GOP has edge in small donations in Ohio gov race

Republican John Kasich has racked up almost twice the small cash donations as his opponent for Ohio governor as he fights back against campaign attacks that he's a Wall Street insider.

Small contributions make up only a modest fraction of the record-breaking $31.4 million that Kasich and Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland have raised so far in the race. The contenders reported Thursday how much money they had on hand in the final days before the Nov. 2 election.

Small donations can be an important indicator of a candidate's strong grassroots support. Kasich, a former Lehman Brothers managing director, has sought to use his large number of small donors to counter the attacks by Strickland that he represents big business.

An Associated Press analysis of contributions so far found Kasich has raised slightly more than $2.2 million from people giving up to $250 each, compared with the almost $1.2 million Strickland has gathered. The AP looked at contributions since May 2009 - when both candidates were raising money.

Polls nationally find Democrats struggling against voter discontent and Republicans more fired up about the election in a contrast with the enthusiasm President Barack Obama generated for Democrats in the 2008 campaign. In Ohio, polls show that the race for governor is close between Strickland and Kasich.

Beyond their cash value, small donations can help reflect how well a candidate is connecting with and motivating people on the ground.

"If you have a number of people who are making a financial investment in your campaign, those people are likely to support you in other ways - campaign for you, volunteer for you and ultimately vote for you," said Dave Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group that tracks money in politics.

Kasich also can point to the small donations to show he's in touch with average Ohioans, said Bruce Newman, a DePaul University professor who specializes in political marketing.

The latest poll in the race had Strickland, 69, barely ahead of Kasich, a 58-year-old former congressman and Fox News commentator, but several other surveys have showed Strickland trailing.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols attributed the campaign's success with small donors to its use of social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook, which he said have driven people to Kasich's website.

"People get there, they like what John has to say and often donate money right online," Nichols said. Yet he could not estimate how many people did so.

Strickland's campaign says Kasich is getting low-dollar contributions with the help of high-priced consultants.

"Unlike Congressman Kasich, our campaign does not need to spend money to solicit small donors," said Strickland campaign spokeswoman Allison Kolodziej. She added that Strickland's small donations "are truly the result of strong grassroots support."

In fact, both campaigns have tapped professionals to raise money - though Kasich spent at least four times the amount of Strickland.

The latest campaign spending figures from June showed Kasich had spent more than $629,000 on financial consultants, on top of the more than $472,000 the campaign has paid its fundraiser.

Strickland has paid at least $241,000 for fundraising consulting. That money went to two individual fundraisers along with the Washington-based Ashmead Group, records show.

"Every campaign has people whose job it is to raise money, and we have them," Nichols said, declining to give details.

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AP Statehouse Correspondent Julie Carr Smyth contributed to this report.