Our devoted friends at the Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org) have updated their site with the second quarter congressional fund raising reports.
A list of all Pennsylvania congressional races is here.
Taking a closer look at some of the races I've been following we find:
6th district (incumbent Republican Jim Gerlach, Democratic challenger Lois Murphy)
Gerlach raised 2,236,293, has $1,302,975 cash on hand
Murphy raised 2,068,584, has $1,402,793 cash on hand
contributions from individuals vs pacs: Gerlach 40% vs 53%; Murphy 80% vs 19%
in state vs out of state: Gerlach 83% vs 18%; Murphy 62% vs 38%
For all Gerlach's posturing that Murphy gets a lot of special interest money, he took in $343,370 from ideological contributions, Murphy $142,325. Gerlach took in $237,393 from leadership PACS, Murphy $56,750.
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7th district (incumbent Republican Curt Weldon, Democratic challenger Joe Sestak)
Weldon raised $1,411,690, has $1,152,012 cash on hand
Sestak raised $1,131,769, has $993,746 cash on hand
contributions from individuals vs pacs: Weldon 56% vs 40%; Sestak 82% vs 17%
in state vs out of state: Weldon 56% vs 44%; Sestak 62% vs 38%
Weldon's top donating areas by far are defense and single issue/ideology; he accepted $117,000 from leadership PACS. Sestak's high areas are lawyers/lobbyists and "other." He also has a fair amount of labor money.
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8th district (incumbent Republican Mike Fitzpatrick, Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy)
Fitzpatrick raised $2,074,707, has $1,133,180 cash on hand
Murphy raised $960,680, has $495,236 cash on hand
contributions from individuals vs pacs: Fitzpatrick 42% vs 47%; Murphy 87% vs 13%
in state vs out of state: Fitzpatrick 81% vs 19%; Murphy 73% vs 27%
Fitzpatrick took in $285,598 from ideological sources, Murphy $22,050. Fitzpatrick took in more donations from finance/insurance/real estate and ideology/single issue sources than from other areas. For Murphy finance/insurance/real estate and lawyers/lobbyists were the high donating areas. Fitzpatrick took in $182,471 from leadership pacs.
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13th district (incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz, Republic challenger Raj Bhakta)
This one is so lopsided, just take my word for it that Schwartz took in a lot of money and Bhakta not much. For what he took in he spent a lot and is left with $28,352 on hand, compared to her $1,491.276. Also, 82% of his money came from out of state. She gets very little from single-issue/ideology sources and leadership PACS are not listed in her top industries. I would link to her campaign site but even with all that money she seems to have trouble paying someone to put any content there or keep it up.
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10th district (incumbent Republican Don Sherwood, Democratic challenger Chris Carney).
Just a quick look -- Sherwood has $479,134 on hand, Carney $301,245. Wow!
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Closing thoughts:
Lois Murphy has more on hand than Gerlach. Weldon and Sestak are about tied. Patrick Murphy has about half what Fitzpatrick does.
I note that the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) made significant donations to Lois Murphy, Allyson Schwartz, and Mike Fitzpatrick (!). Which of these things doesn't belong here? What gives, Johnny Doc? (Note: checking the fec reports at www.fec.gov I see that an IBEW committee did donate to Patrick Murphy but not as much as the IBEW gave to Fitzpatrick.) Also odd, opensecrets lists a $5,000 Forward Together PAC donation to Sestak but not one of the same amount to Patrick Murphy. I've had to edit this post after double checking the fec reports. Very annoying.
[Update -- To clarify, opensecrets lists a Forward Together donation to Sestak but not to Patrick Murphy. However, if you review his itemized report at www.fec.gov you do see a Forward Together donation. I don't know why opensecrets listed one and not the other.]
Monday, July 17, 2006
Congressional Fund Raising Round Up
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2 comments:
Not sure where you're looking, but listed among Patrick Murphy's 2Q itemized receipts is a $5K contribution from Forward Together dated 6/30/06.
That said, I'm still afraid that when push comes to shove, the national D's will look at two Philly 'burb wins as a major achievement, put all of their chips into the 6th and the 7th as the best way to achieve that result, and cut Mr. Murphy. While an understandable strategy, it would be a shame, as he has done some very creative things during his campaign.
That hasn't happened yet, though - and may never happen. So, for now, if you need something to get really annoyed about, look no further than the National Education Association, which, in a move presumably designed to highlight the obsolescence of itself and similarly myopic single issue advocacy groups, endorsed Jim Gerlach for reelection to the U.S. House.
As for Allyson - I guess the two paid staffers aren't up on how to add Web content. Are there any interns that could help out? There is a $3K expenditure this quarter to a Web design company. Ultimately, though, there aren't many people like us eager for new campaign Web content - especially in a race that is an absolute joke.
Also, to address one of your "sore points" from a while back - Schwartz contributed $78K in the second quarter to various Democratic campaign entities, including $52.5K to the DCCC, $10K to the Philly Dems, $5K to MCDC, and $2K each to Joe Sestak, Patrick Murphy, and Chris Carney. These contributions represented over 42% of her total expenditures during 2Q.
LI,
I had originally said that it didnt' look like Forward Together PAC had donated to Murphy's campaign but after reviewing the FEC's data the donation IS listed. I'm not sure why open secrets listed Sestak's Forward Together donation and not Murphy's.
I also noticed Schwartz's regional donations and am glad to see it. However, I'm on her campaign email list and a few months ago she sent around an email asking people to donate to one of ten candidates, none of whom were in PA. At the end of every quarter she also sends around a please donate email, and everyone does that I know, but her last one included this paragraph:
"My opponent has made clear his support of the Congressional Republican Majority and President Bush. He would join them in supporting their extreme conservative policies that have failed everyday Americans."
When he doesn't really have a chance at winning and she's raising money for people out of state I'm disinclined to donate to her campaign. Especially if she won't even set up a campaign web site. To me that's a clear indication that her priorities are elsewhere.
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