Financing midterm elections

Story by Manuel Quinones, CNC News

While politicians are barnstorming their state looking for votes, they’re also getting big bucks from around the country. Advocates say constituents need to be vigilant about the reason behind those out-of-state donations.

The money comes from places like New York, California and, of course, Washington, DC.

“I think most candidates for office raise money wherever they can,” said Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO).

Polis counts folks from around the country as donors. A recent report shows more than half of this year’s individual donations to his campaign above $200 have come from outside Colorado.

“There are a lot of Federal constituencies, the environmental movement, the pro-choice movement nationally, and they know that races in Colorado are critical,” Polis said.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) landed only about 20% of the same kind of out-of-state donations.

“Anyone who wants to support the values that I’m voting for — limited government, less spending, a strong defense — they’re welcome to contribute to me whether they’re inside Colorado, outside Colorado,” Lamborn said.

Senators usually face more expensive races and larger constituencies. About 65% of Sen. Mark Udall’s (D-CO) individual donations above $200 are not from people in Colorado.

“The cost of statewide campaigns are such now that you have to reach outside your home state almost without exception,” Udall said. “In the end, though, as I did in my campaign the records are fully available to the public to study.”

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) is fighting to keep his seat in Washington. This year, he’s received about $400,000 from the Washington and New York City areas.

Challenger Jane Norton is also playing the game. She’s gotten at least $70,000 from the Washington area. That’s only counting individual donations and not Political Action Committees.

Advocates say influential or prominent politicians often get money from people wanting them to push a certain agenda in Congress.

“There’s nothing inherently wrong with somebody getting out of state contributions but you really have to take a look at them and wonder why,” said Melanie Sloan with the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “What are the donors getting in return for those contributions because they are not just getting mere constituent services?”

Even with disclosure rules, the money trail is not always easy to track. That’s why the Center for Responsive Politics crunches the numbers. Dave Levinthal says a lot of the money candidates raise comes from one zip code.

“It’s 20005. Well, what’s there? All the lobbyists in Washington or it’s a New York City zip code,” Levinthal said. “Or it’s a zip code from another place where they have had a big fundraiser where they know a lot of rich, wealthy, influential people.”

Lamborn hosted a series of breakfast fundraisers on Capitol Hill this year. Polis headlined Washington events for the Jared Polis Victory Fund, which helps fund other Democrats.  Still, Polis supports tougher rules.

“I favor a kind of public financing of campaigns … campaign finance reform that would help get some of that big money out of politics,” Polis said.  “But until that occurs, it should not be a surprise to anybody that a lot of contributions come into Colorado from out of state.”

Republican Mike Coffman (CO) said he focuses on in-state fund raising and also supports tougher campaign finance requirements. But Lamborn remains skeptical of any more rules. He said he thinks people should be able to donate to whoever they want.

“Oh gosh we have tons of regulations right now, in fact so many regulations right now it’s hard to keep track of them,” Lamborn said. “I’m not sure we need to add more on top of that.”

Either way, out-of-state dollars and fundraisers have become a staple of Congressional campaigns. Some lawmakers get the vast majority of their cash from folks who are not their constituents. And it’s unlikely the dynamic will change if races keep getting more expensive and more contentious.

Created by Bureau Chief and Executive Producer Melinda Wittstock, Capitol News Connection from PRI provides insightful, localized coverage of participating stations’ congressional delegations.

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