A letter to potential contributors asks for $500 to pay for more television time.
By ANITA KUMAR
Published October 7, 2004
TAMPA - The recent hurricanes cost Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Betty Castor more than $1-million in campaign contributions, a "disaster" that left her unable to buy much-needed television ads, she wrote in a recent letter to supporters.
Castor said she is $1.2-million short of her projected media budget, partly because two fundraisers with Sens. Jon Corzine of New Jersey and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut were canceled.
"The recent onslaught of four hurricanes has seriously affected my campaign," Castor wrote in a Sept. 30 letter to Florida supporters. "I am having a difficult time raising money."
Castor asked for a "rush" contribution of $500 so she can compete with the $3.5-million in Republican ads for opponent Mel Martinez. She called the situation a "disaster."
"They have donors all across the country willing to pay for television advertising that supports their extreme ideological agenda," Castor wrote of Republicans. "I must get my message out - I must stay on the air and right now I don't have the money to do so."
Castor spokesman Dan McLaughlin said the plea isn't dire.
"It's an appeal to supporters that there's a sense of urgency due to the unseemly amounts of money that Martinez and backers are spending," McLaughlin said. "The Republican Party is trying to buy this Senate seat."
Martinez spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe said Wednesday Martinez faces similar fundraising problems and questioned Castor's approach.
"I think it's disappointing that you would use unfortunate circumstances for political purposes," she said. "What's a disaster are the millions of Floridians who have lost their homes. That's a disaster - not raising money for a political campaign."
Each campaign has estimated it needs $8-million to win Nov. 2 and declined to say how much has been raised.
