Crunch Time for Ron Paul Supporters
The next two weeks could be the most critical of Ron Paul's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. There are only a few ways that Ron Paul can generate positive publicity and move up in the polls enough to be considered a serious contender by the mainstream media, and all of them depend on how much money we are able to donate by the end of the third quarter on September 30th.
The first is television and radio advertising in the early primary states. The Ron Paul campaign has been spending carefully so far, trying to build up their cash on hand, but will start to spend significant amounts in the fourth quarter. Knowing they have a large reserve on hand will help with ad buys and setting an aggressive budget.
The second is in the remaining Republican debates. The debates so far have generated Ron Paul's best publicity, and more people will be watching as the primaries get closer. Debate organizers will also be under pressure to limit the field of participants, so it is critical that Ron Paul raises enough money to be considered a viable contender.
The last big chance for Ron Paul to get a wave of positive media attention and to get over the credibility hurdle that is keeping some smaller-government Republicans from supporting him fully is the third quarter fundraising report from the Federal Elections Commission. By exceeding everyone's expectations, the media will realize that he is more than an Internet candidate, and doubters will turn into enthusiastic supporters.
It's critical to donate as much as you can afford to right now, in the third quarter, because fourth-quarter fundraising numbers won't be released until mid-January, after the first caucuses and primaries. Early state primary results will swamp all other news and will be judged as the sole determinant of viability at that time.
Third quarter fundraising reports will be released in mid-October, right after an ABC News debate in
A recent campaign fundraising letter raised the same points:
Our fundraising efforts are critical for many reasons. Most directly, the more successful the campaign is at fundraising, the earlier and more frequent that we'll be able to run radio and television ads in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa.
The funds that we raise are also key determinants for whether Dr. Paul can continue to participate in nationally-televised debates, and whether he can receive secret service protection.
But donating before September 30th is also important because Ron Paul's fundraising numbers will be scrutinized by pundits and others in the mainstream media as a sign of the health and vitality of Dr. Paul's campaign. Let's show them how popular freedom really is!
Donate here.
