Bush Beats All Others in Checkbook Primary

Having eclipsed all his Republican challengers in the race for campaign funds, Texas Gov. George W. Bush has now surged past Vice President Al Gore in fund-raising prowess, with about $23 million in the bank and the checks still rolling in.

But Gore also faces a well-heeled threat from within his own party, according to totals released by the campaigns Tuesday. Former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley reported $11 million raised so far this year, which is in the same ballpark as the vice president’s $18-million take.

Bush’s dominance and Bradley’s plucky persistence were the two most striking trends to emerge from the midyear reports that campaigns will soon file with the Federal Election Commission covering all the money raised up until today.

“I think the Gore people have to be concerned,” said political consultant Stuart Rothenberg. “They’ve so focused on Bush that they seem to be ignoring Bradley. Eleven million dollars ought to get their attention.”

But the Gore campaign displayed no outward signs of concern. Gore aides were boasting that they surpassed the fund-raising record of $13.4 million set by Bob Dole in the first six months of 1995, the year leading up to the last presidential election.

Of course, so did Bush, who began a three-day fund-raising swing through California on Tuesday with lucrative stops in San Diego, Irvine and Los Angeles. The candidate will move on to Sacramento and San Francisco today for even more loot, followed by stops in Silicon Valley and Fresno on Thursday.

“Bush is rockin’ and rollin’,” said Republican strategist Scott Reed, who headed Bob Dole’s failed presidential bid. Reed said Bush’s strong financial showing will make it difficult for other Republican candidates to trip him up until the Iowa straw poll in August or the first candidate debate in October.

“Our goal was a record $15.2 million for the six months,” said Bush spokesman David Beckwith. “We’ve substantially exceeded that. We’re astounded and gratified at the outpouring of support from across the country.”

Amid such crowing, the other candidates were left counting their change and salivating at Bush’s mount of checks.

“It’s bigger than a breadbasket,” Ari Fleischer, spokesman for Elizabeth Hanford Dole, said of Bush’s take. “But of course the political graveyards are littered with candidates who out-raised their opponents but lost.”

Dole will report about $3 million in contributions in the first six months of the year, putting her in the same league with former Vice President Dan Quayle, conservative activist Gary Bauer and billionaire publisher Steve Forbes.

Unlike Forbes, however, the others do not have the ability to supplement their contributions with tens of millions of dollars in personal funds. Forbes’ problem has been catching on with voters.

So mighty is the Bush juggernaut in both fund-raising and campaign support that his Republican opponents were left to jockey among themselves for the--very distant--No. 2 spot.

Arizona Sen. John McCain will report more than $4 million in contributions, putting him in the strongest position among the other contenders.

But in such a competitive climate, campaign accountants in rival camps were searching their books for some kind of an edge.

Dole, for instance, reported that she raised more than any of the other non-Bush challengers from April to June, when her campaign aides say she got serious about raising money.

“That’s a very impressive result,” Fleischer said of Dole’s $2.7-million second-quarter figure.

Rep. John R. Kasich (R-Ohio) preferred to look at how much the various campaigns have left in the bank, a figure on which he remains competitive.

“At some point, the voters are going to settle on an alternative to Gov. Bush, and without money in the bank your campaign might not last long enough to be considered,” said Kasich spokesman Todd Harris.

On that count, Quayle may face some difficulty. He expected to raise $3 million in the first six months of the year but aides predicted he would carry a debt into next year’s primaries.

Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, who will report about $2 million at the midyear mark, has also faced cash-flow problems that have raised questions about his campaign’s viability.

As for New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith and conservative activist Patrick Buchanan, their campaigns reported contributions of about $1 million each.

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Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak contributed to this story.