RUNNINGS WITH THE BIG DOGS
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| Also listed in: Appalachian Populists | Licking County Pro-Active Citizens (www.licopac.org) | Ohio 12th Congressional District | Ohio 18th Congressional District |
What a difference incumbency makes!
By the spring of 2006, Democratic congressional candidate Zach Space had raised $77,194 to win the 18th District primary en route to his successful election that November to the open seat vacated by Republican Bob Ney.
Now, two years later, Rep. Space, seeking to retain that seat, has reported first quarter contributions of nearly $1.5 million, with a net of nearly $1 million cash-on-hand.
That's about as much as Space raised and spent during all of 2006 to initially win the office. His 2006 race gained significant post-primary help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). (By the time he took office, in January 2007, Space's checking account had been drained to less than $28,000 with debts in excess of $56,000, according to the Dispatch.)
Given that Democrats are determined to hold the 18th, and Republicans have vowed to reclaim it (calling Space "an accidental congressman" given Ney's imprisonment on corruption charges), one can only assume the cost of victory in the 18th will rise significantly this year.
Space, knowing he was targeted for extinction in 2008 by the GOP the day he took office, never got the chance to sit back down in Washington and slack off his fund-raising efforts.
"I never thought I'd have a million in the bank," the Dover attorney said last week during a fund-raiser in Newark. "But I think it's necessary."
So-called independent (527) groups raised over $4 million two years ago in an attempt to defeat him, Space said, "and if they did it once, they can do it again."
Incumbents seek to discourage challengers (and their challenger's potential supporters) by flashing a significant bankroll in their early election-year reports to the FEC. Without a significant war chest going into the race, Space said, "it will be like sharks smelling blood in the water--if my fundraising is anemic, they'd be all over me."
This is not to criticize Space, who LICOPAC endorses in his race against Republican challenger Fred Dailey of Mt. Vernon. The freshman congressman is just following the rules of the game as he found them, even though he recognizes the money game seriously erodes public trust in the process as well as the time legislators can actually spend legislating.
In 2006, Space ran on an anti-corruption plank, vowing not to accept campaign contributions from lobbyists.
In his latest filing with the FEC, the congressman reported contributions of $644,428 from individuals and $817,760 from political action committees. All PACs are not lobbyists, but still it's obvious that Zach now needs organized support from unions and other heavy-hitters in the Democratic camp.
"Eventually, I'd like to help take the money out of the process," he said last week.
But with seemingly little support for public financing of elections, that's as likely in the near term as finding a substitute for oil.
When one looks at the FEC first-quarter reports, it's striking how incumbents of different parties have more in common with one another than they do with challengers from their own party.
In the neighboring 12th District, for example, four-term congressman Pat Tiberi, R-Delaware, reported $1.5 million in contributions - again, mostly from PACs - with $757,719 on hand going into the defense of his seat against Democratic challenger David Robinson of Columbus.
Robinson and Dailey both face tremendous odds in their bids to dislodge the incumbents.
Dailey, a former state agriculture director, reported first-quarter contributions of $113,000, but that includes $40,000 of his own money.
"... unless Dailey comes up with a lot more campaign cash pretty soon, it's difficult to see how he can compete against the well-funded Space in the 16-county, multiple-media market district," the Dispatch said on April 16.
Robinson, a newcomer to politics, reported first-quarter contributions of $27,382 (most of that from individuals) but only $7,611 cash-on-hand.
"Following our primary win, we've been strategically getting our campaign structure in place," said Robinson in a prepared statement.
"I'm not a career politician, so we're creating our campaign from scratch. But we're right on plan. We are confident that we will have the resources to put our ideas and plans before every voter for the general election," Robinson said.
By the spring of 2006, Democratic congressional candidate Zach Space had raised $77,194 to win the 18th District primary en route to his successful election that November to the open seat vacated by Republican Bob Ney.
Now, two years later, Rep. Space, seeking to retain that seat, has reported first quarter contributions of nearly $1.5 million, with a net of nearly $1 million cash-on-hand.
That's about as much as Space raised and spent during all of 2006 to initially win the office. His 2006 race gained significant post-primary help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). (By the time he took office, in January 2007, Space's checking account had been drained to less than $28,000 with debts in excess of $56,000, according to the Dispatch.)
Given that Democrats are determined to hold the 18th, and Republicans have vowed to reclaim it (calling Space "an accidental congressman" given Ney's imprisonment on corruption charges), one can only assume the cost of victory in the 18th will rise significantly this year.
Space, knowing he was targeted for extinction in 2008 by the GOP the day he took office, never got the chance to sit back down in Washington and slack off his fund-raising efforts.
"I never thought I'd have a million in the bank," the Dover attorney said last week during a fund-raiser in Newark. "But I think it's necessary."
So-called independent (527) groups raised over $4 million two years ago in an attempt to defeat him, Space said, "and if they did it once, they can do it again."
Incumbents seek to discourage challengers (and their challenger's potential supporters) by flashing a significant bankroll in their early election-year reports to the FEC. Without a significant war chest going into the race, Space said, "it will be like sharks smelling blood in the water--if my fundraising is anemic, they'd be all over me."
This is not to criticize Space, who LICOPAC endorses in his race against Republican challenger Fred Dailey of Mt. Vernon. The freshman congressman is just following the rules of the game as he found them, even though he recognizes the money game seriously erodes public trust in the process as well as the time legislators can actually spend legislating.
In 2006, Space ran on an anti-corruption plank, vowing not to accept campaign contributions from lobbyists.
In his latest filing with the FEC, the congressman reported contributions of $644,428 from individuals and $817,760 from political action committees. All PACs are not lobbyists, but still it's obvious that Zach now needs organized support from unions and other heavy-hitters in the Democratic camp.
"Eventually, I'd like to help take the money out of the process," he said last week.
But with seemingly little support for public financing of elections, that's as likely in the near term as finding a substitute for oil.
When one looks at the FEC first-quarter reports, it's striking how incumbents of different parties have more in common with one another than they do with challengers from their own party.
In the neighboring 12th District, for example, four-term congressman Pat Tiberi, R-Delaware, reported $1.5 million in contributions - again, mostly from PACs - with $757,719 on hand going into the defense of his seat against Democratic challenger David Robinson of Columbus.
Robinson and Dailey both face tremendous odds in their bids to dislodge the incumbents.
Dailey, a former state agriculture director, reported first-quarter contributions of $113,000, but that includes $40,000 of his own money.
"... unless Dailey comes up with a lot more campaign cash pretty soon, it's difficult to see how he can compete against the well-funded Space in the 16-county, multiple-media market district," the Dispatch said on April 16.
Robinson, a newcomer to politics, reported first-quarter contributions of $27,382 (most of that from individuals) but only $7,611 cash-on-hand.
"Following our primary win, we've been strategically getting our campaign structure in place," said Robinson in a prepared statement.
"I'm not a career politician, so we're creating our campaign from scratch. But we're right on plan. We are confident that we will have the resources to put our ideas and plans before every voter for the general election," Robinson said.
