Bush’s Rivals to Get Taxpayer Funds Faster
WASHINGTON — For his opponents, the silver lining to George W. Bush’s record-setting fund-raising is that their presidential campaigns will get taxpayer aid faster.
Bush, who raised $37 million through midyear, more than all the other Republican primary candidates combined, decided to forgo federal matching funds to avoid spending limits tied to them.
That means more money for the rest of the field. The Federal Election Commission says it will have enough money to give the other Republican and Democratic primary candidates all of their matching funds by next July, instead of making them wait until April 2001.
On Jan. 1, when the first payments are scheduled, the FEC will be able to give candidates 39% of the federal aid to which they are entitled, rather than the 32% projected had Bush applied for a share.
The FEC does not have enough money to disburse all the federal funds on time because fewer Americans are checking the box on their income tax returns that diverts $3 of their taxes to the presidential campaign fund.
To date, the FEC has declared five candidates eligible for matching funds--Republicans Gary Bauer, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Dan Quayle, and Democrat Bill Bradley.
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