Collect more than $200,000 for the president and you're a Ranger. This state has more than any other.
By ADAM C. SMITH
Published October 15, 2003
The state that barely put George W. Bush in the White House is working mightily to keep him there for a second term.
Through September, the president raised an eye-popping $83.9-million for his re-election campaign, and Florida led the nation in providing top-tier fundraisers who are helping the president break the fundraising records he set in 2000.
Of the 100 people who raised at least $200,000 for the president - "Rangers" the campaign dubs them - 14 are Floridians. That puts Florida ahead of bigger states such as California and New York and even Bush's home state of Texas, which has produced 12 Rangers so far.
"People like the president and want to make sure he gets re-elected," said Fort Lauderdale cardiologist Zachariah Zachariah, the co-chairman of the president's fundraising effort in Florida, who expects the number of Florida Rangers to continue growing as Florida raises $7-million to $8-million for the president.
The list of top fundraisers was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Bush-Cheney campaign, which stresses its commitment to disclosing financial supporters as it shatters fundraising records.
The new numbers show the Bush campaign halfway to its goal of raising $170-million to carry it through the 2004 primaries, in which the president faces no serious rival. They also underscore the challenge for Democrats, who worry their nominee could be virtually broke after emerging from the primary contests next spring.
Florida is traditionally a major source for campaign money, pumping more than $5.7-million into the Bush campaign in 2000 while raising $1.6-million for Democrat Al Gore. This year, the Sunshine State total already is near $6-million for Bush. A regular visitor to Florida, Bush is expected to return Nov. 13 for fundraisers in Fort Myers and Orlando.
In 2000, the Bush campaign dubbed its top check collectors - those who raised $100,000 - Pioneers. Florida had 27 Pioneers, behind only Texas and California. Since then, campaign finance laws have been revised, doubling the maximum contribution of individuals to $2,000, so the campaign opted for a new level of elite fundraisers, the Rangers.
Many Florida Pioneers from 2000 are becoming Rangers for 2004, though a new generation of elite GOP fundraisers also is emerging.
They are people like 28-year-old Husein Cumber of Fort Lauderdale, a former campaign aide to Gov. Jeb Bush who now works for Florida East Coast Industries, a railway and real estate development company.
Cumber said Bush has so many avid supporters in Florida that aspiring Rangers can find dozens of people happy to write $2,000 checks without overlapping with the networks of other top fundraisers.
"What you're seeing is a group of people that all have distinct Rolodexes as well as the ability to reach out into their communities. It's a manifestation of the people's excitement about the president's re-election and people wanting to get involved," said Cumber.
Another newcomer to the major leagues of presidential fundraising is 34-year-old Justin Sayfie of Fort Lauderdale, a former Jeb Bush aide who runs a political Web site, Sayfie Review, and works for a prominent lobbying firm whose clients include Auto-Nation, the Seminole Tribe and Accenture, the consulting firm. A lobbying partner of Sayfie's, former state GOP chairman Van Poole, also achieved Ranger status this year.
"It takes a lot of phone calls, and it takes a lot of time to go through your Rolodex and to reach out to people who haven't been reached out to before," Sayfie said. "The enthusiasm is infectious. . . . People wanted to support the president."
Other Florida newcomers to the top echelon of Bush fundraising included Jose "Pepe" Fanjul, whose family runs the Flo-Sun sugar corporation.
Thirteen Floridians became Pioneers by raising at least $100,000, including assorted lobbyists, developers and former U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler of Jacksonville, now a partner with the Holland & Knight law firm in Washington. Texas produced 26 Pioneers, California and New York produced 18.
The Bush-Cheney campaign raised nearly $50-million from July through September and went into October with $70-million on hand. The campaign is forgoing public matching money for the primary and so is not bound by spending caps of about $45-million.
Ken Mehlman, the Bush-Cheney campaign manager, said the money will be needed to overcome what he said could be hundreds of millions of dollars spent by independent groups attacking the president.
"We are likely to face a very strong barrage of soft money from special interest groups that are already out there," Mehlman said.
Fundraising reports due tonight from the nine Democratic candidates are expected to show that Bush raised more than all of them combined. His huge money advantage has prompted Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe to urge contenders to consider bowing out of the public campaign finance system and avoid spending caps.
- Computer-assisted reporting specialist Connie Humburg contributed to this report, which includes information from the Associated Press. Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com
