Call it the Fundraiser's Dilemma.
In game theory, the prisoner's dilemma is what happens when two suspects have to decide how much information to tell authorities.
If both suspects keep quiet, they'll go free. But if one comes clean, he'll get a lesser sentence while the other will heads to prison.
The equivalent situation comes up when political campaigns finish counting the donations but have not yet turned them in.
Since they usually don't know how much the other campaign raised, fundraisers struggle with when to release their figures.
If they go first, they risk being quickly topped by a higher number from the other campaign. That could dampen ongoing efforts to raise money.
But if they in fact raised more, they'll get positive press coverage, have an easier time lining up support and—most importantly—raise even more money by announcing their results.
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