Herman Cain may never be able to match Mitt Romney’s giant fundraising numbers, but he can at least try to spin his rival’s big money into an attack.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet The 2012 GOPers: Mitt Romney]
His latest ad, a Mastercard parody titled “Priceless,” begins with news stories about a Romney event in which he claimed to raise over $10 million as well as reports that President Obama could raise $1 billion for his re-election. It contrasts them with Cain’s “priceless” ability to turn out people for events — his campaign claims 15,000 were at his Atlanta announcement in June.
The message is clear: Romney and Obama are the establishment candidates backed by wealthy interests, but Cain is the voice of the Tea Party grassroots. Still, the ad draws attention to Cain’s one of biggest weaknesses so far: his popularity with conservative activists hasn’t moved them to open their wallets.
Romney raised about $18.25 million in the first quarter of the race to lead the field and has additional help from a Super PAC loyal to his campaign. The Obama campaign announced an $86 million quarter including the DNC’s fundraising totals on Wednesday. Cain raised about $2.5 million.
