According to the latest polling data posted to Politico.com, Republican Rick Snyder is killing Democrat Virg Bernero. Snyder's camp expects the gap to lessen over the next 50 days, but by how much is anyone's guess. Mark Brewer, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, and Virg Bernero have been sending regular electronic missives to their respective lists. The latest Brewer rant is that Snyder was responsible for outsourcing jobs while the CEO of Gateway. AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey refuted the "outsourcing" assertion in an extensive June analysis piece. According to a
piece published on August 26, 2010 in the Lansing State Journal, "The one bright spot for Bernero
is a barrage of negative advertising that is certain to come. The state Democratic Party has previewed its strategy to portray Snyder as a multimillionaire who benefitted by outsourcing jobs overseas when he was an official with Gateway Computers in the 1990s—a claim Snyder calls distorted."
So how's the Nerd responding to the attacks?
This diabolically and brilliantly deceptive email landed in my inbox last week.
Dear Supporters,
We are now just 56 days away from Election Day. The broad support and growing momentum for our campaign position us well to improve the future of Michigan, but we still need your help.
My opponent is running the most negative campaign in Michigan history and he is using your tax dollars to pay for it. Our campaign is up against more than $1.2 million of tax-funded contributions. This combined with the millions of special interest dollars already spent on this election are why your contributions are essential. Donate today to put your support behind a positive, results oriented vision for our state.
It's time to get Michigan families back to work. Michigan's job creators, our main Street businesses and labor organizations are signing up with me to help Reinvent Michigan. We don't need another career politician in Lansing.
Your partnership is a critical component in our ability to Reinvent Michigan. Please consider making a contribution today to help secure a better future for our state. Thank you for your continued support.
Did you catch the part about how Bernero is using "your tax dollars" to fund one of the most "negative campaigns in Michigan history?" So true, yet so very, very distorted.
Political "outsider" Rick Snyder has loaned his campaign most of its funds, having poured almost $6 million dollars of his own money into his race. According to state campaign finance records, Snyder has raised a total of about $8 million dollars, and burned through most of it—as of September 2, 2010 he had just $505,000 in cash on hand. Bernero, on the other hand, had raised $900,000 as of August 23rd, and is expected to get as much as $1.12 million in a public match from the state treasury for the general campaign. As of September 2, 2010, Bernero's campaign had $85,000 cash on hand.
Here's a quick breakdown of each candidates cost-per-vote numbers. Rick Snyder spent $7.5 million dollars in the primary, or $19.69 for every vote he got (380,720 votes), and Virg Bernero Bernero spent $815,000 in the primary, or $2.91 for every vote he got (308,864).
A read through Snyder's campaign finance forms (all 1,000+ pages of them) is a fascinating exercise in watching someone's campaign blow through money. There are pages and pages of smallish donations—$10, $20, $50, $100—and then five and six-figure influxes of money from "Richard Snyder." The list of Dem donors to Snyder's campaign is also a great read. There are several very connected and very visible A2 Dems who've shoveled thousands into Republican Rick Snyder's campaign. This, of course, gets to the final pitch in Snyder's email.
That part of Snyder's devilishly deceptive email reads:
"Our campaign is up against more than $1.2 million of tax-funded contributions. This combined with the millions of special interest dollars already spent on this election are why your contributions are essential."
Millions of special interest dollars already spent on this election? Again, so true, yet so incredibly misleading. Yes, millions of "special interest dollars" have been spent thus far, but millions have not gone to Virg Bernero's campaign. The guy has raised under $1 million dollars total, remember? The absurdity of a man who has spent almost $6 million dollars out of his own pocket whining about his campaign being "up against more than $1.2 million of tax-funded contributions" is laughable. However, unless you're an educated voter who knows Rick Snyder has already burned through five times the amount of money he claims to be "up against," the deceptive nature of the claim gets lost in the details.
So, do you think Virg Bernero can catch up to Rick Snyder, or is Michigan headed for a Republican governorship?