Will money talk?

As Roy Cho, the little known rookie Democrat, opposes Scott Garrett, the ingrained incumbent Republican, the odds are good that this race will not simply come down to political ideals and ideas, but, likely, it will come down to something Cho doesn’t want it to, and something that Garrett does: money. Scott Garrett, especially in comparison to Cho, has more than enough money to seemingly be able to put this race away early; the over three million dollars in his war chest, in addition to the fact that Garrett has been in office for almost 12 years should be enough for Garrett’s mind to be at ease for this upcoming election. However, this election is far from over, and it looks like Garrett appears to be a little more nervous than the sheer financial numbers suggest.

Scott Garrett’s money, to the most recent report, June 30^th 2014, has come, largely from PACs and large individual donations, totaling more than 1.3 million dollars.(2) This alone should not mean much, but that money, coupled with the 3 million plus dollars that he has in personal money should be cause, on the surface, for great concern from Roy Cho.  But, Scott Garrett, as mentioned before, is a candidate with 12 years of experience in the House, and 6 election wins under his belt; Scott Garrett is not a man who should need to raise well upward of 1 million dollars to defeat a veritable no-name who is running for the first time, but right now that is exactly what he is doing.(2)  That Garrett is even interested in raising money at the rate he currently is should be considered, at the least, a small victory for Cho. After all, if Garrett thought the race was locked up, he wouldn’t be wasting his donors’ time, patience, or money.

Cho’s finances, on the other hand, resemble those of a challenger who is fighting above his weight class. When contrasted to the war chest of Garrett, Roy Cho’s funds might as well be stored in a Disney character wallet.(1) Yes, Cho’s raised money is right in line, at least with other New Jersey House races, with the other challengers that are projected to have a chance in their respective races, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is still monetarily dwarfed by Garrett. (2)Scott Garrett, at least on principle alone, should have no problem dominating the financial aspects of this race, be it in paying for premium ads, or simply by paying people to mobilize voters; he has the clear advantage.

Ultimately, just because he has the advantage, as of now, doesn’t mean the balance of power cant shift. It is probably true that Cho, unless by means of a small miracle, will never be able to compete with Garrett financially, but that isn’t necessarily a death knell, after all, it was Garrett who won his first election despite raising less than his opponent. It is however, a necessity for Cho to make things a little closer, he can’t compete with Garrett without PACs and larger donors of his own, and it is his responsibility to appeal to them, just to give himself a chance.

Roy Cho Finances. Crowdpac.com (1)https://www.crowdpac.com/candidates/133869/roy-cho (Accessed 10/1/14)

Opensecrets.com (2)http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/elections.php?chart=S&cid=N00000743&newMem=&cycle=Career , http://www.opensecrets.org/races/election.php?state=NJ Accessed 10/1/14