Senator John Kerry Takes a Mortgage of $6 Million on His House

By GLEN JUSTICE

December 24, 2003

WASHINGTON

The money will allow Mr. Kerry, who is lagging behind Howard Dean in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, to spend more in those crucial states, where he must have a strong showing to sustain his campaign. Advertisement

"Senator Kerry's personal commitment to the race is unquestioned," his campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill, said in a statement confirming that he planned to lend his campaign more than $6 million.

Mr. Kerry joined Dr. Dean and President Bush in declining public financing this year, a move that allows the candidates to ignore the $45 million overall spending limit in the primaries and exceed the spending limits in each state. Mr. Kerry has agreed to abide by the overall spending limit but has made no such promise on the limits in individual states.

Mr. Kerry is the first presidential hopeful to put a large amount of his own money in the race next year, a move he foreshadowed when he declined public financing. Last week, the senator said he had lent his campaign $850,000 in borrowed money even before taking out the mortgage. An aide said Mr. Kerry might add more money to his campaign.

Mr. Kerry's infusion could help him offset the financial advantage that competitors like Dr. Dean are expected to have because of their strong fund-raising in the fourth quarter. Campaign finance experts said they expected that donations to Mr. Kerry might have slowed in the final quarter of the year because of his decline in some polls.

"He lost momentum in the fourth quarter, and he's still had a political operation to finance," Jan Witold Baran, a Republican campaign finance lawyer, said. "He'll need the money to sustain himself over the next six weeks."

Mr. Kerry's aides declined to predict how much he would bring in by Dec. 31. The nine Democratic contenders for their party's nomination are trying to take as much money as they can into 2004. Throughout December, they have been pushing fund-raising.

Dr. Dean and Gen. Wesley K. Clark are expected to raise at least $10 million, and probably more, in the fourth quarter, aides said. The numbers will not be officially reported until late January.

In giving his money to the campaign, Mr. Kerry can access just assets he owns or holds jointly with his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, whose fortune is estimated at $500 million. She cannot legally contribute more than $2,000 to his campaign or pay off his loans. But she can make independent expenditures on his behalf, as long as she does not coordinate with him or the campaign...

This excerpt from NY times artilce dated 12/24/2003