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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Top Galleries: December 7, 2006 Edwards needs to show the money By Nedra Pickler The Associated Press WASHINGTON — He's well positioned in early polling and organization, but John Edwards will have to raise some quick cash if he wants to remain in the top tier of contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. The former North Carolina senator has collected no donations for a presidential campaign, while three Democratic rivals have more than $10 million in their political accounts. Fundraising prowess will be one of the chief factors in separating the leaders in a long list of candidates for the White House. The slate is filled with experience, drive and ideas for governing, but there's a limited amount of money available to go around. Edwards' ability to raise millions of dollars quickly helped separate him during the 2004 presidential campaign, and his team is hoping to surprise skeptics again after announcing a new run for the presidency early in 2007. Although he cannot legally accept donations for a 2008 bid until after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, Edwards and his team already are lining up support among donors. "We have a good list and are checking to see who is naughty and nice," said Fred Baron, the finance chairman for Edwards' 2004 campaign. Edwards plans to meet with donors during a visit to Washington on Thursday, when he's having a holiday party for the staff he already has been assembling for a future campaign. Ex-Michigan Rep. David Bonior, the former No. 2 House Democrat who has close ties to the labor unions that Edwards has been aggressively courting, has signed on to be the campaign manager. "He raised over $30 million in his last campaign, so his ability to raise funds is already proven," Bonior said in a telephone interview from his office at Wayne State University, where he has been teaching labor studies since leaving Congress in 2002. "Unlike last time, he's not going to have to spend millions introducing himself to voters. Our dollars are going to go further the second time around." Bonior hasn't led a presidential campaign before, but will get help running the day-to-day operations from Aaron Pickrell, who worked on Edwards' 2004 campaign. Former campaign manager Nick Baldick has agreed to be a senior adviser organizing the crucial early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Edwards advisers would not talk about fundraising goals on the record. But several said privately that during the first three months, he would need to at least match what he raised in the first quarter of 2003 — $7.4 million. Edwards has been out of office since losing the vice presidency as John Kerry's running mate in 2004. Other potential Democratic candidates who hold federal office, such as Kerry and Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, can transfer the money from their Senate accounts to fund a presidential bid. Clinton, Kerry and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh each has more than $10 million in their political accounts. Edwards has a debt from his 2004 bid of more than $300,000. He is not obligated to pay off debts from a past presidential campaign before starting a new one. In 2004, the former trial attorney got much of his financial support from other lawyers who were proud to see one of their own run for president. This time, he'll have to compete for that base of voters with several other candidates with deep connections in the legal community, including former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden. Kerry hosted a dinner at his Georgetown home Tuesday night for a handful of trial attorneys who supported his campaign in 2004 and who plan to again. Among them was Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer Rodney Margol, who said Edwards is no longer an officeholder who can help the trial lawyers' cause since he gave up his seat in 2004 while pursuing national office. "I think that John Edwards was in a position when he was in the Senate to support the issues that attorneys and our clients care about," Margol said. "And then he decided he was just going to abandon that position." Veteran fundraiser Mitchell Berger, who is supporting Edwards this year, said the former senator has been keeping touch with donors, even though he's taken a two-year break from taking in money for himself. Berger predicted that Edwards will get more support from other types of donors this time around. "I think that John Edwards has expanded his group that is interested in him," Berger said. "I think you will see John Edwards' base of fundraising is more widespread." l Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.