Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-N.Y) nomination as Secretary of State has opened up a vacancy with no dearth of applicants in the Empire State.
In the Washington Post today, the reporter and his sources handicap the race. And what was one of the requirements? Fundraising prowess. To be more exact, the candidate must be able to raise an estimated $35 million for their 2010 election to keep the seat.
That kind of cash is probably right along the third base line in the ballpark figure, too. So what does that mean for fundraising?
| Money Needed | $35 Million |
| Days in 2009 | 334 |
| Days in 2010 | 306 |
| Total Before Election Day | 640 |
| Money to raise each day | $54,688 |
Well, if we start February 1st as date of appointment, that’s 334 days for 2009. For 2010, we count everyday until November 2nd, Election Day. So that’s 640 days. Divde 640 days into $35 million and you’ve got over $54,000 a day. That’s more than the annual household income in this country.
The candidate will have to spend a lot of time raising that kind of money. How much time will she or he have left for actually governing?