BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 21, 2000 ISSUE
NEWS: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY The Engineer inside McCain's Money Machine Small donations are nice, but Eudy also needs the high rollers John McCain may not want to take special-interest money. But if he wants to stay in this primary race, he doesn't have much choice. So, back at McCain headquarters in Alexandria, Va., his chief fund-raiser, a 40-year-old dynamo named Carla Eudy, is burning up the phone lines to corporate execs and other monied Republicans. The message: We need dough, now, because the McCain Express is leaving the station. Eudy, a professional fund-raising consultant who first won attention by raising megabucks for the abortive '96 Presidential bid of Senator Philip W. Gramm, is considered one of the best technicians in the business. But she faces no small challenge raising the funds to combat an aggressive media barrage in South Carolina and Michigan, the next two crucial contests from McCain's chief rival, George W. Bush. ''NO MAGIC.'' Using a combination of direct mail, Internet appeals for small donations, and a string of traditional high-dollar ($500 and $1000 a ticket) receptions, Eudy hopes to rustle up at least another $14 million. Why so much? On Mar. 7, when no fewer than 11 primaries and four caucuses will be held, candidates will be forced to compete in such costly media markets as California and New York while remaining visible in Ohio and 12 other states. Thus far, McCain's fund-raising has lagged behind the Bush juggernaut. He has taken in only $17 million vs. Bush's record $70 million. But McCain, with his priceless media attention, gets more bang for his buck. So far, he has spent only $7 million to Bush's $39 million and has a 19-point romp over the Texas governor in New Hampshire to show for it. Now that McCain is the man with the mo', Eudy's job is easier. ''I'm on the phone all the time to people who said, 'Call me if John McCain wins,''' Eudy says. ''There's no magic to it. It's just a lot of legwork.'' Since New Hampshire, McCain has been pulling in $60,000 to $80,000 a day via phone donations. Another $2.25 million has come in over the Net, thanks to a clever site that plays up his populist appeal. Small donations are nice, but Eudy also needs the high rollers. So on Feb. 10, McCain expects to appear by satellite hook-up at fund-raising dinners in Washington, D.C., San Diego, Lansing, Mich., Scottsdale, Ariz., and Phoenix. That same night, he'll go online for an interactive chat with those willing to click for cash. The expected one-day take: $800,000. Who's signing on with Team McCain? Lobbyists scheduled to attend the Washington event include America Online Inc.'s senior vice-president for policy George Vradenburg III and reps for SBC Communications, BellSouth, and Echostar--all heavily involved with McCain in his day job as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. In California, on Feb. 24, he is counting on David S. Pottruck, co-CEO of Charles Schwab, media mogul Michael Bloomberg, and George R. Roberts, founding partner of LBO firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to do the heavy lifting with business. At least one top Washington business rep won't be joining the stampede: former Reagan lobbyist Nicholas E. Calio. Noting McCain's promise to bash special interests and ax $150 billion in ''corporate welfare,'' Calio says: ''I hope business people have the guts to tell him to s---- himself. It's hugely hypocritical to ask for checks from the people you're attacking.'' But then again, it's politics. By Lorraine Woellert and Lee Walczak, with Richard S. Dunham, in Washington _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS Against the Grain, McCain Style TABLE: Economics According to McCain The Engineer inside McCain's Money Machine INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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