http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/17/sr.mon/index.html?section=cnn_latestWhat do Democratic senators Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Evan Bayh have in common? Besides the fact that all three are focusing on serving the people of their respective states, and are not even thinking about running for president in 2008, they all reported having millions of dollars in their various political bank accounts ready to spend on any future "endeavors." The three senators were among hundreds of campaigns and political committees that were required to submit detailed campaign fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission and the Secretary of the Senate this weekend. The Grind reviewed a number of the documents filed by Sunday night and plucked out various highlights that may give early clues as to how the upcoming 2006 and 2008 elections may shape up.
Clinton reported having a whopping $13.8 million for her Senate re-election bid next year, and anything that's left over in that "Friends of Hillary" campaign account eventually could be transferred to a presidential account, not that she's even thinking about that. Clinton also has a leadership PAC called "HILLPAC" which as of July had about $145,000 in the bank. Money from leadership PACs cannot be transferred to presidential accounts, but they can be used to cultivate relationships with fellow Democrats, say, in Iowa or New Hampshire.
John Kerry also reported some deep pockets this weekend with about $10 million socked away in various campaign accounts and another $5.8 million in an account set aside for legal and accounting costs. The bulk of the Kerry largess rests in his 2004 presidential accounts, about $9.5 million. He also has $300,000 in his Senate campaign account. In July, he reported having about $384,000 in his "Keeping America's Promise" leadership PAC.
Evan Bayh is not up for re-election until 2010, but he raised over $729,000 from July through September and has an impressive $7.9 million in the bank. As of July 1, he also had over $1 million in his All America PAC.