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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Minnick, Craig Wage Close Battle For Contributions Pac Donations Spur Rhetoric From Party, Campaign Officials

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig piled up more than $406,000 in campaign cash in the first quarter of 1996, with challenger Walt Minnick not far behind at $325,000.

As they head into the primary election season, Craig has $518,573 in the bank, while Minnick has $217,912, according to their latest campaign finance reports.

Craig, a fund-raising powerhouse, drew $83,985 of his contributions this quarter from political action committees, including Boise Cascade Corp. PAC ($5,000) and the American Medical PAC ($3,985). But most of Craig’s contributions came from hundreds of Idaho residents.

Minnick, a Boise businessman, pulled in just $12,250 from PACs. He received more than $140,000 in individual contributions from out-of-state residents, many of them $1,000 donations from residents of New York, California and Washington. That’s just over half his individual contributions.

“These are people I have known from school and my business career,” Minnick said Wednesday. “I’ve called my classmates from all of the schools I went to, including my high school (in Walla Walla). I called people on my Christmas card list, and I called people I was associated with in business. It’s basically friends.”

He added, “That’s what a new, non-career politician has to do entering politics. You’ve got to call people you know, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Idaho Republican Party Chairman Ron McMurray blasted Minnick Wednesday for accepting his first PAC contribution in early February, just one day after asking Craig to join him in signing a contract calling for rejecting both PAC donations and personal campaign funds.

“He was ‘born again’ in less than 24 hours - that’s the sign of a slick politician,” McMurray said in a news release, branding Minnick “Slick Wally.”

But Minnick said Craig’s campaign immediately rejected the contract when he presented it, so, “I felt free to take PAC money on my own.”

Minnick also called on Craig to disavow the name-calling.

“That kind of rhetoric is a cheap partisan political shot I wouldn’t expect from a U.S. senator.”

Craig’s campaign manager, Mike Reynoldson, said the campaign wouldn’t disavow anything.

“We’re not going to micromanage the Idaho Republican Party - whatever they do, they do,” he said.

Craig’s campaign spent $489,257 during the quarter, including $40,000 for billboards, $250,000 for prepaid October television ads and more than $100,000 on mailings.

Minnick spent $241,320, including $23,000 for consultants, more than $10,000 on mailings, $13,000-plus for research and $100,779 placed in a bond for fall campaign expenses such as advertising.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS Here are some of those who contributed to Larry Craig in 1996’s first quarter: Tom Addis, auto dealer, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; Arthur Brown, Hecla Mining CEO, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; William Calhoun, mining consultant, Silverton, $1,000; James Eisses, Louisiana-Pacific manager, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; H.F. Magnuson, Wallace, $1,000; Kathy Sims, auto dealer and GOP leader, Coeur d’Alene, $500; Phil Soulen, livestock producer, Weiser, $1,100; Stanley Weiss, developer, Woodland Hills, Calif., $1,000. Craig also received $6,000 from political party committees. Here are some of those who contributed to Walt Minnick in the same period: Elisabeth Claiborne Ortenberg, president of Liz Claiborne International, New York, $2,000; Marian Heiskell, senior manager of the New York Times, New York, $2,000; Barry Rogstad, president of ABC, Potomac, Md., $1,000; William C. Janss, Sun Valley, $1,000; Cecil Andrus, Boise, $350; Norm Gissel, attorney, Coeur d’Alene, $300; Jeff Bond, real estate, Sandpoint, $500. Minnick also received $27,500 from political party committees.

The following fields overflowed: KEYWORD = FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, CONGRESSIONAL

This sidebar appeared with the story: CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS Here are some of those who contributed to Larry Craig in 1996’s first quarter: Tom Addis, auto dealer, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; Arthur Brown, Hecla Mining CEO, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; William Calhoun, mining consultant, Silverton, $1,000; James Eisses, Louisiana-Pacific manager, Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; H.F. Magnuson, Wallace, $1,000; Kathy Sims, auto dealer and GOP leader, Coeur d’Alene, $500; Phil Soulen, livestock producer, Weiser, $1,100; Stanley Weiss, developer, Woodland Hills, Calif., $1,000. Craig also received $6,000 from political party committees. Here are some of those who contributed to Walt Minnick in the same period: Elisabeth Claiborne Ortenberg, president of Liz Claiborne International, New York, $2,000; Marian Heiskell, senior manager of the New York Times, New York, $2,000; Barry Rogstad, president of ABC, Potomac, Md., $1,000; William C. Janss, Sun Valley, $1,000; Cecil Andrus, Boise, $350; Norm Gissel, attorney, Coeur d’Alene, $300; Jeff Bond, real estate, Sandpoint, $500. Minnick also received $27,500 from political party committees.

The following fields overflowed: KEYWORD = FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, CONGRESSIONAL