Huckabee Digging Deep For Money, Supporters Selling Personal Belongings To Donate

In terms of finances, Huckabee is certainly struggling. As of today, he’s only raised about $3.4 million of his goal of $10 million by Super Tuesday. For starters, Huckabee really needed this money at least a few days before Super Tuesday in order for it to make any effect. Supporters of his campaign are currently organizing a “Max Out For Mike” event tomorrow. I’m all for grassroots efforts, but ones that suggest people sell personal belongings, work overtime or borrow against their anticipated tax refunds in order to donate as much as possible are somewhat unnerving. The organizers ask:

Although we don’t encourage anyone to contribute money they simply don’t have, look around you… what can you sell to a friend or online? Can you work some overtime? Can you cut back sacrificially on your spending temporarily? Also, how funny would it be to donate your forthcoming income tax rebate check from the government to Mike’s campaign and help put the IRS out of business!

Mike Huckabee’s campaign is promoting the effort on its official blog. I asked whether the Governor supports the suggestion that his supporters should go through the above mentioned lengths in order to support his campaign, but requests for comment from the campaign have not been responded to.

In other Huckabee fundraising news: Through the Huckabee’s Rangers program supporters are also offering matching funds to other donors in order to boost Huckabee’s coffers. Huckabee also turned to religion groups in order to raise funds. Last week, Huckabee, ostensibly skirting campaign finance laws, received approximately $1 million in pledges after a fundraising event at Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Texas:

The Trinity Foundation, a charity that monitors televangelists and viewed a live Internet broadcast of the event, said the fundraiser took in $111,000 and generated pledges nearing $1 million, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in a copyrighted article Tuesday.

“Basically, Kenneth Copeland simply asked him how he could pray for him and the governor asked him to pray for physical stamina for the team and the financial resources that they need each day,” she said. “I’m not sure who called who.”

Huckabee’s campaign released a statement saying it rented a room for “a separate event that was hosted by a private individual” and was not affiliated with Copeland’s ministry. The campaign said the event conformed with campaign finance laws and tax regulations.

Huckabee has always had fundraising issues, but to his credit he does have a dedicated core of supporters. At this point, Huckabee’s lifeline will be Missouri, a delegate rich state and one where he has a legitimate chance to win on February 5. Huckabee himself recognizes the need to win Missouri, but he’s going to have to do a better job at convincing MO voters to support than he did at a recent campaign stop there. Right now, the momentum is with McCain and the money is with Romney, so Huckabee’s going to really need an effective Missouri strategy in order to pull out this critical victory and I really don’t think Ducan Hunter’s endorsement is going to make much of a difference.

[Photo Credit: NY Times]