Special McCain-GOP Account Raised $62.3 Million in Quarter

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121624643323559941.html

Special McCain-GOP Account
Raised $62.3 Million in Quarter

By MARY JACOBY and T.W. FARNAM
July 17, 2008; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- Dozens of supporters answered Sen. John McCain's call to
write big checks to a special account set up to benefit his
presidential campaign and Republican Party committees, a federal
disclosure report shows.

The average donation, however, was $5,800, far below the $70,100
individual contribution that Sen. McCain's campaign had solicited for
the joint fund-raising account, according to a report filed Tuesday at
the Federal Election Commission.

More than 30 executives, their spouses and other wealthy donors did
give $70,000 or more, with many others approaching that amount. Their
checks helped Sen. McCain and the Republican Party raise $62.3 million
through the account in the second quarter, ended June 30.

Sen. McCain, whose fund raising lags well behind Democratic rival Sen.
Barack Obama, set up the joint account in March to help boost his war
chest. The money he is raising is being divided among the Republican
National Committee and Republican parties in eight battleground
states.

Such joint accounts aren't new, and Sen. Obama formed one with the
Democratic National Committee last month.

One of the biggest donors was Robert Diamond, president of Barclays
PLC bank in London, an American citizen who gave $140,000 in June.
Because Mr. Diamond's gift exceeds the $108,000 cap on political
donations for the 2008 election cycle, a portion will be reallocated
as a donation from his wife, a McCain campaign spokesman said.

Employees associated with Elliott Management, a New York investment
firm run by Republican fund-raiser Paul Singer, have given a combined
$300,000 since March. Mr. Singer had been a fund-raiser for former New
York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who dropped out of the Republican
presidential race in January.

Stuart Rosenfeldt, an employment lawyer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and
his wife gave $140,000. He said he appreciated the joint account
"because I don't have time to write several checks. It's time and
effort. If I could give more legally, I would. I'm what they call a
true believer" in Sen. McCain.

Other big donors to the joint McCain-Republican Party fund are also
among the Arizona senator's top fund-raisers for his presidential bid,
records show. They include Gregory Maffei, president of communications
conglomerate Liberty Media Corp., who gave $135,600 and is identified
on the McCain campaign Web site as having raised more than $500,000
for the campaign. Liberty founder John Malone also gave $135,600 to
the joint fund-raising committee in May, records show.

To comply with campaign-finance laws, the campaign allocated half of
the Liberty executives' donations to their wives, the records show.

By law, individuals are limited to giving $2,300 per candidate for the
primary and the same for the general election. But individuals can
give as much as $10,000 to state party organizations and $28,500 to
national party committees. There are other restrictions; the overall
limit is $108,000 for an individual donor.

This complex system can lead to accounting confusion. For example,
retired advertising executive Philip H. Geier Jr. of New York gave
$70,100 to Sen. McCain's joint fund in May. But he'd previously given
$28,500 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and $25,000 to
the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2007, appearing to
put him over certain legal limits. Mr. Geier said that if a mistake
were made, he expected to be refunded.

The joint fund-raising account Sen. McCain set up was intended to
encourage wealthy donors to give more by offering them the convenience
of writing one big check.

In June, the joint account transferred $5 million into Sen. McCain's
presidential campaign, the FEC records show. Sen. McCain raised $22
million in June for his presidential campaign, his aides had
previously announced. Sen. Obama hasn't said how much he raised in
June. Reports on June finances are due at the FEC by midnight on
Sunday.