Who do you want to work for?

Tom Lantos (4.00 / 1)

is Katrina Swett's dad. A bit harsh to criticize his contribution.

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by: elwood @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 05:18:34 AM CDT

ok... (0.00 / 0)

I'll take that bit out.

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 05:51:37 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

He did give a lot, though (0.00 / 0)

4,000 though his leadership PAC, and the maximum $4,600 as an 'individual contribution'.

Pretty close to the sum raised from New Hampshire Residents not named Swett!

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 05:55:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Where/Who (0.00 / 0)

For me, it is not so important from where the money came as much as who are the ones contributing. I have done some local political fundraising in my day. Although New Hampshire voters are generous with their political opinions, they are not necessarily so generous with their political contributions.

It would be interesting to know how many bloggers on Blue Hampshire have contributed to a NH Senate candidate and what a range of the size of the contribution.

It is expensive to run a political campaign and if friends, family, and interest groups from out of state, etc. (assuming they make legal contributions) want to contribute to a New Hampshire campaign, it is fine with me, provided we know who they are and/or what issue they are pushing.

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by: gradysdad @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 06:41:16 AM CDT

Really? (0.00 / 0)

It bothers me.

This is not just contributing to a candidate, its buying a primary.  Really... 94% from out of state?  80% from donors who contribute the maximum amount?

This is the state that elected Carol Shea Porter.  Not... well... Katrina Swett.

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 06:48:35 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

It's only expensive (0.00 / 0)

if you insist on hiring the consultant class and throwing lots of dollars into the corporate media coffers.
While it's true that's often the only way to get any "free" corporate media coverage (since viability is measured by how much money is available for electronic and print media), we are going to try to change that.
Now that political candidates are increasingly promoted like laundry detergent, the value of glitzy adds is less and less, as far as informing the electorate is concerned.

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by: hannah @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:15:30 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

If Blue Hamsters are (4.00 / 2)

contributing to NH-Senate candidates, I hope they will do it through our ActBlue Hampshire page!

Current totals:

Recipient  Donors  Total $  All pages
Steve Marchand  6  $150.00  $200.00 
NH-Sen Dem Nom. 5  $72.45  $8,882.43 
C. Shea-Porter  3  $80.00  $3,390.02 
Paul Hodes  3  $55.00  $105.00 
Katrina Swett  1  $10.00  $10.00 
Total  40  $367.45

Whoever gets the nomination will receive so much support from me they will likely tire of it.  My number one goal for this cycle is defeating John E. Sununu.  Having said that, I do take an active interest in his replacement, based entirely on two factors: issues and the ability to beat the incumbent.  The one person at this moment that hits both of those goals for me is Steve Marchand. 

(I also believe Gary Hirshberg fulfills both, but he is not running.)

Of course there are oodles of days for this race to change its dynamic, but that's where I stand at the moment. 

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:55:53 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

More worried (0.00 / 0)

I'm more concerned about who funds John Sununu. He is the problem, not Swett, not Marchand, not Buckey. He is the guy who the US Chamber of Commerce just gave an award to (in today's UL), the same national chamber that has turned into a Republican front group, and which sent 20 people up here "on vacation" to work for Sununu in the 2002 election. Energy, utilities, Club for Growth - they are the problem, not the Swett contributors.

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by: Frodo @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:00:52 AM CDT

My choice (0.00 / 0)

Will be based on 1) are the candidate's views similar (not identical) to mine? 2) who has the best chance of beating Sununu?

Trust me, Sununu is not Jeb Bradley. He will be very, very difficult to beat.

It would be nice to know this race was in the bag so I could rule out potential nominees because they raise money out of state, are not pro choice enough, have never had a real job, etc. Personally, I don't think we have that luxury.

Who wins this senate seat is important to the entire nation. It will determine which party controls the senate or whether Dems have enough seats to stop a fillibuster so they can actually enact the next Dem President's agenda. We are not choosing the leader of our private, little NH club.

I haven't decided who to support. I'd like to know more about Buckey because, to me, he is the most attractive on paper - don't know if he has what it takes to raise the money, etc. And I want to see if Shaheen runs, though I don't think she will.

I hope that whomever I support has the capacity to raise a ton of money from around the country.

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by: Huey @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:09:14 AM CDT

The politics of personal destruction needs (4.00 / 1)

to be exposed; not promoted.  Elections are not about "beating" incumbents or competitors; they're about selecting the most competent and representative legislator.
There's no question the current Junior Senator doesn't represent New Hampshire.  Whether another money-bags will do better is doubtful. 
We might do well to remember that until 2006, the candidates who spent the largest amount were rejected by the voters. Apparently, the voters of New hampshire are smart enough to realize that people who spend a lot of other people's money on frivolous campaigns are not likely to be frugal with other people's money when they get into office either.

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by: hannah @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:29:44 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I agree (4.00 / 1)

But I also think that the ability to raise money from New Hampshire is a sign of the ability to raise other kinds of support in New Hampshire.

The severe lack of New Hampshire fundraising by Swett raises concern for me.  Can she energize New Hampshire Activists?

And, as I said in my post, I agree that support in the general election , wherever it comes from, is extremely helpful.  Both national parties are going to be targeting this race.  But these people giving money to Swett for her primary campaign are no small potatoes.  They are clearly major party donors who have chosen to anoint Swett as New Hampshire's candidate.

And here I thought it was New Hampshire Democrats who got to make that choice...

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:37:38 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Choice (0.00 / 0)

Who says that New Hampshire Democrats won't make that choice?  Like Hannah says, the one who raises the most money doesn't always win. It is not a done deal simply because somebody has more money from donors from out of state. You are right in that Swett has to do something more, like energize the activists or engage the voters, than just raise the money.

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by: gradysdad @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 08:04:39 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sure, gradysdad (0.00 / 0)

but money talks.  And a lot of people from out of state are giving Swett a lot more talking power than her opponents.

Its going to effect the outcome.

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 08:08:26 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

This is off-thread, (4.00 / 1)

but I just wanted to say that I think it's great to see you commenting again here.

I like having you around because you are the person, I believe, best able to convince me to support Senator Clinton (other than, of course, Senator Clinton) :)

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 09:17:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Nice (0.00 / 0)

Thank you, but you overestimate my persuasive powers.  I will just have to drag you to a house party so that the Senator can convince you herself. :)

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by: gradysdad @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 10:51:13 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Devil's advocate: (0.00 / 0)

Candidate A raises $20,000 in NH, $40,000 overall.

Candidate B raises $25,000 in NH, $250,000 overall.

What is significant here?

• Candidate A gets 50% of his support from locals! Yay!
  
• Candidate B gets more support from locals than candidate A! Yay!
  

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by: elwood @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:43:04 AM CDT

the bottom line (0.00 / 0)

is to beat Sununu.

Yes, Shea-Porter's victory was wonderful and unprecedented.  But as an earlier posted wrote Sununu's defeat will be much harder than Bradley's. The repubs will be trucking money into the state from all over- as will the DNC and various PACs.

Katrina Swett is a different candidate precisely becuase of who her fahter is and his connections.  It is what it is, just as Hillary brings a lot of connections and money to her race due to her husband is.

I want Sununu defeated in 08 becasue it is good for our state and country.  I want the best candidate to run against him,  That may or may not be Katrina Swett.  It is up to us to help select the best candidate, wherever his or her money comes from.

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by: Kathleen O'Donnell @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:52:02 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Its one factor (0.00 / 0)

of many, elwood.  I would hardly base my vote on in state vs out of state alone.  I do still think, however, that it can be revealing.

In this case, candidate A, having only raised 40k, seems to barely be raising enough to keep their campaign running.  Candidate B raised more money from in state, and more money overall.  Candidate B is doing better.

I haven't seen the details of Marchand's fundraising yet, but $97,020 is hardly $40,000...  Buckey isn't a declared candidate yet, did he even file anything in March?

And, its not $25,000 out of $250,000... its 23,500 out of 419,100 (6%).  And that's including the money she gave to herself.

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 07:57:52 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yeah, just like Tester, Sanders, and Shaheen. . . . (0.00 / 0)

Sorry, pal, but $85K won't cut it against Sununu's millions.  Johnny gets money from a who's who of corporate interests -- HMOs, oil companies, tobacco, etc. -- and he will use it to throw mud against his opponent.  Remember what he did to Gov. Shaheen in 2002?  Jeannie became a liberal, tax raising, anti-family loser overnight.

Our candidate -- whether Katrina, Steve, or Jay -- MUST have the ammunition to respond to attacks, and to hold Sununu accountable for his atrocious record in Congress.  "Keeping the campaign running" isn't good enough.  We need the means to fight back.

As for the out-of-state thing. . . . Folks from the other 49 states want to kick Sununu to the curb, too.  This is the mark of a targeted race:  Bernie Sanders received 80% of his funding from outside VT in the last cycle, and Jon Tester got over two-thirds from non-Montanans.  Shaheen raised 76% from outside NH in '02.  Did you support these candidates, nhcollegedem?  If so, then why are you holding Swett to a higher standard?

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 10:10:17 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not a higher standars, no (0.00 / 0)

But 80%, and 76% are a bit different than 96%.

Swett needs to show that she has significant support in state as well as out of state.

Like I said upthread, being unable to get financial support from New Hampshireites is potentially a sign that the candidate won't be able to get other kinds of support as well.

If you think I'm being harsh on Ms. Swett, wait till the Republicans attack her on her fundraising.  Charlie Bass used her fundraising against her in 2002, and John Sununu will use it against her in 2008. 

She can get money from out of state.  She can get MOST of her money from out of state.  But she NEEDS to be able to show that she is getting a significant amount of money from in state donors as well.

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 10:21:09 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Not an important issue in general (4.00 / 1)

NHCD, you are correct that candidates need NH support. But, Charlie Bass's whining about where Swett's money came from in 2002 wasn't a big issue.  Voters don't care about that, they care about important issues, like Iraq and the environment.  I am not saying this because I support Swett; I want to wait until at least the fall before even thinking about that. I want to find out more about Buckey, and see if anyone else gets in the race. John E. Sununu is the last person in the world who should be talking about where his donations come from, since all the money he has taken from special interest groups and industry lobbyists can be tracked to how he votes.  (You should have watched the Red Sox last night, you may not be a sports fan, but Manny hit two home runs in a come from behind victory!) 

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by: Frodo @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 10:44:07 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Red Sox (4.00 / 1)

How normal person of you, Frodo. Some of us are insane enough to have watched the GOP debate.

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by: Huey @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 11:06:58 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The discussion to this post is revolving (4.00 / 1)

around in-state vs. out-of-state.  I think it's good to have as much in-state money as possible, but in a race of this kind, especially later on, we will see scads of out-of-state on both sides.  Seeing so much of it in 1Q is interesting to me in part.

I'm a lot more interested in percentage of donors who have maxed out vs. those to whom you can go again and again.

I know that 1Q is all about low-hanging fruit, but if 80% of it is maxed out contributions, then where do you go from there?

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 11:00:10 AM CDT

I'm also curious (0.00 / 0)

If someone else wins the nomination, what happens to all the money she raised that can't be used in the Primary?

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by: Nicholas Gunn @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 11:13:37 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think it goes to the general election fund (0.00 / 0)

... through the state party. But the key word is think.

Re: in-state vs. out-of-state money in general, with the Senate so close, money will fly in all directions.

In Massachusetts last year, it was interesting to look at out-of-state money. Christy Mihos, a multimillionaire, had $117,000 from Minnesota, but it turned out to be from the ad firm he hired, which cut its teeth on Jesse Ventura's campaign. (And he did have some funny ads.)

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by: JimC @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 15:47:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

they keep it (0.00 / 0)

yup

Next time, there may be no next time.

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by: Jon Bresler @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 17:57:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes she get to keep it... (0.00 / 0)

Although, I'm unclear if she can give it all to the DSCC?  She certainly can give $5,000 to a whole lot of congressional campaigns that will need it...starting with the NH Senate nominee and then Hodes and CSP and then to targeted races else where.

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by: Stark Blue @ Fri May 04, 2007 at 18:48:26 PM CDT

[ Parent ]