Candidates finding creative ways to keep donors giving

WASHINGTON -- From a Rolling Stones concert to a Spike Lee movie screening and personal calls from former President Clinton, campaigns are pulling out the stops to keep donors giving in the final days before the election.

But whatever creative techniques candidates try to solicit checks at the end of this two-year fund-raising season, they seldom matter more than who's doing the asking, said Robert Farmer, a veteran Democrat working with Sen. John Kerry's campaign.

Farmer offered a sample of the sales pitch he is giving to potential donors over the phone and in person to help Kerry, a potential 2004 presidential candidate, raise money for fellow Democrats:

"The races are going to be very close in a few days and Senator Kerry has been asked by many of the party leaders and various candidates to be of help, and the only way he can be of help is if somebody such as yourself is willing to write a big check," Farmer said.

All of the Democrats considering challenging President Bush in 2004 are making fund-raising calls for fellow Democrats, and Clinton and party chairman Terry McAuliffe, too, have been working the phones, asking donors "to stretch and do what they can," he said.

Star politicians aren't the only big names campaigns are tapping as Election Day nears.

Rep. Charles Rangel, a New York Democrat, sent out a recent invitation urging supporters to attend his fund raiser. The bait: a screening of Lee's "We Wuz Robbed" and performances by Ben E. King and Cissy Houston.

Last month, Virginia Rep. Tom Davis, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, invited donors who contributed $5,000 or more to join him at a Rolling Stones concert at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.