HuckPAC Raises $304,673 for First Half of 2009 (UPDATE)
UPDATE - The report is posted on the FEC website. It shows that in the first six months of 2009, HuckPAC raised $304,673, spent $325,435 on operations, contributed $11,155 total to 7 Federal candidates ($1,000 to Arkansas own Rick Crawford for Congress), and incurred $63,168 in debt.
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According to a release this evening from Gov. Mike Huckabee’s Political Action Committee, HuckPAC has raised just over $300,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2009. HuckPAC’s financial report for this period is due to be filed with the FEC tomorrow and will release more details.
“So how are we doing so far? Well by the goals I personally set for our efforts, we are largely on track,” said Huckabee in the release. “Are we satisfied and complacent? Absolutely not, we are always working to do better and we will. We’ve got some new ideas up our sleeves so please stay tuned.”
By comparison to the other two early contenders in 2012 Presidential GOP Race, Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC raised $1,924,373 and Palin’s SarahPAC raised $732,867 for the same time period.
A source from HuckPAC tells me that the fundraising is on track for the budget that was set. In addition, Gov. Huckabee is focused on raising money for candidates by attending the events and promoting support for their campaigns through HuckPAC.com and his volunteer network.
UPDATE – A quick check of my fellow Huckafriendly blogs (and yes, I make no secret here that I am a supporter of Mike Huckabee) reveals that many share my concern regarding his low fundraising numbers.
Kevin Tracy, who is a die hard Huckabee supporter in Indiana, writes about the issue of Huckabee’s lack of fundraising for HuckPAC while charging candidates $33,900 to candidates to speak at their events. Another supporter, Larry Jackson from Oklahoma, writes this morning about the disappointment of Huckabee finishing a distant third behind Mitt Romeny and Sarah Palin.
I must admit that I share the concerns of my fellow supporters. I too am and will continue to support Gov. Huckabee but I cannot sit back and not say something when problems arise. If Gov. Huckabee is serious about running for President again in 2012 and all indications are that he is, then he must address this problem. I think it is wonderful that he has been successful with his ventures in television and radio. If he chooses to focus on that, then great. But if he really wants to be a contender, then he must get serious about fundraising and he must raise these funds directly.
The limited response from HuckPAC has been to defend the numbers as being on target for their goals. If this is the case why is long term staff being let go? If fundraising is meeting budget targets, then they either are very poor at budgeting or they have way overspent thier budget.
HuckPAC is also touting their network of volunteers as opposed to their ability to raise funds. It is certainly true the Huckabee had extremely organized and dedicated volunteers during the Presidential Campaign. I helped coordinate many of these efforts through an organization called Huck’s Army. We operated outside the campaign and did things that we just saw needed to be done. If you saw a Huckabee for President sign in Arkansas, it was likely put up by a volunteer from Huck’s Army. In fact, we were actually the group that put one in Huckabee’s own front yard.
However, with the 2008 election long over and 2012 still in the distant future, this network is almost non-existent and has no real excitement. The current push is to organize Team Huck House Parties in August to make phone calls supporting Republican Bob McDonnell’s campaign for governor of Virginia. I am sorry but I do not see Arkansans turning out in droves to support someone in Virginia that they have never heard of simply because HuckPAC asked them to.
In my opinion, most of HuckPAC’s problems steam from one main issue – there is no real effort from Mike Huckabee himself to continue to give this group a focus. Huckabee is rarely seen by his volunteers and supporters. Most all communication comes through the filter of HuckPAC. At the HuckPAC house parties in February, Huckabee sent DVD’s to groups meeting around the country. Think of how much more successful these events would have been if Gov. Huckabee actually attended. People will turn out and make donation to see Mike Huckabee. But they will not turn out to see a volunteer and watch a video.
And they are certainly not going to pay money to do so. If Huckabee wants to raise some serious money for HuckPAC, he has to have some fundraising events across the country that he actually attends. He has to personally and directly make the appeal.
My point in saying all this is because Gov. Huckabee is at an important crossroads. Obviously many things can and will happen between now and 2012. But for HuckPAC to become a serious organization, Mike Huckabee has got to roll up his sleeves and get directly involved. I understand the difficultly involved with the demands of his television and radio show, but without his direct involvement HuckPAC will not be able to continue with any meaningful significance.
July 30th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
HuckPAC advertises on its web site it is about life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Uh, I have to say those are laudable ideals…but in the HuckPAC context it is the Republican view of what those ideals mean…which really do not represent a cross-section of the ideals of people in the United States.
The pac may still be on its financial track to its whatever goal for the year, but $300,000 may not even buy a 30 second prime time TV spot and won’t amount to much spread over a host of officer holder wannabes.
As for leadership — for 8 years under an inept president and an oh so arrogant vice president and 6 years of the “yes sir Mr. Prez” GOP dominated Congress — I see little now the GOP is offering in the way of leadership.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:47 am
While I do not expect Mike Huckabee to raise as much money as someone like Mitt Romney, it seems to me that his coming in 3rd place is indicative of a problem that has plagued him during the 2008 campaign and continues to do so. Put simply, Huckabeee had a fund raising problem then and it is still present. It makes me wonder if he will be able to compete in another Presidential race, if he chooses to join the fray.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:58 am
Lee,
And you honestly think the Democrats represent a cross section of America? Do you think that people in Phillips county want their money to be used to provide abortions? Do you think they really want us normalizing relations with terrorist organizations? Do they want government run health care or anything else the Democrats are offering?
And seriously, “yes sir Mr. Prez.” dominated Congress? I guess now we have an independent serious minded Congress that reads and debates bills like they should? Dude, wake up, stop drinking the cool aid and have one original thought because your dear old Democrats are about to seriously ruin this country by pandering to every special interest they can cut a check to. As de Tocquevill said, “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” Congress discovered that long ago and we are now nearing our Republic’s end.
Also, its goofy to think that the Cherokee were one of the 12 tribes of Isreal. Plain goofy.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:37 am
That is what was author concluded years ago about the Cherokees. I just thought it was interesting, not that it was necessarily true or untrue.
Give me a break Waterback, you are the one drinking the coolaid.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:43 am
Yeah, totally, I am. I’m drinking it right now. Mmmm, mmmm, good.
Its interesting in the way that the flat earth and earth-centric solar system is interesting, in that it is nutty and demonstrably not true.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:29 am
[...] for 2009 thus far: RomneyPAC: $1,924,373 SarahPAC: $732,867 HuckPAC: Just over $300,000 Related Posts:Gay-porn Kingpin raises money for ObamaDolphins owner Wayne Huizenga wants to sell [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
The point of a PAC is to raise MORE money than your operating costs so that your support of candidates means something more than an attaboy.
Romney raised nearly $2 million in the first half of 20009 and has more than half of that in cash in hand. At the current rate, he will raise $7,500,000 by Nov. 2010 and hand out nearly $4,000,000 to conservative congressional and gubernatorial candidates. He isn’t spending time meeting with his own fans or collecting speaking fees from candidates, he’s spending time appearing at their fund-raisers(see the number of fund-raising events he has headlined in VA to support McDonnell, Bolling, and VAGOP) and raising millions more. And in so doing, he is collecting friends in all of those places. (Please note the contribution to Senator Jim DeMint’s R-NC campaign.)
Like Palin, Gov. Huckabee is caught between a rock and a hard place. Neither of them can really campaign in their current (or just resigned) jobs. Palin may have solved that, but at huge cost in negatives and oppo material. Time will tell. Mike can’t raise money and start building relationships as long as he is at FOX. But he can’t afford to quit now and start campaigning. (Romney has already started, including the staff of policy advisors and spokespeople on retainer.)
Question: will the Romney lead be too big to overcome by the time Mike starts to campaign?
July 31st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
The biggest concern I have is the lack of funds flowing to candidates. Why would I want to donate to a PAC whose sole purpose, or so it seems, is to pay its own expenses such as salaries? Right now HuckPAC seems to simply be an organization which is simply supplying jobs for top tier Huckabee supporters and/or family.
July 31st, 2009 at 3:24 pm
[...] Money Talks: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has $8 million in his PAC account. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has, well, a lot less than that. Super blogger Jason Tolbert is distraught. [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 3:41 pm
[...] commenters here and over at Huck’s Army see the problem as plain as day. Jason Tolbert of the Tolbert Report and Larry Jackson of My Take both see eye to eye with me on the problem, too, and are not being [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Jason, you are my hero! You are telling it like it is, brother!
July 31st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Jason, I posted this on Huck Pac but I thought I would add it as a comment on your site, too. I am aware you are a true Huckabee supporter, and a concerned one, at that, but sometimes you have to delve down through the numbers to get the real picture. That’s what ten years of being a corporate lawyer has shown me.
Comparisons of PACs
Romney: Raised approximately 1.9 million, but in actual contributions (discounting PAC contributions and transfers from non-federal accounts, he actually received $1,581,019 in acutal contributions).
Out of 1.9 million — ONLY 497,953 WERE UNITEMIZED (I.E., SMALL DONATIONS) — the rest were all large donations
Contributions to federal candidates – Only $34,315 was contributed — out of 1.9 million
Sarahpac
Contributions of 732, 867 — 420,458 are unitimized (i.e., small donors –the rest (312,408) were itemized — large donors — almost 50% from each
Contributions to Federal Candidates — only $10,000 out of 732,867 — 5,000 of which went to McCain, $5,000 to Lisa Murkowski
(c) Huck Pac
Total contributions – 304, 222 — 214,888 were unitmized (i.e., small donors) — only 84,083 were itemized
Contributions to Federal Candidates – $10,000 out of 214,888 — BY FAR, THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF CANDIDATE CONTRIBUTIONS PER CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED
Contributed to, among others:
vander Platts $2500
McDonnell $2500
Cucinelli $2500
Rubio $2500
Tedesco $2500
Even the infamous Phillip got $1,000 — and others
So what do we end up with:
Largest receiver (Romney) has a disproportionate large donor to small donor ratio; disproportionately contributes only $34,214 compared to Huckabee
Middle ringer (Sarahpac) a little more smaller donors to larger donors;contributes $10,000, with only two major contributions — neither of which help us on a national level
Lowest received (Huck Pac) — has overwhelming smaller donors to large donor ratio; contributed $10,000 out of much smaller receipts to very relevant candidates
Net Result
Huckabee has greatest net percentage of smaller donors (equaling more voters) per receipt and greatest net percentage of contributions — ends up with least cash on hand
So, I ask you — of the three — who is really relevant? And who should we be most proud of?
August 1st, 2009 at 7:55 am
Voter, that’s a nice story but it’s not a true story.
1. Romney raised more money from small donors (under $200) than any of the other two, regardless of how much he raised from large donors.
2. Most importantly, Romney has $841,000 cash in hand, a surplus from what he has raised, with which to support candidates. At this rate, he would have more that $3,500,000 by Nov 2010 to give to candidates. It is too early to distribute most of that to candidates. But the point is to accumulate it so it can be a force in 2010. By contrast, Gov. Huckabee has -$25,000. By Nov 2010, he will have -$100,000.
3. A PAC’s major expenses are fund-raising and staff and retainers. One of the rolls of staff, in addition to fundraising, is to handle policy research and communication. Romney still has the key players from his campaign on retainer and functioning. Comparatively, Huck has a staff of lightweights who are failing to meet the operational targets. (The fundraising budget for the year is an underwhelming $750,000 and they are short by 20%! In business, you fire the CEO for that kind of performance.)
4. Much has been made on other sites for Sarah Huckabee drawing a salary of nearly $60,000 a year. Some called it immoral, some nepotism. Sarah has previous campaign experience and so That wouldn’t be my issue. The real issue is that while Huck PAC is a home grown operation, “Mitt PAC” is retaining veritable political heavyweights. And they are getting the value out of that investment.
5. Tell the truth. Huck PAC is irrelevant, except as an example of failure to achieve its organizational goals. To the extent that it reflecets on the governors leadership abilities (it has his name on it) it reflects very poorly.
August 1st, 2009 at 9:32 am
I have a few questions, some of this is troubling:
1) Does it bother anyone else that Mike is charging candidates to come and campaign for them? Isn’t that unusual?
2) Do you know where the money goes that he charges for those vists? Does it go into the pac, or into his pocket?
3) Does anyone know how many of the employees are relatives? I heard that most of them were; is that true?
Mike is probably hampered someone by his other jobs from spending a lot of time with the pac, but I’m wondering why even have one if you’re going to operate in the black. Even if he had not give a dime to any candidates, he would still be behind just on operating expenses. It’s not a good situation, and I’m not too happy about it.
August 1st, 2009 at 10:56 am
As a long-time supporter of Mike Huckabee, I have to say that I, too, am very disappointed in the way HuckPAC is going these days. I totally understood the lack of fundraising ability when he was an unknown, but you cannot turn on Fox News these days without seeing Mike’s face. That should count for something!
I spent several months and a lot of money traveling as a volunteer during the primary. I think I earned my right to criticize the way things are going. I’m really afraid that I see a lot of what I saw in the Bush administration. A degree of loyalty to friends and family that far exceeds their worth in the positions they hold. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but if something isn’t working, then it’s got to be changed. And laying off 1 secretary isn’t the change I’m looking for! I seriously doubt that Wendy’s salary was the issue.
So, Governor Huckabee, if you’re reading this, I BEG you to do something. And I don’t mean another email telling us how happy you are with the way things are going. If that is truly the case, then you have truly set your sights too low. Please do some soul searching and give this some serious thought. Whether or not you decide to run again is not the issue. There are good people running RIGHT NOW that are counting on you.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:33 am
Who do want want running the country? The guy making a surplus or the guy running a debt and shoving the money to his own family? Nuff saud.
August 3rd, 2009 at 4:57 am
Vicki,
I think you are correct. Mike Huckabee is all over the news these days and there is little excuse for his lack of fundraising. It’s not so much the small numbers that bother me, it’s the lack of improvement over the fundraising that occurred while he was still unknown.
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:39 am
The HuckPAC Fundraising Issue…
Well, not that big of an issue in my opinion. But it does have some concerned.
Thursday Mike Huckabee’s Political Action Committee, HuckPAC, put out a press release on it’s fundraising numbers. For the first part of the year, HuckPAC has ra…
August 12th, 2009 at 4:15 am
The idea that fund raising ability is a crucial determinant of Presidential politics is a sign of just how far our country has fallen. In times gone by, candidates like Abe Lincoln did not actively seek the nomination, but stayed home from the convention, and waited for the attendees to announce their decision. The money aspect is producing an inferior group of candidates, and some way should be found to minimize it.
August 15th, 2009 at 11:06 am
[...] Bucks: Blogger Jason Tolbert, a Mike Huckabee fan, rips the former governor a new one for lousy fundraising numbers. Must read! (The Tolbert [...]
September 5th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
For those that are complaining, have YOU done anything to raise funds for Huck PAC during the reporting period? If you haven’t, you have absolutely NO room to criticize! My humble opinion! I know I’ve put in many, many hours for Huck PAC (volunteer work), so I have earned my right to say something here!
For those that are concerned about the FUNDS being spent for the employees and not much for the candidates…
Do you give to your church contribution? Does MOST of the funds go to the poor, the sick? Of course not… where does most likely go? THE EMPLOYEES…and what’s left goes to help those that are in need. (and many use the funds to make their building fancy.)
The Bible does teach to take care of the preacher. It also says to take up funds to help the needy. In order for a PAC to work, the employees MUST be paid. They dedicate many, many hours of their time and deserve to be paid, and need funds for their livelihood. If YOU were working in Sarah Huckabee’s place, wouldn’t you expect to be paid?
I’m a preacher’s wife. Once, I offered to create and maintain the church website. Someone told the elders that I should be paid because they had planned on hiring someone in the first place. One of the elders (who should not have been an elder because he did not meet the qualifications of an elder according to scripture)…he said that I didn’t need to be paid because I was part of the package….meaning…my husband was paid…so why should I be paid because we already received money from the congregation. How many folks here would work at their husband’s jobs and not expect to be paid? It’s unscriptural to expect the wife to be part of the package… nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that she should work for free…or be expected to work as a Preacher team! She has the duties of a Christian woman, period!
The point is… (sorry for the long windedness…) Just because Sarah is family, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve to earn money for what she does to cover her livelihood expenses! The money needs to be going to the employees in order for the PAC to exist…just as the church needs to pay the preacher so that they can continue to have a preacher. Preacher’s have families too, and need to support them! I’m sure you would agree!
When you look at the percentages, Huck PAC is giving MORE than the other PAC’s (SarahPac, etc.) They are not spending their money on remodeling the building (as compared to some churches who do no have their priorities straight).
I know you don’t like it… but for any business, church, organization, PAC… the only way they can function is to PAY their employees!
You all need to step back and take a look to see WHAT YOU HAVE DONE to raise money for Huck PAC! If you have chosen to volunteer…how much time, money, effort have you given? For those that haven’t volunteered for Huck PAC… you really can’t be talking …since you are not doing anything.
If you are a supporter of Gov. Huckabee, then I ask that you please put aside your negativity and turn it into POSITIVITY!!! Let’s make Gov. Huckabee proud!
I know Sarah works hard as well as the office people!!! I know the web team works hard!!!! I know Gov. Huckabee works hard!!! Let’s be volunteers that put our mouths in sync with our efforts!!!
Making things public like this…especially when the “facts” are opinions… reflects bad on Gov. Huckabee and Huck PAC. You are doing more damage than you are helping… and if that is your motivation… then you might as well step back and go elsewhere! If you care…then you need to get off your soapbox…and DO YOUR PART.
Please take my tone in a Christ like manner! I’m not yelling…only stressing what I believe to be the right thing to say! God bless!
September 5th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Amanda, it is interesting you mention pastor’s salaries. Did you know Huckabee charges churches over $30,000 to preach for just one Sunday morning? Not many pastors make that much in a year.
No, I think Sarah and the whole Huckabee clan is doing just fine. Don’t worry about them. But if you want to donate your hard earned money for them to sit around doing nothing, go for it.
September 6th, 2009 at 7:53 am
HuckaBuck,
You have not shown proof of him asking for that much money…is that just heresay? It is just that until you have shown documented proof… (and besides that, if a church is willing to pay that, then that is none of our business. That’s between them and Huckabee. I know that in churches I have been a memeber of, the elders decide how much they will pay a visiting preacher. Baptists may ask their preachers…not sure. I’m not Baptist.
As for Sarah Huckabee doing nothing… show your proof. That just sounds like anger statements thrown out, instead of solid proof. Until you have worked in her shoes, or worked right beside her, you really have no room to judge how hard of a worker she is, or how lazy she is! From working as a coordinator, I can see bits and pieces, and I would say that she is a very hard worker from what I’m able to see! As a state coordinator, there is so much to do!!! I could not imagine being in the shoes of those who are being paid! They have a tremendous load on their shoulders, and DESERVE to be compensated. I can barely handle the work as a coordinator and juggle the family…and I know they have so much more to deal with and few employees! I couldn’t be prouder to volunteer and work under such awesome people!!!
I’m so disappointed in some of you for bringing something public that is just full of opinions. If you are TRUE supporters, you wouldn’t be smearing Huck PAC the way you are! I’m very sad about that! You have problems…deal with it on the inside! Nobody is perfect… The Bible teaches to go to your brother first. I know Sarah has reached out and made statements about the situation with the finances…and I see nothing wrong at all with what she has said!
If you want Huck PAC to make more money…and you are a volunteer…than get off your tail and get busy! That’s what a volunteer does! They don’t sit around whining and complaining…they put in their time, effort, money, or whatever resources they have and they do their best to support who they are volunteering for. Use your energy positively and you will get results. Use your energy negatively, and you will get nowhere, and neither will Huck PAC!
You have no right to complain unless you are ACTUALLY giving 100%, period!!! I urge you to change your attitudes, and DO RIGHT THING!
September 6th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I have the invoices Amanda but Jason refuses to post them. He is a Huckabee mouth piece sacred to say the truth. I am sure he will probably delete or sensor this comment soon because dispite what he pretends he is not unbais. He is simply a Huckabee spin machine. The fact that this story is on here probably means the Huckabee people told him to do it.
Plenty of proof but Koolaid drinkers like Jason and Amanda could care less about proof.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Amanda – Thanks for your comments. I am also a state coordinator in Arkansas and want to see HuckPAC do well. This is the purpose of this post. I do appreciate your point of view and your feedback. Which state are you coordinator in?
HuckaBuck – I am not going to post a bunch of anonymous unverified garbage that someone I don’t know emails me. I let this comment through and did not censor this one as you did not use profanity as you have in the past comments I have deleted.
September 6th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Hi Jason,
I am a Texas state coordinator. I’m glad to hear that you want to see Huck PAC do well. I just think you all are making a terrible mistake making this a public matter instead of a private matter. It does more harm than good to go public especially when the problems seem to be opinion only! Others will take this and run with it. One person (ktracy) who has commented/left links on your blog has gone and put down Huckabee in his recent blogs. He is no longer supporting Huckabee from what I’ve read. This is only giving ammo to those that are not true supporters (even if they once were).
I know I keep using the church as an analogy, but it is something some of us here can relate to. Where there is a church, there are people…because the church are the people… and when there are people, there are differing opinions, disagreements, fallen outs, and problems that occur here and there. We don’t want our opinions or disagreements splitting the church up, do we? We go out of our way to make sure that doesn’t happen by going to the source in the first place, or working it out amongst ourselves. If we made our disagreements/opinions known in a public way, our church might not ever grow. The problems would be getting in the way of the whole purpose of the church…converting others to Christ!!! We would be too consumed with problems forgetting the purpose of the church.
The same works with HuckPAC or any group! We want HuckPAC to grow and we want it to succeed. Let’s keep our opinions on the inside and work them out together…not air them to the world where opinions can be turned into “fact” and spread like wildfire!
I truly hope that you all will think about this before spreading
more. Thanks
September 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Jason, you are the man. That took courage. Now lets look at this. Huck says that he wants to help identify and promote conservative candidates, but the single most useful tool for him to do this is him. His name recognition and ability to produce in fundraisers does more than a check ever could. I am going with the benefit of the doubt and saying that Huck is waiting to get closer before doing the meaningful work.