President Bush on the Money Trail
Republicans labeled President Clinton as "fundraiser in chief," but in the 2002 election cycle President George W. Bush showed he is no slouch when it comes to fundraising.  Bush headlined at least 66 fundraisers in 2002, in addition to six in 2001, raising over $140 million.  Ironically, Bush even did two fundraisers on March 27, 2002, the same day he signed the campaign finance reform bill.  Along the way he broke a number of records; the Republican National Committee's Presidential Gala at the Washington Convention Center on May 14, 2002 raised over $30 million, and a July 15, 2002 fundraiser in Birmingham for Alabama gubernatorial candidate Bob Riley raised just over $4 million.  Vice President Dick Cheney was equally active on the fundraising trail.  Many of these trips included a mix of official business and political fundraising.  Typically, Bush delivered a 30-minute "policy" speech, comprising the official part of the trip, and then he went on to a downtown hotel for the fundraiser.  After a photo session with the biggest donors, Bush delivered remarks at the reception or event.  All told he was on the ground for a matter of hours.  Because of the official business component of the trip, taxpayers were left footing a significant bill to cover the costs of running Air Force One and providing security.  (Costs are apportioned according to a formula that has been used for a couple of decades).  By October the purely political nature of the trips was acknowledged and the campaigns and the party covered the travel costs more often.


Source: This list is based on information compiled by the Democratic National Committee from press accounts.  The information on each event was then independently cross-checked using Lexis-Nexis.  Dollar amounts are estimates from news accounts; for many or most events, there was a split with the money raised being divided between the candidate and the state party for get out the vote efforts.  For example, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, of $500,000 raised at the June 11, 2002 fundraiser in Kansas City, Missouri, 80 percent was to go to U.S. Senate candidate Jim Talent and the rest  to the Missouri GOP.  Information on the splits is shown, where available, in the table below
1. April 25, 2001 Little Rock, AR Tim Hutchinson (S) 
$     700,000
2. May 22, 2001 Washington, DC RNC
$23,900,000
3. June 21, 2001 Birmingham, AL Jeff Sessions (S)
$  1,600,000
4. June 27, 2001 Washington, DC NRCC and NRSC
$20,000,000
5. August 14, 2001 Denver, CO Wayne Allard (S) and Bill Owens (G)
$  1,400,000
6. August 15, 2001 Albuquerque, NM Pete Domenici (S)
$     450,000
2001 subtotal: $48,050,000
J A N U A R Y
7. January 9, 2002 Washington, DC Jeb Bush (G) and Florida GOP
$  1,000,000
F E B R U A R Y
8.
9.
February 6, 2002
two events
New York, NY George Pataki (G)
$  1,500,000
10. February 11, 2002 Milwaukee, WI Scott McCallum (G)
$  1,000,000
11. February 16, 2002 Anchorage, AK Alaska GOP
$     400,000
12. February 27, 2002 Charlotte, NC Elizabeth Dole (S), Robin Hayes (H) and North Carolina GOP
$  1,000,000
M A R C H
13. March 1, 2002 Des Moines, IA Tom Latham (H) and Iowa GOP
$     475,000
14. March 4, 2002 Minneapolis, MN Norm Coleman (S) and
Minnesota GOP
$  1,200,000
$     800,000
15. March 8, 2002 St. Petersburg, FL Florida GOP
$     500,000
16. March 12, 2002 Washington, DC KOMPAC (Hastert)
$     500,000
17. March 18, 2002 St. Louis, MO Missouri GOP and
Jim Talent (S)
$     850,000
$     550,000
18. March 27, 2002 Greenville, SC Lindsey Graham (S) and SC GOP
$  1,100,000
19. March 27, 2002 Atlanta, GA Saxby Chambliss (S) and GA GOP
$  1,400,000
20. March 28, 2002 Dallas, TX John Cornyn (S) and
Texas GOP
$  1,400,000
$     400,000
A P R I L
21. April 2, 2002 Philadelphia, PA Mike Fisher (G)
$  1,000,000
22. April 9, 2002 Greenwich, CT Connecticut GOP and
Nancy Johnson (H) and Rob Simmons (H)
$     500,000
$     250,000
23. April 15, 2002 Cedar Rapids, IA Greg Ganske (S)
$     500,000
24. April 24, 2002 Sioux Falls, SD John Thune (S)
$     350,000
April 26, 2002 Crawford, TX RNC donors event
25. April 29, 2002 Albuquerque, NM Heather Wilson (H) and
New Mexico GOP
$     400,000
$     100,000
26.
27.
April 29, 2002
April 30, 2002
Los Angeles, CA
Santa Clara, CA
Bill Simon (G)
$  2,700,000
$  1,800,000
M A Y
28. May 9, 2002 Washington, DC Ted Stevens (S)
$     750,000
29. May 10, 2002 Columbus, OH Bob Taft (G) $1.6
$  2,000,000
30. May 13, 2002 Chicago, IL Jim Ryan (G)
$  2,200,000
31. May 14, 2002 Washington, DC RNC
$30,000,000
32. May 20, 2002 Miami, FL x Florida GOP
$  2,000,000
J U N E
33. June 11, 2002 Kansas City, MO Jim Talent (S) and Missouri GOP
$   500,000
34. June 14, 2002 Houston, TX Rick Perry (G) and Texas GOP
$  2,000,000
35. June 19, 2002 Washington, DC NRCC and NRSC
$30,000,000
36. June 21, 2002 Orlando, FL Florida GOP
$  2,500,000
37. June 24, 2002 Newark, NJ Mike Ferguson (H)
$     700,000
38. June 28, 2002 Washington, DC Connie Morella (H)
$     400,000
J U L Y
39. July 11, 2002 Minneapolis, MN Norm Coleman (S), John Kline (H), Minnesota GOP and NRSC
$  1,200,000
40. July 15, 2002 Birmingham, AL Bob Riley (G)
$ 4,000,000
41. July 25, 2002 Greensboro, NC Elizabeth Dole (S) and North Carolina GOP
$     750,000
42. July 29, 2002 Charleston, SC Mark Sanford (G)
$  1,000,000
A U G U S T
43. August 3, 2002 Scarborough, ME Susan Collins (S) and
Maine GOP
$     100,000
$     200,000
44. August 5, 2002 Pittsburgh, PA Mike Fisher (G)
$  1,000,000
45. August 7, 2002 Jackson, MS Chip Pickering (H) and
Mississippi GOP
$     500,000
$     500,000
46. August 14, 2002 Milwaukee, WI Scott McCallum (G)
$     600,000
47. August 14, 2002 Des Moines, IA Doug Gross (G) and Iowa GOP
$  1,000,000
48. August 22, 2002 Portland, OR Gordon Smith (S) and 
Oregon GOP
$     350,000
$     650,000
49.
50.
51.
August 23, 2002
August 23, 2002
August 24, 2002
Stockton, CA
Dana Point, CA
Los Angeles,CA
Bill Simon (G) and 
California GOP
$  2,600,000
$     700,000
52. August 24, 2002 Las Cruces, NM John Sanchez (G) and 
Steve Pearce (H)
$     250,000
$     350,000
53. August 29, 2002 Oklahoma City James Inhofe (S) and Steve Largent (G)
$     500,000
54. August 29, 2002 Little Rock, AR Tim Hutchinson (S) and Arkansas GOP
$     600,000
S E P T E M B E R
55. September 5, 2002 Louisville, KY  -51 Ann Northrup (H)
$     450,000
$     100,000
56. September 5, 2002 South Bend, IN  -52 Chris Chocola (H) and 
Indiana GOP
$     330,000
$     220,000
57. September 16, 2002 Davenport, IA Jim Nussle (H)
$     225,000
58. September 17, 2002 Nashville, TN  -54 Lamar Alexander (G)   $113m
$  1,100,000
59. September 19, 2002 Washington, DC RGA
$  3,000,000
60. September 23, 2002 Trenton, NJ Doug Forrester (S) and New Jersey GOP
$  1,500,000
61. September 24, 2002 Washington, DC John Thune (S)
$     400,000
62. September 25, 2002 Washington, DC NRSC
$10,000,000
63. September 26, 2002 Houston, TX John Cornyn (S) and 
Texas GOP
$     500,000
$     600,000
64. September 27, 2002 Denver, CO Bob Beauprez (H) and Colorado GOP
$  1,700,000
65. September 27, 2002 Phoenix, AZ Matt Salmon (G), Rick Renzi (H) and Arizona GOP
$2,100,000
O C T O B E R
66. October 2, 2002 Baltimore, MD Bob Ehrlich (G)
$  1,800,000
67. October 4, 2002 Boston, MA Mitt Romney (G) and Mass. GOP
$  1,250,000
68. October 5, 2002 Manchester, NH  -62 New Hampshire GOP and 
John Sununu (S)
$     375,000
$     250,000
69. October 8, 2002 Knoxville, TN  -63 Van Hilleary (G) and 
TN GOP
$     750,000
$     250,000
70. October 14, 2002 Dearborn, MI MI GOP and
Thad McCotter (H)
$  1,000,000
$     400,000
71. October 17, 2002 Atlanta, GA Sonny Perdue (G) and Saxby Chambliss (S)
$     900,000
72. October 17, 2002 Daytona Beach, FL Florida GOP
$     900,000