Running Mate Has Big Money

Back in March, when Sen. John F. Kerry met with the big-money trial attorneys who had been Sen. John Edwards’ largest financial backers in the presidential primaries, the lawyers told the presumptive Democratic nominee that he had their “unflinching” support.

But there was a caveat. “They made it clear they would be happiest if Edwards was on the ticket,” said a Democratic Party official.

Now that Kerry has chosen the former trial attorney as his running mate, Democrats are hoping that some of the millions that so easily flowed to Edwards will now flow to the Democratic National Committee.

Kerry’s campaign has raised more than $182 million, the most ever by a non-incumbent presidential candidate. Michael Meehan, a senior campaign advisor, noted that no one thought raising that kind of money was even possible.

“We were in the Wild West territory before Edwards joined the ticket,” Meehan said. “It’s hard to imagine what this will bring.”

But with Edwards on the ticket -- and his former national finance chairman raising money for Kerry and the Democratic National Committee -- some political observers think it certainly means even more money for Kerry in the short term and the party in the months ahead.

“Trial attorneys are jumping the moon to see one of their finest on a national ticket and in position to run for the White House as the nominee in eight years,” said University of Virginia political scientist Larry J. Sabato. “This is big for them, it will get their adrenaline pumping, and it will open up their checkbooks to a degree never seen before.”

Edwards was a wealthy personal injury attorney in 1997 when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate.

He lent his campaign more than $6 million of his own money and defeated incumbent Lauch Faircloth in 1998.

During his presidential bid, Edwards raised $33 million, including $22 million in individual contributions. More than $9.3 million came from lawyers, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And many of those contributors were trial attorneys.

The money came from throughout the United States. He raised $2.7 million in California, more than anywhere else. California also is the top source of Kerry’s money -- he has raised $16.1 million in the state.

Edwards’ ability to raise big money fast in the primaries made him an early contender.

“He was fast out of the gate,” said Samuel Popkin, a political scientist at UC San Diego. “The trial lawyers are big bucks. Trial lawyers give and so do trial lawyers’ enemies.”

Such strong support from trial lawyers did not go unnoticed. The American Tort Reform Assn. issued a report last fall calling Edwards “the favorite son of a handful of personal injury lawyers.” The group, which works for liability reform legislation on behalf of corporate, professional and business interests, concluded that trial lawyers were donating to Edwards because they wanted to “take the litigation agenda to the next level.”

Edwards refused to take money from registered lobbyists during the primaries, saying he did not want to be beholden to special interests. But the tort association called him a “chameleon” because he already was tied to the special interest of trial lawyers.

Edwards had been scheduled to appear Tuesday at the annual convention of the Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America in Boston, where more than 1,600 lawyers gathered. He canceled his appearance, but news of his selection added an element of excitement to the conference.

“Obviously we are excited about having Edwards on the ticket,” said Larry Rogers, a lawyer from Chicago. “I think it will help motivate members even more.”

Washington trial attorney John Coale, who has raised more than $50,000 for Kerry, said Tuesday that he was sure Kerry would see a “big-sized bump” in fundraising because of Edwards.

Before Edwards withdrew in early March, he had raised about $3.2 million from trial lawyers, more than four times what Kerry had raised from the same group.

Trial attorneys have contributed $521,300 to Kerry since then, according to Dwight L. Morris & Associates, which tracks political contributions.

“I have run into people who said if he picks Edwards, you know we could probably do a lot more,” Coale said. “So now he’s picked Edwards. This will get them out on the street to get more money.”

Whatever money Edwards brings to the ticket probably won’t mean much to Kerry, who has only about three weeks left to raise and spend private donations. Once he is nominated at the Democratic National Convention, which begins July 26, his campaign will rely on $75 million in public funding for the general election.

But it will matter to the Democratic Party. Kerry advisor Meehan said the Kerry-Edwards ticket would bring “a new energy that will help the party raise funds throughout the summer and into the fall.”

It certainly won’t hurt that Edwards’ former national finance chairman, Fred Baron, is co-chair of Kerry Victory ‘04, a joint fundraising committee between the Democratic National Committee and Kerry’s campaign.

Baron, a Texas lawyer, was president of the Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America in 2000. His firm, Baron & Budd, has given nearly $117,000 to Edwards since he first ran for federal office, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Late Tuesday, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe sent an e-mail to Democratic supporters asking for donors “to dig deep to help John Kerry, John Edwards, and all Democrats up and down the ballot.” McAuliffe said he wanted to raise $2 million by Friday to combat what he said would be “vicious, deceptive attacks against John Edwards.”

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Edwards’ campaign stash

Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a former trial lawyer, won special support from the legal community during his presidential bid.

Campaign spending:

Total raised by Edwards’ presidential campaign through May 31: $33.1 million

Total spent: $32.4 million

All but one of Edwards’ top 10 donors for all political cycles were law firms:

1. Girardi & Keese, Los Angeles -- $157,875

2. Goldman Sachs, New York City (investment banking firm) -- $136,000

3. Beasley, Allen et al, Montgomery, Ala. -- $117,150

4. Baron & Budd, Dallas -- $116,650

5. Weitz & Luxenberg, New York -- $56,250

6. Womble, Carlyle et al, Winston-Salem, N.C. -- $52,200

7. Robinson & Cole, Hartford, Conn., -- $52,600

8. Kramer, Dillof et al, New York -- $51,018

9. Simmons Firm, San Diego -- $50,500

10. Morris, Haynes & Hornsby, Alexander City, Ala. -- $50,500

Fundraising power: Edwards founded the New American Optimists political action committee in 2001 to raise money for himself and other Democrats running for Congress during the 2002 election cycle. Film producer and major Democratic donor Stephen Bing gave the group its largest contribution: $905,000

Source: Center for Responsive Politics.

Graphics reporting by Susannah Rosenblatt

Times staff writer Elizabeth Mehren in Boston contributed to this report.