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

Democrat Finances Lead Gop’s Minnick’s Supporters Push Fund Raising Ahead For First Time

Bob Fick Associated Press

Senate challenger Walt Minnick’s financial supporters pumped another $110,000 into the Idaho Democratic Party this summer to push its fund raising ahead of the state Republican Party’s for the first time.

Campaign finance disclosure reports filed with the secretary of state showed the Democratic Party raising $620,000 from early June through September while the GOP reported raising just under $580,000.

Compared to the last election in 1994, when the Democratic Party had just $327,000 to spend through the entire campaign, the party has raised over $1 million so far this year.

The state GOP, usually armed with three to four times the cash Idaho Democrats have had to promote their party, raised $808,000 on top of the $62,000 it had in the bank when the year began.

The financial infusion comes at a time when Idaho Democrats are trying to recover from their worst election defeat in two generations.

Chairman Bill Mauk says the money is critical to the party’s attempt to move from the individualized politics of Democrats like Frank Church and Cecil Andrus to the solid internal structure that has been the source of so much Republican success in the state.

Unlike past election years when cash for general party programs like get-out-the-vote has been limited at best, Democrats had over $270,000 available for the final five weeks of the campaign after buying an unprecedented $293,000 in television and radio time in September.

The Republican Party still started October with over $400,000 on hand but had only purchased $164,000 in air time.

Minnick and his campaign lieutenants have made it a point to encourage the contributors to his uphill bid to unseat Republican Sen. Larry Craig to also donate to the state party, and they have accounted for a third of all the money raised this year.

National Democratic organizations have also pumped unusually large amounts of money into the state because of the heated Senate race and the even more closely contested challenge to GOP Rep. Helen Chenoweth by Dan Williams.

The largest individual donor to the party so far has been Wendy Paulson of Chicago, wife of the chief executive officer of the Goldman Sachs brokerage firm.

She contributed $65,000 on Sept. 24.

Eagles lead singer Don Henley, who was arrested this fall in California for protesting the logging of old-growth redwoods, made contributions in July and September totaling $30,000.

Williams said he and Minnick talked with Henley, who was swayed by Chenoweth’s public statements supporting militia members and her conservative record on environmental and other issues.

“He read about her as a militia apologist and stuff, and her extremism, especially on environmental issues,” Williams said.