Congressional race funds are pouring in
BOISE – Conservative state Rep. Bill Sali is out in front in fundraising in the GOP race for Idaho’s open congressional seat with more than $400,000, but the big surprise is that three other candidates have raised more than $200,000 apiece in the hotly contested six-way race.
“I can’t imagine there’s ever been more than this spent in a congressional primary in Idaho,” said Boise State University political scientist Gary Moncrief, who studies campaigns and elections.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, he noted. Over the years, many congressional races that haven’t seen much spending just haven’t been competitive ones – instead, the incumbent has been the presumed winner. In Idaho’s 1st District congressional race this year, there’s no incumbent, because current Rep. Butch Otter is giving up the seat to run for governor.
“When you’ve got an open seat or a competitive race, it’s going to cost money – especially in an electronic age today, with expensive things like TV and direct mail,” Moncrief said. He predicted that in the final days before the May 23 primary, 1st District residents will see a “bombardment” of campaign messages in their mailboxes and over the airwaves.
There’s good reason for the candidates to do that, he noted. “When you’ve got an open-seat contest like this and so many people in it, I think there’s a good chance that a lot of people haven’t made up their minds. I’ve heard that there’s probably 30 to 40 percent undecided at this point – that’s a large undecided vote.”
According to pre-primary campaign finance reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission, Sali, a Kuna attorney, has piled up $401,699 for his campaign, with less than $4,000 of that coming out of his own pocket.
Like his earlier donations, his contributions since April 1 of $108,936 have mostly consisted of donations from individuals across the country – 82 percent of them from out of state – bundled together by the conservative, anti-tax group Club for Growth. The club also has paid for an extensive television campaign for Sali as an independent expenditure, so that isn’t included in his finance report.
Sali has spent a total of $357,168 on his campaign so far. In the latest period, the expenditures were $112,073, mostly for consulting, advertising and polling. He had $30,352 cash on hand.
Running second in fundraising is former state Sen. Sheila Sorensen of Boise, who’s raised a total of $360,143, including $195,389 of her own money. Her fundraising since April 1 of $113,676 was 95 percent from within Idaho. That included a loan of $68,000 she made to her campaign on May 9.
Sorensen has spent $279,963, in part for an extensive statewide billboard campaign. She has more than $80,000 cash on hand.
Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez is running third in fundraising with total receipts of $239,369. Since April 1, he pulled in $60,262, all but $1,000 of it from individuals, and 91 percent of it from out of state. The $1,000 came from the U.S. Immigration Reform PAC, while individual Vasquez supporters sent in checks from Laguna Beach, Calif.; St. Louis; Palm Beach, Fla.; and Westbury, N.Y., among many other locations.
Vasquez has spent $219,884 on the campaign. Since April 1, his expenditures of $60,861 went mainly for printing, postage and direct mail, according to his FEC report. He has $19,722 cash on hand.
Idaho Water Users Association chief Norm Semanko has raised $202,917 for his campaign, including $37,500 of his own money. Since April 1, he’s raised nearly $50,000, about 17 percent of it from out of state – mostly from people involved in water and irrigation issues.
Semanko has spent $195,261. He has $9,776 on hand.
State Controller Keith Johnson is running fifth in fundraising with $133,536 in total receipts, which includes about $900 of his own money. Since April 1 he’s raised $26,489, 35 percent of it from out of state – mostly in the form of a few PAC donations. He’s spent a total of $91,683 campaigning – $15,639 since April 1 – mostly on printing, mailing and salaries. He reported $38,670 on hand for the final stretch.
Running last among the six Republicans in fundraising is state Sen. Skip Brandt of Kooskia, who’s raised $83,629, including $44,354 of his own money. Brandt has spent $73,702 on his campaign, including $13,787 since April 1, mostly for ads, printing, signs and postage. He reported $9,927 still in his campaign fund.
Two Democrats, one independent and two third-party candidates also are running for the seat, but only one, former Micron executive Larry Grant of Fruitland, has raised enough to file federal campaign finance reports. Grant reported raising $134,619 so far and spending $96,626, leaving $37,993 on hand.