Kerry Mortgages House for Campaign Funds

Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said, ”Senator Kerry has fulfilled his promise to invest in his own campaign.”

“This is a clear statement by John Kerry — he is in the race to win the nomination and defeat George Bush.”

Kerry will reportedly seek a mortgage on his half of a $10 million Boston town home that he owns jointly with wife and millionaire heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry. The mortgage would be worth around $5 million.

Teresa Heinz Kerry is worth an estimated $500 million that she received when her late husband, senator and ketchup fortune scion John Heinz, R-Pa., died in a plane crash in 1991. Most of Teresa Heinz Kerry’s fortune is reportedly held in trusts that are solely in her name. Under current campaign finance law, that money is unavailable to Senator Kerry for use as campaign funding.

Early in the campaign Senator Kerry declined public “matching” funds that would have also limited the amount of money he is allowed to raise. Kerry’s fundraising, however, has reportedly fallen short of what he expects he will need to remain in serious contention for the Democratic nomination.

Under the matching funds law, candidates receive government-paid matching funds on the first $250 of every donation but must limit their overall spending to $46 million.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign financing, Kerry had $7.94 million on hand at the beginning of October. As of that time, Kerry had raised around $20 million total, but had spent about $12 million.

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Kerry is expected to raise $1 million or $2 million during the final quarter of 2003, falling short of what he will need to run a strong campaign as crucial early states like Iowa and New Hampshire hold their primary elections in January.