Bush Raking It in as Kerry Gets Group’s Help

President Bush continued to build his record-setting campaign war chest with an infusion of $13.8 million in February, bringing the total take by his reelection committee to $159.4 million, according to a report filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission.

Democratic challenger John F. Kerry’s finances are likely to be clarified today with the expected filing of his campaign finance report.

An independent group also disclosed contributions Friday that Democrats hope will help Kerry close the gap with the incumbent. The Washington-based Media Fund said it had raised at least $3.4 million since November for ads to back Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, in battleground states.

Of that total, $1 million each came from Ohio business executive Peter Lewis and Hollywood executive Steve Bing. Other donors to the Media Fund included actors Paul Newman, $25,000; Kevin Bacon, $7,500; and Chevy Chase, $2,500.

Individual donors can give unlimited amounts to the Media Fund and other independent groups, in contrast to the $2,000 limit when they give directly to a candidate.

Some campaign reform activists and legislators have bemoaned the growth of so-called 527 committees -- named for the income tax code that regulates them.

They say that donors who give to the groups can evade restrictions imposed under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

The independent groups will only inflate an expensive campaign already projected to cost close to half a billion dollars. That includes $75 million that both Bush and Kerry are due to receive from the public financing system after their party conventions.

Bush had $110 million left in the bank at the end of February, before he began a major television advertising campaign in states that are expected to be tightly contested. That spending will be detailed in the March finance reports, to be released about a month from now.

Individuals who work in financial services were among the biggest donors to the president’s campaign last month, according to an analysis by Dwight L. Morris & Associates, a firm that reviews contribution reports for The Times.

Generating the most money for Bush were employees at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS Financial Services Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Associated Press contributed to this report.