Dornan Falls Further Back in Money Race : Politics: The congressman has raised only $144,109 in his quixotic bid for the presidency. Most others have collected millions.

In another indication of how quixotic his bid for the White House is, GOP Rep. Robert K. Dornan placed last in fund-raising among presidential candidates, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday.

Though he entered the 1996 presidential contest as a “message” candidate, vowing to be the conscience of the Republican Party on conservative social issues, the Garden Grove congressman’s fund-raising difficulties suggest his political voice has been drowned out in the crowded field of conservatives.

Even Alan Keyes, the Maryland radio talk show host whose oratorical skills have captured attention, brought in twice as much as the $144,109 raised by Dornan between April 1 and June 30 of this year. The GOP front-runner, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, raised $9.3 million during the same period.

With Dornan’s national campaign showing a $119,161 debt--including $38,000 the candidate loaned to his campaign--and nowhere near the qualifying mark for federal matching funds, questions that Dornan recently raised himself loom larger: Will he drop out of the race soon? And will he seek reelection to his central Orange County congressional seat despite promising earlier that his 1994 congressional campaign was his last?

Dornan was unavailable for comment Tuesday. But in recent interviews, he predicted the finance reports would show him “ninth out of nine” in the GOP field, and suggested he would decide his political future in October or November.

Dornan’s problem as a presidential candidate, according to one political observer, is that his public and political image ranges between “true believer and gadfly.”

“A lot of people like him, he gives rip-roaring speeches, but no one takes him seriously as a presidential candidate,” said American Conservative Union Chairman David A. Keene, who is supporting Dole’s campaign.

Others on the party’s conservative flank, primarily political commentator Patrick J. Buchanan and Keyes, and to a lesser extent Dole and Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, “divided the vote that Bob [Dornan] was hoping to have a good portion of,” Keene added. “It’s not a knock on him, but there’s no logical place for him.”

Keene also said that without a solid campaign organization, contributors likely asked, “Why support him?”

When Dornan first announced his candidacy three months ago, he planned to raise $500,000 by the end of this year, qualify for federal matching funds, and be competitive at least through the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary next February. In order to receive federal funds, a candidate must raise $5,000 in each of 20 states from contributions of $250 or less.

But Dornan--a prolific national direct-mail fund-raiser in his congressional campaigns--is falling short of his goals despite the work of two fund-raising consultants.

Contributions to his presidential committee so far this year total $139,827, excluding the $38,000 he loaned his campaign. In contrast, Gramm began the year with almost $4.4 million in cash on hand, and has since raised $11.8 million for his presidential campaign. Dole has taken in $13.3 million.

Of the 70 contributions listed by Dornan, 11 are from California, including two from Orange County. None are from his district, which includes Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Anaheim.

“Bob has always had a broad-based small donor . . . profile to his fund-raising,” said Orange County Republican Party Chairman Thomas A. Fuentes. “He has been very widely received across the country by many people. The average Republican voter, the philosophically-oriented, small donor is a most typical kind of Bob Dornan supporter.”

While Orange County is the mother lode for national GOP campaigns, Fuentes said the money has largely been claimed by Dole and Gramm. California Gov. Pete Wilson also has proven to be an aggressive fund-raiser, according to the campaign reports.

Fuentes noted that local Republicans have shown “significant and meaningful reserve” by not positioning themselves for Dornan’s seat while he makes a decision on his future. The local GOP, he added, is urging Dornan to seek reelection in the district he has continued to represent despite its majority Democratic voter registration.

“He’s a resource for our community that most party leaders are very leery of losing,” Fuentes said.

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Fund-Raising Trail

Orange County Rep. Robert K. Dornan trails all other GOP presidential aspirants in funds raised this year, as of June 30. Total raised does not include loans:

CANDIDATE RAISED CASH ON HAND Sen. Bob Dole $13,332,014 $6,695,312 Sen. Phil Gramm $11,813,850* $7,297,830 Lamar Alexander $7,545,152 $2,723,368 Gov. Pete Wilson $3,374,242 $1,789,926 Sen. Richard G. Lugar $2,945,341 $946,607 Patrick J. Buchanan $2,214,549 $263,056 Sen. Arlen Specter $698,611 $511,680 Alan Keyes $341,585 $48,502 Robert K. Dornan $139,827 $5,464

* Began 1995 with $4.39 million in cash on hand; all other candidates began the year with a zero balance.

Sources: Federal Elections Commission and the American Political Network Inc.