regulates them, have set up shop this week in Boston to court top Democratic donors.

Changes to campaign finance law limit how much individuals can contribute to political parties and federal candidates. But 527s can accept unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and unions.

During the convention, leaders of prominent 527s are targeting potential donors who have already given the legal maximum to the Kerry presidential campaign or the Democratic Party committees.

“We’re here to meet as many donors as possible,” said Harold M. Ickes, a founder of the Media Fund and another 527 called America Coming Together.

Ellen Malcolm, America Coming Together president, met Monday with 40 prospective donors at a private lunch at the Four Seasons, the hotel where most of the Democratic National Committee and Kerry’s top fundraisers and donors are staying. The America Coming Together team is just down the hall from where the DNC is issuing convention credentials to its finance team.

Times staff writer Doyle McManus contributed to this report.