Fundraising

Seals Outpacing Kirk In Home Stretch Fundraising

Josh Kalven — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:58:31 -0700

In the first 15 days of October, Democratic challenger Dan Seals outpaced GOP Rep. Mark Kirk in fundraising by more than $100,000. According to his "pre-general" Federal Election Commission filing, Seals raised $233,000 during this brief period, retaining $269,000 cash-on-hand. Meanwhile, Kirk raised $127,000 and was left with $885,000 cash-on-hand.

Seals is also benefiting from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's huge, last-minute advertising buy in the district. The Swing State Project recently reported that, on October 28, the DCCC dropped $957,000 on the race.

Ozinga Goes On Self-Funding Spree

Josh Kalven — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:02:35 -0700

GOP congressional candidate Marty Ozinga had loaned $320,000 of his own money to his 11th District campaign by the end of the third quarter. Campaign finance reports show that, in the month since, he has given an additional $250,000 to the effort, bringing his total personal contribution to $570,000 this election year. This amount flies in the face of Ozinga's statement in September that he wouldn't be "writing big checks for my own campaign. I just don't believe in that."

It also begs the queston: if the Supreme Court had not struck down the Millionaire's Amendment earlier this year, would Democrat Debbie Halvorson now be able to raise some last-minute funds from her maxed-out donors?

First some background.

After Tim Baldermann bowed out of the race shortly after winning the GOP primary, many surmised that the county chairmen in charge of choosing a replacement would pick the wealthy Ozinga due to his ability to self-fund. But once tapped as the Republican candidate, Ozinga tamped down those expectations, telling the Tribune on May 1 that he would not spend more than $350,000.

At the time, crossing that $350,000 threshold triggered the Millionaire's Amendment, which -- depending on certain conditions -- could have potentially tripled (from $2,300 to $6,900) the maximum individual contribution to his opponents. In June, however, t he Supreme Court struck down that particular law. When Tribune reporter David Mendell asked whether the ruling changed Ozinga's gameplan, campaign manager Andy Sere didn't necessarilly rule out exceeding the $350,000 mark. "He's not planning to spend a ton of money out of his pocket," Sere said. "[H]e has not made a decision on how much exactly he is going to spend."

Then, appearing before the Tribune editorial board this fall, Ozinga declared: "I won't be writing big checks for my own campaign. I just don't believe in that." Watch it:

As of September 29 -- the date of the editorial board meeting -- Ozinga had only loaned his campaign $220,000.* During the following month, he handed over an additional $250,000. In a press release yesterday, the Halvorson campaign asked this apt question: "If that's not a 'big check' to millionaire Marty Ozinga ... what is?" The campaign also pointed out that Ozinga had said "I still feel middle class" during that same Tribune meeting.

So would Ozinga's personal loans have triggered the Millionaire's Amendment, allowing donors to triple their maximum contributions to Halvorson? Yes. But the threshold in this case would have been $554,000 -- not $350,000. This is because the formula for the now-defunct amendment takes into account any disparity in fundraising early in the election year. Halvorson had raised $408,000 by January 31 and Ozinga nothing (he wouldn't become a candidate until months later), so the $350,000 threshold would have been raised by half that amount -- to $554,000.

Would the increased contirbution limits have made a difference in the final week of the campaign? Perhaps. As of October 15, the two campaigns were pretty evenly matched in terms of cash-on-hand (Ozinga with $206,000, Halvorson with $237,000). She could have made an instant appeal to her maxed-out donors and maybe covered some additional advertising before Election Day.

Would that have really been necessary at this point? With recent polls showing Halvorson ahead by double digits, probably not. But we'll find out for sure on Election Day.

*CORRECTION: This post originally stated that, as of September 29, Ozinga had loaned his campaign only $70,000. In fact, at that time he had loaned himself $220,000.

Third Quarter Fundraising Figures

Josh Kalven — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:11:56 -0700

Yesterday, marked the deadline for congressional candidates to file their quarterly fundraising reports. As in the first and second quarters, we've compiled the figures in the table below.

NOTE: The amount raised column in this table includes total contributions plus transfers from other political committees.

In most of the races, the fundraising dynamic looks much the same as last quarter. Reps. Bean and Roskam, as well as GOP challenger Aaron Schock, continue to significantly outraise their opponents. In the 10th District, Dan Seals posted another round of impressive numbers -- the highest of any Democratic U.S House candidate in the state -- but still not quite enough to keep pace with Rep. Kirk. Again, Scott Harper is nipping at the heels of 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert.

The 11th District numbers are one of the few surprises. In the second quarter, Republican Marty Ozinga impressed a lot of observers with his $800K haul. This time around, Democrat Debbie Halvorson regained control of the money game by raising $577,000 to his $312,000. In order to keep his cash-on-hand in the black, Ozinga also loaned his campaign $250,000 of his own money -- bringing his total personal contribution this cycle to $320,000.

Another eyebrow-raiser was Jim Oberweis' absolutely dismal performance in the 14th District, where he didn't even manage to raise $100K. It seems fair to say that, despite his charm offensive, Republicans have given up on the ice cream man. But considering he loaned the campaign half-a-million dollars last quarter, it seems he hasn't lost faith in himself.

Seals Raises $700,000 In 3rd Quarter

Josh Kalven — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:07:12 -0700

After GOP Rep. Mark Kirk last week reported raising $850,000 during the third quarter, Democratic challenger Dan Seals announced some impressive numbers of his own this morning. From a press release:

Today, Democratic Congressional Candidate Dan Seals' campaign reported that it had raised over $700,000 in the 3rd financial quarter, posting their strongest quarterly numbers yet. While Mark Kirk's fundraising stalled—he reported raising less than he had during the 2nd financial quarter—Seals' campaign fundraising continued to build momentum, raising approximately $70,000 more than he had in the previous 3 month period.

On the tails of the Research 2000 poll released yesterday showing a six-point race, the Seals campaign has to be feeling pretty good today.

DCCC Notices Harper Fundraising

Josh Kalven — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:43:28 -0700

We noted on Wednesday that Democratic congressional candidate Scott Harper's fundraising during the 2nd quarter was sure to raise eyebrows in the 13th District and beyond. Indeed, after hearing the news that Harper kept pace with GOP Rep. Judy Biggert -- raising $228,000 to her $240,000 -- the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released this statement:

"Illinois voters have had enough of out of touch politicians like Congresswoman Biggert who rubber stamps President Bush’s failed agenda and is beholden to special interests. During these tough economic times, Scott Harper is winning over middle class families with his message of bringing people together to end our dependence on foreign oil, create jobs and deliver change."

The Harper campaign also sent out a memo featuring some interesting breakdowns of his fundraising totals, as well as some historical perspective:

- Harper raised $185,000 from individual contributors, which was a $55,000 advantage over Biggert.

- Harper had already raised more by the end of March than any Democratic candidate here has ever raised for an entire cycle.

- Scott has already raised more than the combined cycle totals of the last four Democratic candidates.

- Harper has received individual contributes from 732 donors compared to Biggert’s 534.

As we reported back in April, Biggert is on the DCCC's list of "targeted Republicans."

Seals Raises $635,000 In Second Quarter (UPDATED)

Adam Doster — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:17:53 -0700

Could it be that many 10th Congressional District voters are starting to sour on GOP Rep. Mark Kirk and his repeated lies and distortions? In an email to supporters, Democratic challenger Dan Seals reported today that his campaign raised $635,000 from over 2,000 contributors in the second quarter, a personal record for the North Shore Democrat. The numbers are even more encouraging when compared to the second quarter of his 2006 bid for the 10th District seat, when he raised $391,250. From the release:

"Dan's message of bringing change to Washington continues to build unprecedented momentum across the 10th district," Seals Campaign Manager Patrick Mogge said. "While Mark Kirk has relied on playing the fear card against Dan and Barack Obama, 10th district voters have turned out in overwhelming numbers to volunteer and contribute to Dan's campaign to show that they are fed up with this type of politics. Like Dan, they know our country can do better and that it is time for a new direction in Washington."

Seals has raised approximately $2.1 million during the 2008 cycle, more than he did during his entire 2006 campaign for Congress.

UPDATED (7/8): Yikes. Kirk's second quarter numbers came out today. He raised $900,000 and has $2.85 million cash on hand.

Obama Officially Opts Out Of Public Financing

Josh Kalven — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:56:09 -0700

This morning, the Obama campaign released the following video, in which Barack explains their decision to forgo public financing in the general election:

This decision isn't at all surprising. I don't think anyone thought Obama was going to retire his truly remarkable fundraising apparatus at this juncture. But what we get to see here is how the campaign plans to frame this decision in the face of impending criticism from McCain: "Declare your independence from this broken system and let’s build the first general election campaign that’s truly funded by the American people."

The Millionaires' Amendment

Adam Doster — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:56:04 -0700

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a legal challenge to the Millionaires' Amendment, a section of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill that loosens fundraising limits for opponents of wealthy candidates who cut big checks to their own campaigns.

Jack Davis, a Democratic businessman who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in upstate New York last cycle, is challenging the provision, suggesting that the law violates his First Amendment and equal protection rights and deters wealthy people from running for office.

Many Republicans at both the state and national level would likely be thrilled to see the law overturned. Struggling to keep up in fundraising, they've turned to millionaire self-funders with increasing frequency; here in Illinois, Steve Sauerberg, Jim Oberweis, Steve Greenberg, and Marty Ozinga are all great examples. In the 14th Congressional District, Oberweis did his best to sidestep the campaign finance law during his special election race against Bill Foster, even though his campaign claimed unintentional errors accounted for the misunderstanding.

But if I was working at the NRCC, I wouldn't hold my breath. It will be pretty shocking if Davis wins his appeal, considering that his claims don't hold up under serious scrutiny. Look no further than this editorial in The New York Times today:

These claims are baseless. As the three-judge court that initially heard the case noted, the millionaires’ amendment does not deprive anyone of free-speech rights or the ability to spend money to run for office. Mr. Davis was able to spend as much of his own fortune as he wanted. The amendment simply adds to the total amount of speech by making it easier for less-wealthy candidates to be heard.

There is also no sign that the amendment is discouraging the wealthy from running or spending. The very rich are represented in Congress in large numbers. Contrary to Mr. Davis’s claims of “chilling,” the number of candidates who spent more than $1 million of their own money actually increased after the amendment took effect. It is now common for party recruiters to seek out “self-financing” — or wealthy — candidates.

The appeal is so one-sided that even the Bush Administration agrees that the provision is a "modest and constitutionally appropriate attempt to counteract the perception that a candidate who is wealthy enough can buy a seat in Congress." And that's saying something.

First Quarter Fundraising Figures

Josh Kalven — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:22:07 -0700

In the past week, we've reported on the trickle of first quarter fundraising numbers in Illinois' most competitive congressional races. Now that the filing deadline has passed and the Federal Election Commission has had a few days to catch up, all the numbers are available for the period beginning January 17 and ending March 31. We've compiled them in the table below:

Seals Keeps Pace with Kirk in First Quarter

Mose Buchele — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:29:56 -0700

10th District Congressman Mark Kirk boasts of his title as "Top GOP Fundraiser in the Nation" on his campaign website. Considering his apparent fundraising prowess, it's impressive to see that Democratic challenger Dan Seals is keeping pace.

Statements released this week indicate that the Kirk campaign raised $715,000 in the first quarter of the year while Seals raised 613,000. Seals' fundraising ability at this early juncture shows that he may have a broader base of support this time around.

In 2006, Kirk narrowly beat Seals in a hotly contested race. During that election cycle, Kirk raised $3.1 million and Seals brought in $1.9 million.

As the Tribune reported this morning, the first quarter figures vindicate the DCCC, which -- unlike in 2006 -- decided to designate the 10th District as a "Red-To-Blue" race in mid-March:

The campaign totals also justify the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's decision to place Seals on its Red to Blue list of congressional races it believes are winnable.

But Seals will need to start out-fundraising Kirk in order to marshall the same resources as Election Day approaches. The Tribune also reported that Kirk has collected a total of over $2.8 million for the 2008 election, while Seals raised $1.4 million.