POLITICS 88 : Surge in Donations Surprises Even Aides : In War on Poverty, Jackson Is Winning

For months, it has been one of the hottest questions on the political circuit: What could the Rev. Jesse Jackson do if he had as much money as the other guys? As the Democratic campaign moves to New York--one of the country’s most intensive and expensive political arenas--that question is about to be answered.

Jackson’s “poor campaign with the rich message” is poor no more. Last month, campaign officials say, Jackson surprised even his own campaign aides by pulling almost even in fund-raising with his chief rival, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, taking in $2.1 million and qualifying for about $1 million more in federal matching funds.

Hoarding Funds for New York

Some of that money has been plowed back into Jackson’s highly successful direct mail operation, and roughly another $100,000 went to his campaign in Wisconsin, which held its primary Tuesday. But for both Jackson and Dukakis, most funds are now being hoarded for New York, where Jackson’s new-found fund-raising prowess could neutralize the financial advantage that Dukakis has enjoyed for most of the campaign.

“What it boils down to,” said Robert Farmer, Dukakis’ chief money-raiser, “is that money may become irrelevant” as a factor in the remaining primaries. “It’s only important when there isn’t enough of it.” Dukakis raised $2.35 million in March and expects an additional $875,000 in matching funds.

Jackson’s campaign manager, Gerald F. Austin, shied away from completely accepting the idea that the Democrats’ two front-runners have reached financial parity. Dukakis, he argued, should still have enough money banked from fund-raisers earlier in the year to outspend Jackson in New York for the April 19 primary. But, he conceded, “we are both basically equal at this point.”

“We have done more with less and now that we have more we’ll hopefully do more with more,” he said.

The Democrats’ third major contender, Sen. Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee, has lagged behind in fund-raising, garnering $1.2 million during March, which will bring him an additional $350,000 in federal matching funds. Gore has added to his coffers with $1.4 million in loans, which have raised some controversy because they were extended to him largely without collateral.

Gore plans to use that money to wage a “million-dollar-plus media campaign in New York,” a campaign spokesman said.

Since entering the race, Dukakis has been far and away the Democrats’ leading fund-raiser. During 1987, for example, he raised nearly $11 million, and he added another $4.4 million during the first three months of 1988.

Donations Ballooned After Victories

Jackson’s fund-raising, by contrast, started off slowly but ballooned after he began to win. After Jackson’s victories in Southern primaries on March 8, contributions increased to about $36,000 a day. The rate nearly doubled again, to roughly $60,000 a day, after Jackson’s unexpectedly large victory in the Michigan caucuses on March 26.

The success has surprised even Jackson’s aides. Austin, for example, had predicted only two weeks ago that when all the checks were counted, Jackson would be found to have raised slightly more than $1 million in March.

Jackson has raised most of his money in donations of $50 or less through the mail. For Dukakis, by contrast, mail donations account for only about 10% of his contributions, Farmer said. The bulk of his money has come from fund-raising events, like those scheduled during a recent 24-hour California trip that raised $400,000. Dukakis’ contributions have averaged roughly $150.