Kerry Tops $200 Million in Donations

The campaign for Sen. John F. Kerry announced Friday that it had broken the $200-million mark in fundraising, and that in doing so, had paid off a $6.5-million personal loan Kerry took out on his home in a desperate move for campaign cash in December.

The remarkable turnaround in finances has allowed the Massachusetts senator to stay competitive with President Bush, who once had a $100-million cash advantage.

Together, Bush and Kerry have raised more than $430 million in the primaries. Experts say this year’s presidential race will be the most expensive in U.S. history, topping out at over $1 billion.

As of July 20, the Kerry campaign had raised more than $203 million from more than 750,000 donors, senior advisor Michael Meehan said.

Of that, $113 million came from grass-roots fundraising -- $68 million online and $45 million from direct mail and phones.

The campaign had $36 million in cash as of the end of June, but had raised an additional $18 million this month, Meehan said. Some money was used to pay off Kerry’s loan. In December, the proceeds of the loan infused the campaign with money at a time when it was nearly bankrupt.

Shortly thereafter, Kerry went on to win the Iowa caucuses.

When Kerry is officially nominated next week in Boston, he will no longer be allowed to raise or spend private money. Instead, he will rely on a $75-million public grant to see the campaign through November.

No decision has been made on what will be done with the remaining cash in Kerry’s campaign coffers. It will probably be donated to Democratic committees. The Democratic National Committee, which had about $60 million as of the end of June, may soon start spending some of that money on independent advertising on Kerry’s behalf.