WASHINGTON -- The $8 million raised for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2016 campaign is more than he raised in the early stages of his 2008 bid, but it's dwarfed by his competitor's hauls.
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His presidential campaign has raised $2 million, according to reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission. Coupled with $6 million raised by pro-Huckabee political action committees and nonprofit groups, Huckabee's initial funding notably exceeds that of his previous attempt, but it may not be good enough, several Arkansas political experts said Thursday.
Many candidates have announced the amounts raised by supportive groups such as super political action committees, nonprofits and other groups that can raise unlimited money but cannot coordinate with the campaigns.
With the inclusion of money raised by such groups, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush topped Republicans' fundraising with more than $114 million. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her allied groups eclipsed the other Democratic candidates, with more than $62 million.
"Certainly Mike Huckabee has raised a decent amount of money compared to where he was in 2007, but when you compare him to Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, they are just blowing him out of the water," said University of Arkansas political science assistant professor Karen Sebold.
A half-dozen Republican candidates have more money when their allied organizations are included in the fundraising totals. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has more than $51 million, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida has more than $40 million, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has $9 million.
Huckabee's spokesman Alice Stewart pointed to how Huckabee did in in regard to the 2008 campaign, when he raised less money.
"The nearly $8 million raised to date is well over three times as much as Gov. Huckabee raised in the first three quarters combined of our 2008 campaign, when we were outspent 10-to-1. I'll remind you that Gov. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses and seven other states," she said.
Sebold also cautioned against writing Huckabee off, citing his 2008 wins.
"Huckabee is one of those candidates I wouldn't count out early in the game. He is not at the front-runner status, but he does have enough to get a ground game going in Iowa," she said. "A couple million dollars of hard donations, $6 million in [unregulated] donations can float a candidacy in Iowa, can help you get that very imperative ground game going where you get people knocking on doors, you get signs out."
Hal Bass, a political science professor at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, said less money could mean a hard slog through the primaries, with fewer television, radio and Internet ads than his competitors. The Iowa caucuses are six months away.
"Huckabee has yet to demonstrate that he can raise the kind of money that's necessary to compete on the national level," he said. "It's going to turn on his own personal campaign skills, which are formidable, but it's difficult to run a national campaign without sufficient financial resources."
Bass said that how much money a candidate has doesn't determine success but that it helps a candidate build credibility.
"It matters in the sense that it legitimates a candidacy. It shows that serious financial resources are available for the campaign going forward," he said. "Those who can demonstrate their capacity to generate that financial foundation are able to demonstrate their campaign credibility."
Gary Wekkin, a political science professor at the University of Central Arkansas, said that with so many candidates in the race, donors have a lot of Republicans to choose from.
"There are so many Republicans that the people who are bringing up the rear are going to be getting in each other's way, especially when it comes to fundraising and polling," he said.
Arkansas was the greatest source of Huckabee's contributions for the period between April 1 and June 30, with $383,051 coming in.
He brought in $148,938 over three days in early June when he held fundraisers in El Dorado, Jonesboro, Little Rock and Texarkana.
Among his notable early donations from Arkansans are:
• $2,700 from Craig Campbell, vice chairman of The Stephens Group LLC in Little Rock.
• $2,000 from Southern Arkansas University President David Rankin. His daughter, Beth Ann Rankin, who worked as a policy adviser when Huckabee was governor, also gave $1,000.
• $1,000 from U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock. He is the only donor from the state's congressional delegation. Hill was Huckabee's 2008 national finance chairman.
• $1,000 from Assistant Director of the Arkansas Heritage Commission Marynell Branch, who played keyboard in Huckabee's band Capitol Offense.
• $500 from state treasurer's office Chief of Staff Jim Harris, who is Huckabee's brother-in-law and worked on his 2008 campaign.
• $500 from Land Commissioner John Thurston's campaign committee.
• $250 from Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. She was legal counsel on his 2008 campaign.
• $250 from Chief Deputy Attorney General Julie Benafield, who was a state insurance commissioner under Huckabee.
Huckabee's campaign headquarters is in Little Rock, and he made his official campaign announcement May 5 in his hometown of Hope.
His FEC report reflected payments made to several Arkansas businesses for campaign services, such as $2,750 to the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, where he held his announcement, $1,072 to Doe's Eat Place in Little Rock for a dinner with reporters and $297 to Whole Hog Cafe in Little Rock for meals.
Metro on 07/17/2015