Money already...

Ted Cruz's big-money crisis

The Texas Republican is months behind his competitors in recruiting mega-donors and bundlers.

By Anna Palmer

After the theatrical launch of his presidential campaign Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz now faces a massive hurdle: raising the tens of millions of dollars it will take to mount a year-and-a-half long campaign.

The Texas Republican and tea party darling is months behind his competitors in recruiting the megadonors and bundlers essential to a credible GOP primary bid. He’s not well-liked among cash-flush lobbyists. And his uncompromising policy positions and role in forcing the government shutdown in 2013 didn’t exactly excite the financiers and business executives who make up the elite donor class. Those considerations, along with the need to capture attention in a crowded field of conservatives, contributed to the decision to become the first Republican to formally enter the race.

“From the standpoint of the fundraising circuit I think it is going to be difficult for him to convince major donors that he is substantive enough to be able to avail himself of their largesse,” said Joe Brettell, a Texas-based GOP operative. “His sweet spot is the conservative grass-roots faithful and it is a fundamentally different makeup and wish list than it is with Ken Langone, Woody Johnson and the rest of the typical cast of characters. When it comes to what have you done for me lately, his greatest accomplishments in the eye of the conservative movement of shutting down the government aren’t going to hold a lot of water.”

For many Texas operatives, Cruz’s decision to launch his campaign outside his home state, at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, confirmed what they long suspected — his eye has always been on the national stage. That’s not necessarily an appealing trait to the Texas donors Cruz will need to form the backbone of his financing plan.

“A criticism of Sen. Cruz has been that he has been more focused on the White House than serving the people of Texas,” said Jenifer Sarver, a Texas-based consultant and former chief of staff to Karen Hughes, who served as counselor to President George W. Bush. “His decision to announce a presidential bid two years into his term and make the announcement outside of Texas serves to amplify that impression for many.”

While there are whisper numbers that front-runner Jeb Bush could report as much as $100 million in the first fundraising quarter alone, the Cruz camp has a more modest $40 million to $50 million goal for the whole of the primary season — though it is unclear how much of that will be divided between the campaign and a super PAC.

“The excitement created by Sen. Cruz’s announcement has motivated conservative grass-roots donors and big donors alike,” said Jason Miller for Cruz’s campaign. “We’re energized by the early rush of donor activity and are very confident we can achieve our goals.”

Cruz is wasting no time trying to make up the cash deficit, launching a 10-city fundraising tour in an attempt to take advantage of momentum from his announcement. The goal is to raise at least $1 million over the coming week, and to make progress toward the campaign’s goal of raking in at least $40 million over the course of the primary campaign.