Sarah Palin's PAC Pulls in 700K
The Race for 2012 is on With Sarah Palin Joining Top Candidates
The 2012 presidential election cycle may still be a ways off, but many of the key players are already making news around the country. Mitt Romney continues to impress on various talk shows and through well-timed op-ed articles; Mike Huckabee is a permanent fixture on Fox News; and now Sarah Palin is soon to fully enter the fray.
Sarah Palin's official political action committee, SarahPAC, has a stated goal of being “Dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation.” However, in the first six months of 2009, she donated only $10,000 to campaigns, $5,000 to Palin’s 2008 running mate, Sen. John McCain, and $5,000 to Alaska’s Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski.
Political Fundraising
According to June, 2009 filings with the F.E.C., SarahPAC had raised $733,000 in the first six months of 2009. Now that she is stepping down as Alaska's governor, this money will be vital to funding any politically motivated travel, which she is sure to do as one of the top attractions at many Republican fundraisers.
Politico.com states that, “The majority of the money raised by SarahPAC so far has come in the form of “unitemized contributions,” meaning donations of less than $200 each... The remaining money came through more than 700 different $200-plus contributions.”
2012 Speculation
This could be good news for the soon-to-be ex-governor, as small donations represent a larger base of support. By comparison, Mitt Romney, a top tier rival for the 2012 Republican nomination, raised $1.3 million for his PAC. However, Romney has an existing donor network, which is much larger than Palin's, after his lengthy battle with John McCain for the 2008 Republican nomination.
In terms of whether Palin's PAC is a vehicle to keep her in the running for 2012, the fact that she is keeping a paid staff seems to suggest that she is leaving that door open. Per the Washington Post's The Fix, “ Palin also paid several Sarah PAC staffers monthly stipends, including former Republican National Committee finance director Timothy Crawford ($6,000/month), personal/political spokesman Meg Stapleton ($4,000/month) and PAC spokeswoman Pam Pryor ($6,000/month). Palin also made a series of $8,000 payments to IzzyLene Consulting, Stapleton's Anchorage-based consulting firm."
However before Sarah Palin can begin to openly work on a 2012 strategy she will have the opportunity to prove herself to the Republican Party base by remaining active in the midterm election cycle. She is expected to draw huge crowds as she stumps for members of congress up for re-election in 2010.
Sources:
Washington Post's Blog "The Fix"
Politico.com
SarahPAC.com
Sarah Palin Eyes 2012
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