LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Following in his famous dad's footsteps,
Kentucky Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul is tapping into
a rich pipeline through online fundraising - an increasingly
popular source of campaign cash for candidates around the country.
It's a method that supplied Paul with nearly $1 million during
just three days of Web-based fundraising during the primary, and
another bonanza might be on the horizon this month.
Paul, making his first run for elective office, faces an
expensive fall campaign against Democratic Attorney General Jack
Conway for the Senate seat held by Republican Jim Bunning, who is
retiring.
Paul supporters are being encouraged to contribute to a June 28
"moneybomb" - in which online contributions can accumulate into
hefty amounts that can replenish campaign coffers and offer a burst
of momentum. It's the first one-day, online fundraising blitz for
Paul since he won the GOP nomination in May.
Conway campaign spokeswoman Allison Haley said Friday that the
Democratic candidate has had "an outpouring of support" from
online sources, but she didn't immediately provide any numbers.
"The ability to raise money online is indicative of grassroots
support from the regular folks whose votes you need to earn," said
Kurt Luidhardt, vice president of Indiana-based Prosper Group
Corp., which helped manage Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown's website
and his multimillion-dollar online fundraising operation.
Paul's campaign took in about $900,000 from three separate days
of Web-based fundraising - including a $400,000 haul around the
time the Bowling Green eye surgeon entered the Senate race as a
longshot. Those fundraising events were organized by supporters,
Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton said Friday.
"This doesn't have to be from wealthy people," Benton said,
noting that the average online contribution for Paul is just under
$100. "This can be from teachers, construction workers and coal
miners."
Paul, whose outsider status and criticism of government spending
caught on with tea party activists, defeated Trey Grayson,
Kentucky's secretary of state, in last month's GOP Senate primary.
Paul's father, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, reaped millions in
online campaign contributions during his failed run for the 2008
Republican presidential nomination. Ron Paul's supporters united
for one-day, online fundraising blitzes that infused his campaign
with badly needed cash.
In Nevada, Republican Sharron Angle has received some $400,000
in online contributions since winning her party's Senate nomination
on Tuesday, setting up a fall campaign against Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid.
Prosper Group is managing Angle's website and her online
fundraising operation.
Brown, who scored an upset victory in Massachusetts earlier in
the year, took in $1.3 million in one day from online contributions
- which triggered more waves of Web-based giving, Luidhardt said.
"A successful `moneybomb' begets more money," he said.
Besides tapping grassroots support, another advantage of online
fundraising is the "almost complete lack of overhead," Benton
said. Traditional fundraisers generate campaign expenses for food,
facilities and printing costs for invitations, he said.
Still, the Web is just part of the equation.
"This isn't something that you can rely on," Benton said.
"They're wonderful and they're extremely helpful, but we have to
make sure that we raise money in traditional ways as well."
The June 28 online blitz comes in the midst of a hectic
fundraising schedule for Paul.
He has a high-dollar fundraiser set for June 24 at the National
Republican Senatorial Committee in Washington, D.C., followed by
fundraisers set for June 29 in Lexington and the next day in
Louisville.
Both Senate campaigns are scrambling for cash before the current
fundraising quarter wraps up at the end of June. Campaign-finance
reports for the quarter will be scrutinized to see if either
campaign has a fundraising edge heading into the fall campaign.
Meanwhile, Conway's campaign accused Paul of violating a
campaign pledge to take no campaign contributions from any senator
who voted for a massive bailout fund for the nation's beleaguered
financial sector.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is a host
of the Washington fundraiser at the National Republican Senatorial
Committee. McConnell and many other GOP senators voted for the
bailout.
"Rand Paul is abandoning his principles so fast it makes your
head spin," Haley said.
Paul's campaign could not immediately be reached for comment on
the allegation.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)