Going It Alone

Connally refuses federal funds

John Connally may not be able to lift his standings in the polls, but there is one thing he can raise: money. He has already gleaned approximately $8 million, far more than any G.O.P. rival and about $2.2 million more than Ronald Reagan, the Republican front runner. Last week Connally took the unprecedented step for a major candidate of announcing that he would not accept federal matching funds, which are designed to ease and equalize the costs of campaigning in the primaries. Connally will be giving up some $3 million in grants, but figures that the price will be well worth it. Unlike the subsidized candidates, who are allowed I at present to raise only $15.8 million on their own, Connally will have no limits on the amounts he can solicit. More important, subsidized candidates will be allowed to spend only a certain amount in each state, e.g., $264,000 in New Hampshire, $1,351,000 in Florida. Connally needs to score big in the early primaries. He plans to pour money into Florida and other Southern states where he has regional appeal, and to buy as much TV time as possible in the hot primary season from January through March.

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