Jan Baran Comments on Fundraising Drop by GOP Candidates

December 29, 2011

Jan Baran, co-chair of Wiley Rein's Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was interviewed by Roll Call for a story on the lagging fundraising efforts by candidates for the Republican Presidential nomination. 

The article reported that with the close of the third quarter GOP candidates had collected just shy of $90 million, roughly 40 percent less than the $150 million contenders raised at the same point in the 2008 cycle.  In turn, Political Action Committees have raised 30 percent more than at this point in the previous general election.

Mr. Baran told Roll Call that candidates "are competing with other types of entities," and also face public frustration with politicians.  "There is just a decline in political enthusiasm across the board," Baran said. "It's the reason the president is getting negative poll numbers. It's the reason Congress has historically low poll numbers. The public just doesn't have a very high regard for politicians in general. If they're unenthusiastic, they're less likely to contribute."