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Tale of the fundraising tape: Pawlenty vs. Bachmann

Some interesting facts and figures from the two presidential candidates' FEC reports.

July 18, 2011 at 9:16PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Rep. Michele Bachmann raised around the same totals over the past three months ($4.3 million for Pawlenty and $4.2 million for Bachamann). But a closer look at their Federal Election Commission quarterly reports shows lots of differences between the two Minnesotans' presidential campaigns.

Here's a by-the-numbers look at Bachmann vs. Pawlenty:

Small vs. big dollar

Pawlenty collected 88 percent of his individual contributions in amounts above $200. Bachmann was the opposite — 74 percent of her cash came from un-itemized, smaller-than-$200 contributions.

The burn rate

Bachmann spent $1 million more than Pawlenty between her two committees, clocking in at $3.4 million to Pawlenty's $2.4 million for the quarter. But she also has $3.6 million cash on hand while he has $1.4 million – aided by money that she can transfer from her 2010 congressional campaign.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Home state advantage

Pawlenty relied on Minnesota to collect donations, with 27 percent of his fundraising total coming from his home state. Bachmann raised more money in California and Texas than Minnesota. Just 10 percent of her money came from the state she represents.

Homemakers for Pawlenty

Donors listing "homemaker" as their employer have given the most to Pawlenty, contributing $569,000. That's followed by retired ($490,000) and self-employed ($252,000). For Bachmann self-employed is tops at $139,000 followed by retired at $77,000.

Bachmann's an 'American girl'?

The day after Tom Petty sent a cease and desist letter to Bachmann for using "American Girl," her campaign spent $900 on "music licensing," with expenses for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc. Her report doesn't say what songs were purchased, but if you hear "American Girl" again at a Bachmann rally, this may explain it.

Payday

While stories were written last month about some of Tim Pawlenty's advisors not taking a salary, Pawlenty still paid $400,000 in payroll April-June. Bachmann spent about $70,000 on campaign staff.

Checking their lists…

Both campaigns spent around $100,000 to purchase fundraising mailing lists. Bachmann had five list items for a total of $108,280 and Pawlenty had three for $95,000.

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Bachmann's donors are less inclined than Pawlenty's to share their employment information, something that campaigns are supposed to collect, although it's common the information is not successfully gathered. Bachmann has more than $380,000 in donations without the info, compared to $140,000 for Pawlenty.