Welcome to the workin’ week!
Tag: Fundraising
SSP Daily Digest: 4/1 (Morning Edition)
The daily digest is so hunormous today that we had to CHOP IT IN HALF!
On the GOP side of things, John McCain says he raised $2.2 million in the first quarter and has $4.5m on hand. Primary opponent J.D. Hayworth, meanwhile, seems like he hasn’t been doing quite so hot on the money front.
Fundraising Quarter Ends in Ten Days!
{First, a quick plug for my blog Senate Guru.}
As we await the historic vote on health care reform, it’s important to remember that we’re just ten days away from the end of the first fundraising quarter of 2010. The fundraising totals reported in this quarter will be pivotal to determining the tenor of many races for the rest of the year. If there is any time to contribute, now is the time!
Please head over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and contribute whatever you are able to these terrific Democratic candidates for Senate.
Democrat | Currently At | End-of-Quarter Goal | Distance to Goal |
---|---|---|---|
Kendrick Meek | |||
Bill Halter | |||
Joe Sestak | |||
Paul Hodes | |||
Robin Carnahan |
Remember, the contribution you can make isn’t just a donation to a single candidate or political campaign. It’s an investment against Republican obstruction (and conservaDem enabling) and an investment toward achieving that more perfect union.
February Party Committee Fundraising Roundup
Love of money is the root of all evil. Here are the February fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (January numbers are here):
Committee | February Receipts | February Spent | Cash-on-Hand | CoH Change | Debt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DCCC | $4,353,273 | $2,857,374 | $19,817,659 | $1,495,898 | $666,667 |
NRCC | $5,082,175 | $3,150,852 | $6,064,250 | $1,931,323 | $0 |
DSCC | $4,000,000 | $2,700,000 | $14,300,000 | $1,349,746 | $417,000 |
NRSC | $4,640,000 | $2,200,000 | $12,860,000 | $2,228,689 | |
DNC | $7,422,413 | $6,887,993 | $10,738,876 | $534,419 | $3,715,977 |
RNC | $7,688,126 | $7,708,241 | $9,462,763 | ($20,114) | $0 |
Total Dem | $15,775,686 | $12,445,367 | $44,856,536 | $3,380,064 | $4,799,644 |
Total GOP | $17,410,302 | $13,059,093 | $28,387,013 | $4,139,898 | $0 |
Outraised across the board, and outraised overall for the third month in a row. At the end of November, Democrats had a $20 million cash advantage. Now that’s down to $16 million.
SSP Daily Digest: 3/19 (Afternoon Edition)
• CO-Sen: 50% is a totally arbitrary mark in the Colorado caucus straw poll, and doesn’t mean anything from a legal perspective, but Andrew Romanoff’s total has fallen below the magic mark as ballots keep getting counted. Romanoff’s at 49.9% to Michael Bennet’s 41.9% with 20 precincts left to be counted, which, in the battle of perceptions, takes a tiny bit of shiny luster off his victory.
• IA-Gov: Actually, maybe the departure of Jonathan Narcisse from the Democratic gubernatorial primary isn’t the good news for Chet Culver that it originally seemed. The gadflyish Narcisse has decided to run as an independent instead, and if he a) gets on the ballot and b) gets any votes, it seems likelier they might come from Culver’s column than that of the GOP nominee (although he does talk a lot of shrinking government, so who knows).
• MD-Gov: Prince George’s Co. Exec Wayne Curry has occasionally flirted publicly with the idea of a challenge to Martin O’Malley in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and he’s popping up with the idea again today. (O’Malley already faces a challenge from the right in the primary from former state Del. George Owings). Meanwhile, Dems are launching some pre-emptive salvos at possible GOP candidate Bob Ehrlich, accusing him of using employees at his law firm to do campaign work for him.
• NY-Gov, NY-Sen-B: Apparently there’s been some behind-the-scenes pressure on ex-Rep. Rick Lazio to get out of the GOP governor’s primary, where he’s aroused little enthusiasm despite having the field to himself for months, and into the Senate race instead — to clear the way for ostensibly prized recruit Steve Levy, the Suffolk Co. Exec who appears set to change parties and run as a Republican. Lazio says no way is he switching, though, assailing Levy as a liberal Democrat who called the stimulus package “manna from heaven.”
• AZ-03: The John McCain/J.D. Hayworth primary fight is turning into one of the main fracture lines in the primary further down the ballot to replace retiring GOP Rep. John Shadegg. Ex-state Sen. Jim Waring and Paradise Valley mayor Vernon Parker have both endorsed McCain, while former state Rep. Sam Crump backs Hayworth. Former state Sen. Pamela Gorman says she isn’t getting involved.
• GA-07: Looks like GOP state Rep. Clay Cox is sitting in the catbird’s seat, as far as replacing retiring Rep. John Linder. Not only did his main rival, state Sen. Don Balfour, drop out of the race (and out of politics altogether) yesterday, leaving Cox alone in the field, but now state Sen. David Shafer (who many initially expected to run to succeed Linder) gave Cox his endorsement.
• ID-01: This is terribly disappointing… ex-Rep. Bill Sali called a big press conference today, just before Idaho’s filing deadline, to announce something, hopefully another kamikaze run to get his House seat back. (Or why stop there? Why not a primary run against Mike Crapo?) Unfortunately, it was just to endorse state Rep. Raul Labrador in the primary.
• MA-09: Is Stephen Lynch opening himself up to a primary challenge? Despite meeting personally with President Obama, he says that he is “firmly a ‘no’ vote” on healthcare reform. Lynch has always received strong support from labor, but with unions whipping this vote with unusual fervor, perhaps things might change on that front. (D) Here’s one possible explanation for Lynch mugging for the cameras today… Lynch may be thinking about a challenge to Scott Brown in 2012; he sorta-deflected questions on that front.
• NC-08: Tim d’Annunzio, the self-funding Republican who gets treated as the frontrunner in the GOP field to challenge freshman Rep. Larry Kissell, just keeps on pulling hot-headed stunts that threaten his status as a credible candidate. D’Annunzio got into a physical confrontation with Republican state Rep. Justin Burr (no punching, just lots of poking) and then issued a press release attacking the state party chair, Tom Fetzer, for “coordinated personal attacks” in the wake of the incident.
• NY-24: Speaking of strategically-challenged “no” votes, it looks like the Working Families Party isn’t bluffing on its threats to cut loose Rep. Mike Arcuri. They’re actively recruiting a challenger to run against him on their own ballot line, and the SEIU is supportive of the effort.
• Fundraising: Here’s a really interesting chart, which plots the DW/Nominate scores (i.e. ideological position) of Congress members against what sectors of the economy their contributions come from. The results aren’t too surprising: motion pictures, professors, printing and publishing, public schools, and lawyers lean the most left (darned cultural elite!) and oil and gas, auto dealers, construction, energy production, and agriculture lean most right. Health care and real estate seem to be smack in the middle.
January Party Committee Fundraising Roundup
Everybody needs money. That’s why they call it money. Here are the January fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (December numbers are here):
Committee | January Receipts | January Spent | Cash-on-Hand | CoH Change | Debt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DCCC | $4,689,595 | $3,049,268 | $18,321,761 | $1,640,328 | $1,333,333 |
NRCC | $4,501,859 | $3,043,209 | $4,132,927 | $1,458,650 | $0 |
DSCC | $5,104,289 | $4,791,193 | $12,950,254 | $450,254 | $833,167 |
NRSC | $5,013,023 | $2,689,836 | $10,631,311 | $2,331,311 | $0 |
DNC | $9,189,882 | $7,629,473 | $10,204,457 | $1,521,120 | $4,681,829 |
RNC | $10,530,291 | $9,469,361 | $9,482,877 | $1,060,929 | $0 |
Total Dem | $18,983,766 | $15,469,934 | $41,476,471 | $3,611,701 | $6,848,330 |
Total GOP | $20,045,173 | $15,202,407 | $24,247,115 | $4,850,890 | $0 |
Like last month, the GOP once again outraises the Dems and narrows the cash-on-hand gap.
Once Again, Deadbeat Democrats Are Holding Out on the DCCC
I am really fucking sick of hearing this same tune every cycle:
Lawmakers with direct ties to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) operations say more members than usual are clinging to every dollar instead of paying their dues. …
[T]he committee is missing dues payments from a significant portion of the caucus.
Several of the missing members are virtually guaranteed to win reelection and are senior enough to have significant fundraising inroads.
Some of these members have a long history of stiffing the DCCC on their member dues.
There’s some pablum from Dem aides in the article trying to sugar-coat this, saying the DCCC is supposedly “right where it needs to be,” that some members like to pay in installments, etc. Whatever. In this cycle, no amount of money will be adequate. And as always, there are members who are just flat-out stiffing the D-Trip. The Hill has a partial list of the offenders:
Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (Wis.) has given $100,000 of the $500,000 in dues he owes for the 2010 cycle. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (N.Y.), who has the same dues goal, has given $150,000. Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (Mich.), whose dues were set at $250,000, has given the DCCC $45,000.
Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (Texas) has given even less – $50,000 of the $250,000 expected by the DCCC. And House Administration Committee Chairman Robert Brady (Pa.), whose seat is not considered vulnerable, has not transferred any of his campaign funds to the DCCC, according to the most recent dues report, out Jan. 21.
Memo to deadbeat Dems: If you want to be in the fucking minority next year, please hold on to your cash.
Retiring Dems Hoard $33 Million As Their Party Is in Need
There’s one silver lining for party committees when it comes to retirements: Departing incumbents typically have a bundle of scrilla saved up that they can, if they’re so inclined, donate in bulk to their party’s House and Senate campaign arms. (They can also make normal, FEC-limited donations to other campaigns, or give the money to charity.) With all the retirements on both sides, there’s a lot of money floating out there, so let’s take a look at who’s got the bucks.
First up, the House. We’ve compiled cash-on-hand figures for all members who are not running for re-election or have resigned this cycle, with one exception (more on that below):
District | Incumbent | Status | CoH |
---|---|---|---|
AL-07 | Artur Davis | Running for governor | $42,889 |
AR-01 | Marion Berry | Retiring | $572,803 |
AR-02 | Vic Snyder | Retiring | $4,182 |
CA-10 | Ellen Tauscher | Resigned | $0 |
CA-32 | Hilda Solis | Resigned | $227,097 |
CA-33 | Diane Watson | Retiring | $72,727 |
FL-19 | Robert Wexler | Resigned | $637,967 |
HI-01 | Neil Abercrombie | Running for governor | $453,188 |
IL-05 | Rahm Emanuel | Resigned | $1,179,094 |
KS-03 | Dennis Moore | Retiring | $443,115 |
RI-01 | Patrick Kennedy | Retiring | $451,740 |
TN-06 | Bart Gordon | Retiring | $1,239,633 |
TN-08 | John Tanner | Retiring | $1,421,767 |
WA-03 | Brian Baird | Retiring | $551,665 |
Total: | $7,297,867 |
We haven’t listed members running for Senate because they can (and generally do) transfer all of their House money over to their Senate campaigns. However, depending on state law, members running for other office (such as governor) may or may not be able to port over their House warchests. Two Dems fall into that category. As you can surmise from the CoH totals, Alabama law permitted Artur Davis to switch his federal money over to his state account.
Neil Abercrombie wasn’t so lucky. He had hoped to do the same, but a state committee barred him from doing so back in August. Abercrombie has managed to whittle his account down by half since then (he has refunded many of his donors’ contributions), but if he’s looking to do his colleagues in the House a solid, he can give the balance to the DCCC.
A special comment must be made here about ex-Rep. Robert Wexler, who announced back in October that he was stepping down from Congress in order to pursue other opportunities. At the end of September, Wexler had nearly a million dollars in the bank. Since then, he went on a $310,000 spending spree, rewarding consultants, pollsters, fundraisers, and other campaign associates with some very generous payments. Wexler did give a handful of donations to some of his former colleagues, but he failed to give a dime to the DCCC. Robert Wexler is shamefully letting his party down by not putting his ample campaign account to productive use at his party’s greatest hour of need. If he doesn’t want this to become a permanent black mark on his record, this attitude needs to change.
That said, let’s not let Rahm Emanuel off the hook, either – he’s hoarding over a million bucks in his dormant House account, no doubt waiting to use that nest egg for an eventual return to elected office. But if Rahm is serious about serving his President’s agenda, he might want to consider cutting a generous check to DCCC. In a year like this, we can’t afford to have guys like Rahm holding back. Does Rahm Emanuel even care about retaining control of the House of Representatives?
House Republicans:
District | Incumbent | Status | CoH |
---|---|---|---|
AZ-03 | John Shadegg | Retiring | $111,903 |
CA-19 | George Radanovich | Retiring | $192,558 |
FL-12 | Adam Putnam | Running for FL Ag. Comm’r | $38,289 |
FL-21 | Lincoln Diaz-Balart | Retiring | $259,473 |
GA-09 | Nathan Deal | Running for governor | $0 |
IN-04 | Steve Buyer | Retiring | $400,069 |
MI-02 | Peter Hoekstra | Running for governor | $33,385 |
MI-03 | Vern Ehlers | Retiring | $489,646 |
NY-23 | John McHugh | Resigned | $124,572 |
OK-05 | Mary Fallin | Running for governor | $84,084 |
SC-01 | Henry Brown | Retiring | $724,324 |
SC-03 | Gresham Barrett | Running for governor | $268,121 |
TN-03 | Zach Wamp | Running for governor | $222,931 |
Total: | $2,949,355 |
Republicans have slimmer pickings, but that still adds up to nearly $3 million that the NRCC would love to poach out of these idle accounts. Let’s hope these members take after Rahm!
Senate Dems:
State | Senator | Status | CoH |
---|---|---|---|
CO | Ken Salazar | Resigned | $1,320,792 |
CT | Chris Dodd | Retiring | $3,439,831 |
IL | Roland Burris | Retiring | $1,938 |
IN | Evan Bayh | Retiring | $12,987,399 |
ND | Byron Dorgan | Retiring | $4,226,616 |
NY | Hillary Clinton | Resigned | $3,637,036 |
Total: | $25,613,612 |
Yep – $25.6 million (including Clinton’s presidential account), with the biggest chunk of that coming from Evan Bayh. You’d think that Bayh, after putting his party in a bind with his surprise retirement decision, might feel compelled to share some of his resources to the DSCC, but the man is a notorious miser. Perhaps this time, though, he can be shamed into making a meaningful contribution to the Democratic cause.
Senate Republicans:
State | Senator | Status | CoH |
---|---|---|---|
FL | Resigned | Mel Martinez | $317,422 |
KS | Running for governor | Sam Brownback | $4,547 |
KY | Retiring | Jim Bunning | $422,122 |
MO | Retiring | Kit Bond | $575,860 |
NH | Retiring | Judd Gregg | $752,956 |
OH | Retiring | George Voinovich | $1,622,168 |
Total: | $3,695,075 |
While the Republicans have less to work with there, $3.7 million isn’t exactly chump change. The bottom line, though, is that Democrats are facing an incredibly tough election environment, and departing House & Senate Dems are sitting on an enormous $33 million stockpile. They need to help their party now.
4Q House Fundraising Reports Roundup
We were a bit delayed in getting this chart out, but here it is — a roundup of all the noteworthy fourth quarter fundraising numbers for House incumbents and challengers. (3Q numbers are here.)
December Party Committee Fundraising Roundup
If I had a dollar for every time…. Here are the December fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (November numbers are here):
Committee | December Receipts | December Spent | Cash-on-Hand | CoH Change | Debt |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DCCC | $3,814,572 | $2,485,106 | $16,681,433 | $1,329,466 | $2,000,000 |
NRCC | $3,214,159 | $4,887,837 | $2,674,277 | ($1,673,679) | $0 |
DSCC | $3,400,000 | $2,600,000 | $12,500,000 | $600,000 | $1,250,000 |
NRSC | $4,100,000 | $3,100,000 | $8,300,000 | $1,000,000 | $0 |
DNC | $4,536,164 | $9,058,004 | $8,683,337 | ($4,503,910) | $4,699,610 |
RNC | $6,844,861 | $7,172,005 | $8,421,948 | ($327,144) | $0 |
Total Dem | $11,750,736 | $14,143,110 | $37,864,770 | ($2,574,444) | $7,949,610 |
Total GOP | $14,159,020 | $15,159,842 | $19,396,225 | ($1,000,823) | $0 |
Heavy spending by many of the committees leaves both sides with lighter wallets as of December 31st, but moreso for Democrats than Republicans. The DNC gets whooped yet again, and even the NRSC edges the DSCC. All three Dem committees paid down some debt, but the NRCC managed to wipe out all of the $2 million it owed. Feisty creditors, or expectations that good times are about to roll?