WASHINGTON -- John McCain faces a problem as he tries to close a deep fund-raising deficit against the two Democratic candidates for president: Both have been cleaning his clock among business interests that give mainly to Republicans.
Of seven major industries that have been the most reliable Republican resources, Sen. McCain has beaten Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama in only one, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan organization. Even that one, transportation, is a close call. Among the seven combined, the expected Republican nominee raised $13.1 million through February, compared with $22.5 million for Sen. Obama and $27.1 million for Sen. Clinton.
The Republican standard-bearer's attempt to claw back financial support from the GOP's business base could be a pivotal factor in determining the outcome of the presidential race. Employees of financial-services, insurance and real-estate companies so far have donated to Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain by almost two-to-one -- and favored Sen. Clinton by even more. Health-care and pharmaceutical firms have given three times as much to each of the two Democrats as to Sen. McCain. Defense firms put Sen. McCain ahead of Sen. Obama, but behind Sen. Clinton. Energy, construction and agribusiness firms have given more to both Democrats.
In February, as Sen. McCain neared a lock on the nomination, he showed signs of a fund-raising recovery among those industries. A Wall Street Journal analysis of campaign-finance reports shows that he raised far more from energy firms in February than either Democratic rival, cutting into his deficit there. He outraised Sen. Clinton among employees of finance, insurance and real-estate firms, though he fell short of Sen. Obama's total during that month, the latest available. In agriculture, Sen. McCain outraised Sen. Clinton and fell just $1,000 short of tying Sen. Obama......
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