Party Nomination No Guarantee of
Campaign Coin
By Joe Palazzolo
Capital News Service
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006
WASHINGTON - Dr. Jim Corwin knows by now that the Democratic Party
isn't going to pony up any money for his congressional campaign.
"Not that I haven't tried," said Corwin, the Democratic
candidate for Maryland's 1st Congressional District. "But we can
win without it. The grass roots -- that's where the energy is."
After slogging through the primaries, underdog candidates
like Corwin -- there are six running either against popular
incumbents or in districts that heavily favor the opposing party
this year -- had hoped for cash rewards from their state and
national parties that haven't come.
Corwin, of Severna Park, is running against eight-term
Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, who was re-elected in 2004
with three times as many votes as his Democratic challenger and
cruised through the September primary unopposed.
With about $12,000 on hand, according to finance reports filed
in late August, compared with Gilchrest's $288,000, Corwin could
use the cash.
The major parties' funding policies are not new. For limited
resources to achieve maximum effect, some candidates have to be
cut out of the coffers, party officials say.
Contentious races for governor and U.S. Senate make it
necessary to prioritize, said Maryland Republican Party
spokeswoman Audra Miller.
But some candidates said they felt snubbed.
"It was a little disturbing how unsupportive they are," said
Republican Michael Moshe Starkman, who is looking at a tough
haul in the 4th District against Rep. Albert R. Wynn, although
Wynn eked out a primary victory over neophyte candidate Donna
Edwards. "I would imagine there should be some sort of
assistance. The fact that they didn't give me $5 was a little
surprising."
While candidates running uphill campaigns often construe the
lack of funding as their party separating the weak from the
strong, Miller said that interpretation doesn't take into
account the state parties' financial limitations.
"You have to look at it from a macro level," Miller said. "We
could have put a candidate in place in every district in the
state, but from a state party perspective, we've made it clear
that our efforts are fully into the re-election of Gov. Robert
Ehrlich, the election of Lt. Gov. Michael Steele to the U.S.
Senate and putting 14 new House members and five new Senate
members in the General Assembly."
Terry Lierman, chairman of the Maryland Democratic Party,
said it falls on the national committees to connect candidates
to money, and the candidates themselves to secure individual
contributions. The Maryland Democratic Party does not directly
contribute to any of the federal candidates' campaigns, he said.
"There's not enough money in the state of Maryland or in the
country for each party to give money to individual candidates,"
Lierman said. "How would you possibly figure out who gets what?"
Both state parties offer a menu of campaign services, aside
from cash, including access to voter rolls, voter files and maps
of each precinct that contain demographic information and
indicate party affiliation called "walk lists."
Lierman said it cost about $300,000 for the Maryland
Democratic Party to collect and compile all the information.
It's offered to candidates for a sliding fee starting at $50 and
based on the office sought. The Maryland Republican Party hands
over the information for free.
"Everyone wants support from their party," Lierman said. "And
they get everything but money."
Candidate names are advertised in the state party mass
e-mails and phone campaigns. And party volunteers plunk the
candidates' campaign literature, magnets and buttons down on
tables at local, state, and national political events.
"Pretty well everything outside of money directly to the
candidate we are providing in resources and volunteers and
information," Miller said.
Democrat Andrew Duck, who is facing seven-term Republican
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in the 6th Congressional District, has
raised about $123,000 -- the most among the six congressional
candidates running on long odds -- none of which came from the
state party. Bartlett, by comparison, has raised about $247,000.
While the services offered by the Maryland Democratic Party
have been invaluable, said Matt Hudson, Duck's campaign field
director, a little money would have been nice, too.
"The amount is not what we would've hoped for," Hudson said.
"But the greatest gift (the state party) can give is votes, and
that's what they're doing."
John White, a Republican, is running an uphill race against
Democrat John Sarbanes for the open 3rd District seat, occupied
by Rep. Ben Cardin, who left to pursue a U.S. Senate seat this
year. White's campaign is almost entirely self-funded -- he's
contributed about $200,000 -- but he's still holding out hope
for some outside money.
"I would be surprised if I did not receive any assistance,"
White said. "I hope that any support that they normally give
will be on its way soon."
White's race, because it's open, might prove to be the
exception to the no-funding trend. Of course, it might not.
"These are tough races," Miller said. "To be quite honest,
running congressional races requires the candidates to garner
significant funding, significant support, and the party provides
the mechanisms to accomplish that."
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