Already I have attended over 70 fund raising events. My schedule through early December would have taken me to a total of 108 fund raising events across America. Even then, these rivals would enjoy a 75 or 80 to 1 cash advantage. I hoped to compensate by attracting new people to the political process, by emphasizing experience and advocating substantive issues. But important as these things may be, the bottom line remains money.
Inadequate funding limits the number of staff at headquarters and in key states.
It restricts your ability to communicate with voters. It places a ceiling on travel and travel staff. Over time, it becomes nearly impossible to sustain an effective campaign. Wherever you go, you find yourself answering questions, not so much about guns in the classroom, or China in the World Trade Organization, but money in the bank and ads on the air waves. All my life, I've been accustomed to challenging the odds.