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March 21, 2010

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LAWRENCE — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama isn’t expected to win Kansas during the general election Tuesday but he has won an important battle of the checkbooks.

The Lawrence Journal-World reported Sunday that Obama has raised $1.3 million from Kansas contributors, compared with $1.2 million raised by Republican candidate John McCain.

Statewide, more than 100 towns contributed more to Obama than McCain, the paper reported after analyzing numbers released last week by the Federal Elections Commission. Emporia was one of those towns, according to the Journal-World’s analysis.

Those making political contributions from zip code 66801 gave $2,598 to McCain and $6,951 to Obama.

It’s a surprising disparity as the reliably Republican-leaning state hasn’t given a majority vote to a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964.

Political experts chalk up the difference to a combination of Obama’s sophisticated use of technology and his ability to energize the party’s base, as well as McCain’s strategy to target his resources in parts of the country where he’s less sure of receiving votes.

“A lot of time hasn’t been spent on the McCain campaign in Kansas,” said Kansas Rep. Pat Colloton, R-Leawood, a district chair of Kansans for McCain. “He knows he can count on us.”

Joe Aistrup, political science professor at Kansas State University, said Obama’s contributions show he’s been able to reach people who may have never contributed to a campaign before.

“Obama compared to any other Democrat — or Republican for that matter — seems to strike the right chords with a whole lot of people,” Aistrup said.

Also, while McCain has relied heavily on traditional fundraising events, where the candidate meets with contributors, Obama has used the Internet to reach parts of the country he’s never visited, said Bob Beatty, a Washburn University political science professor.

“You can reach Parsons, Kan., without having to pick up the phone or go on television,” Beatty said.

Jerry Karr, Lyon County Democratic party chairman, agrees.

“(Obama’s) ability and his staff’s ability to use technology has completely changed the process,” Karr said. “Interest at the grassroots level is extremely high.

“Internet, Facebook and these other things has reached new and intensely interested young voters.”

McCain’s smaller haul also points to his decision to rely on public financing and not individual contributions after the Republican National Convention.

“If Republicans in Kansas want to help out the presidential race right now, they are going to donate to the national Republican party,” Beatty said.

McCain drew the most contributions from Wichita and also got a majority of contributions from residents in Leawood, Mission Hills and Shawnee.

Obama raised more in Lawrence, Topeka, Overland Park, Olathe and Manhattan.

Looking at all federal races, Republicans continued to dominate, raising $2.3 million in contributions compared with $1.7 million for Democrats.

Earlier, Kansas contributed $434,000 to Sen. Sam Brownback’s presidential campaign before he dropped out last October.

Aistrup said McCain’s $1.2 million wasn’t a bad total but reflected that he hasn’t generated as much enthusiasm from Kansas Republicans as President Bush did in 2000 and 2004.

“There were many Republicans just unmotivated to give to McCain. He doesn’t float their boat, so to speak,” he said.

Still, Aistrup and Beatty believe McCain will win Kansas with Aistrup expecting the Republican to grab between 55 percent and 57 percent of the vote.

For an interactive map with totals for towns across the state, go to http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/nov/02/kansans_campaign_contributions_all_over_map/.

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