Fundraising reports show Mark Warner far ahead in U.S. Senate race

WASHINGTON

Already well ahead in opinion polls, Democratic senatorial nominee Mark Warner has amassed a cash reserve that threatens to bury Republican Jim Gilmore in a mountain of television ads during the final months of their U.S. Senate contest, financial reports released Tuesday suggest.

Warner reported raising about $2.9 million from April through June, more than six times as much as Gilmore. The Democrat has more than $5.1 million in the bank, compared to just under $117,000 for Gilmore.

While Gilmore strategists insisted they never expected to match Warner's fundraising - the Democrat has a personal fortune that guarantees he'll maintain an advantage, they say - some longtime GOP activists said the numbers look grim for Gilmore.

"A lot of people who have contributed a lot of money to him in the past aren't doing it this time," said J. Kenneth Klinge, a former state party executive and longtime GOP activist from Northern Virginia.

"What I'm hearing up this way, is that the money that in the past has gone to Republican candidates is going to Mark Warner," he added.

Gilmore's woes were perhaps most striking in the numbers from political action committees. Business-oriented committees are a traditional source of strength for Republican candidates, but Gilmore has collected only $4,500 from such groups since mid-May, his campaign reported. Warner reported PAC donations of just under $500,000.

Both Gilmore and Warner served as governor. Gil-more served from 1998-2002, and Warner served from 2002-06.

Unlike Warner, Gilmore had to fight to win his party's nomination, which sapped some of his campaign cash.

The reports indicated that Gilmore has broadened his base of donors since he secured the GOP nomination in early June. His new report includes about 3,500 contributions of $200 or less, which reflects growing support among working-class families, spokeswoman Ana Gamonal said.

But Warner also was doing well among individual donors, with donations of more than $2 million since April. The Warner camp said more than 7,100 Virginians made contributions to the Democrat's campaign during the three-month reporting period, accounting for 81 percent of his total donations from individuals.

"It's hard to find even a Republican these days who thinks Gilmore can win," said Jennifer Duffy, editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political newsletter.

Gilmore's problems are "not just about the money," Duffy added. Warner has so far been able "to run on a message of: I cleaned up Jim Gilmore's mess," she said. "That's hard to overcome."

Gilmore and Warner are vying to succeed GOP Sen. John Warner, who is retiring after five terms. The two Warners are not related.

The campaign's early skirmishes have centered largely on each man's tenure in Richmond, with Warner airing television commercials alleging that Gilmore left state finances in shambles and Gilmore arguing that Warner manufactured a financial crisis to justify a massive tax increase.

Warner went on the air with a new television ad this week that focuses on high energy prices. The spot includes a photo of an offshore oil well, shown as a narrator announces that expanded oil production is part of Warner's energy program.

"That tells you we're driving the message," said Dick Leggitt, a Gilmore strategist. He cited a drumbeat of Republican calls nationwide for action in Congress to boost oil production by opening offshore areas to drilling. In a news release Tuesday, the Gilmore campaign claimed the ad is a lie because Warner has opposed offshore drilling. Warner previously favored offshore exploration but not necessarily production.

Leggitt compared Gilmore's current position to the Republican's 1997 campaign for governor, when he said Gilmore began the race as an underdog to Democrat Don Beyer.

"We have a specific plan based on what we learned in '97.... If it takes hold, we'll win. If it doesn't, we probably won't," he said.

Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com