Coakley Using High Profile Democrats to Boost Campaign Fundraising

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

With the announcement that Bill Clinton will be campaigning in Worcester to aid Martha Coakley in her campaign for governor, it is becoming more apparent that she is pulling together an all-star team to help raise exposure and funds heading toward the election.

Clinton joins a growing cast of Democratic powerhouses, which includes Deval Patrick, Michelle Obama, and Elizabeth Warren. While the added exposure for the campaign is great, the real hope is to bring some much needed funding to Coakley’s campaign.

“Endorsements and high profile candidates haven’t been proven to bring in votes, but what they do is bring attention to a candidate,” said Paul Giorgio, a longtime Democratic political activist. “Having Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and others campaign with Coakley will help to bring even more attention to her campaign and certainly help to bring additional funding to her campaign in the final month.”

Coakley is currently at a fundraising disadvantage to her primary opponent Charlie Baker. While recent numbers show that Coakley has $266,339 in the bank, Baker is reporting $1.55 million in cash on hand.

Bringing Out the Big Guns

Coakley has seen a wealth of support from the Massachusetts Republican Party, but she still lacks the funding that Baker has.

While certainly no revolutionary strategy – every campaign tries to bring in high profile people to help support their campaigns – many think that by bringing in this Democratic all-star team, Coakley can hope to narrow the funding gap that may be putting her campaign at a disadvantage.

“All candidates want to bring in the all-star lineup to help with their campaigns because they have the ability to bring in the big bucks,” said Erin O’Brien, Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Boston. “Since Coakley is behind in fundraising, every person that she can bring in to support her will help her to close the fundraising gap. Getting out the vote is the key to winning the election this year, but the more funds you have, the better chance you have in reaching people.”

Staying Competitive

According to O’Brien, Baker is at a disadvantage in terms of bringing in star power because A-List Republicans could hurt him in a Democratic state much more than it could help.

Charlie Baker may not be bringing in the same amount of star power, but he certainly has stayed competitive, bringing in a wealth of Democrats to support his campaign, which most recently includes lifelong Democrat Jack Connors and Dropkick Murphys singer Ken Casey.

"Charlie is humbled by the bipartisan support he has received throughout this campaign,” said Tim Buckley, a spokesperson for Charlie Baker’s campaign. “The upcoming event co-hosted by Governor Romney and lifelong Democrat Jack Connors is a clear sign Charlie's positive vision to create jobs is appealing to Democrats and Republicans alike."