When candidates for New Hampshire?s Second Congressional District filed reports with the Federal Election Commission last week, the public got a chance to examine each politician?s financial support. The candidates spent much of last week sparring over who had more New Hampshire donors. But the FEC reports cite Political Action Committees backing as well. NHPR?s Dan Gorenstein takes a closer look at which ?special interest? groups are investing in the race.
Before getting too deep into Political Action Committees, or PACs, a definition is needed. Steve Weiss is with the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign contributions.
1:23 ?It basically is the political arm of an organization, a labor, a business, or any other special interest that is set up to raise money from members?and then direct campaign contributions to members of Congress and to parties.
PACs can give a candidate only ten thousand per election cycle. That?s five thousand for a primary and five thousand for the general election. PACs also can give 15 thousand a year to political parties. And five thousand per year any other political action committee.
According to Weiss, this is typically the source of 40-45% of house members? money. To date, PAC money represents 41% of Republican Congressman Charlie Bass?s total contributions and 24% of Democratic challenger Katrina Swett?s. Weiss says the Political Action Committees aren?t making donations just for the health of American democracy.
21:06 what these interests groups want at a minimum is access to the candidate. They want an opportunity to meet with the candidate or the staff, saying this is what we want, here is what legislation we like, here is legislation we don?t like. It may or may not result in a vote from the candidate, but at least the group gets in to press their case with the candidate.
Both Bass and Swett insist, if elected, they won?t grant secial access to any group. But Weiss says after the election, PACs aggressively follow up on their investments. So he offers voters advice in the form of a few questoins.
19:55 ?who is investing in this candidate? Who are the special interests that are putting their money behind the candidate? And what do they want?
No matter what they want, and despite the fact PACs have contributed 188 thousand dollars to the Bass campaign, the four term Representatives says he has no idea who gives to his campaign.
4:15 ? I don?t sit there at the crack of dawn waiting to see you has contributed. I go about my job in the best way I can. Representing our country, there are a lot of people who support that record. I don?t preoccupy myself with trying to determine who they are. They are supporting me, I am not supporting them. I can supply you with a list.
But Bass admits he knows a few donors.
14:19 ?the chamber of commerce, the national federation of independent business, business like BAE, generally speaking, money comes from NH people, and NH workers?
Since the spring of 2001, most Bass PAC contributors come from out of state. A number of corporate PACs, however, like Verizon, Fleet Boston, and Northeast Utilities have business arms in the state. But quite a few PACs aren?t directly connected to the Granite State. Ford Motor Company, Duke Energy, El Paso Corporation and the Reynolds Tobacco Company, for example.
Steve Weiss at the Center for Responsive Politics isn?t surprised by the Congressman?s PAC list. He says Bass is raising money from industries that tend to give a lot.
10:34 it looks like Bass has raised 20 thousand from communications and electronics companies, specifically telephone utilities. He?s also got a lot from energy and natural resources, it makes sense given that he is on that committee in the house. Speciffically electrical utilities, have given him a significant amount. And he?s got a lot of money from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector. Commerical banks, in particular insurance companies, about 17 thousand, or more.
Katrina Swett isn?t a voting member of Congress, and doesn?t benefit from having a well-known platform. But she is the daughter of Tom Lantos, an 11-term US. Representative from California. She is also the wife of former New Hampshire Representative Dick Swett. The candidate says most of her 139 thousand dollars in PAC money has come from Political PACs, which have been established by people running for office.
3:53 the political pacs which are the ones we have gotten support from thus far, are former colleagues of Dick?s or current colleagues of Tom?s. So those might be, hey, my wife is running, we would love your support. The larger contributions tend to come from people in a leadership position, they know which are the targetable, doable races.
The Nashua Telegraph recently reported that Swett?s father sent money to at least three Congressional candidates. Those same candidates then sent the same sized contribution to the Swett campaign a few months later. Swett says it?s a political reality that many candidates will contribute to each other?s campaigns. And that her father has probably contributed to many campaigns that have not supported her. But to the Center for Responsive Politics? Steve Weiss, Swett?s PAC donors represent an implied message from her father.
15:36?It may not be said overtly, but he is certainly sending a message I am contributing to your campaign, use this money however you want, use it in your campaign, use it in a future campaign, but I also want you to know my daughter is running for Congress. And he might not say that at the time he makes the contribution, but the colleague gets the message.
But Swett says her support comes from people who agree with her politically.
21:39 I feel very good about accepting money from those folks who agree with the fundamental philosophy that I bring with me to representing NH, if they give me money, that?s great, but if they don?t give me a penny, they are still going to have my vote any way. I don?t have a conflict, or moral dilemma. Sig majority of my support has come from individual contributor.
For Representative Bass, it?s not the PACs that vote.
18:30?I vote the way I feel?what I feel is important for NH and the country, not in it for any other reason. I don?t step back from legitimate legal donations. These individuals and PACs support the same kind of issues I support. But the issue is they support me, not me supporting them
Neither Democrat Norm Jackman, or Republican Gene Douglass, both running for New Hampshire?s Second Congressional District have received any PAC contributions. For NHPR News, I?m DG.
