Which Candidates Took the Most from PACs?
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
In election 2010, candidates for Congress are raking in money from political action committees while PAC donations are playing a smaller role in statewide campaigns, according to second-quarter campaign finance reports.
Jim Langevin, the Democratic incumbent in the Second District Congressional seat, far outpaced all other state and federal Rhode Island candidates with $88,500 coming from PACs and other political committees in the second quarter. (Click here to view fundraising tallies for the Congressional candidates and here for the state candidates.)
Cicilline had the second most PAC donations of the Congressional candidates, with $21,429. The other candidates receiving PAC money included Republican John Loughlin, $7,065; Democrat David Segal, $3,150; and Democrat Bill Lynch, $1,400. All are candidates for the First District Congressional seat.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe disparity in PAC donations between the Congressional and state races is not much of a surprise, according to Darrell West, a former Brown University political science professor who is now a vice president at the Brookings Institution.
“PACs do focus on national races and they’re very interested in what’s going on in Congress because legislators affect the interests of their industries,” West said. “So it’s no surprise that Congressional candidates get more PAC money than state candidates.”
Lynch has criticized Cicilline for his PAC support, but Cicilline spokesman Rich Luchette said the campaign was focused on the issues, rather than responding to attacks.
“We’re running a campaign that is focused on talking about the issues that are impacting the voters of the First District,” Luchette said, referring to the state’s high unemployment rate as an example. “We’re talking about these issues rather than responding to attacks that have already been refuted.”
In general, voters understand that contributions from PACs are part of the political process, according to West. “PAC money in of itself is not controversial unless there is a big flood of out of state money for a particular candidate,” he said.
The fourth Democratic candidate for the First District seat, Anthony Gemma, did not take any PAC money. Gemma told GoLocalProv that he will not accept PAC money during his campaign and that he would avoid large donations from “influential individuals.” Instead, he said he was focusing on raising smaller-dollar contributions from individuals.
Far Less PAC Money in State Races
Statewide candidates, on the other hand, received less from PACs, according to second-quarter finance reports filed with the state Board of Elections.
The bulk of it went to Democrats. Gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio was among the top recipients, with $6,750 in PAC money. Elizabeth Roberts, who is running for re-election as lieutenant governor received $3,850 in PAC money while incumbent Secretary of State Ralph Mollis took $3,650.
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