FOR THE LAST HALF OF 2005
BIG RAISERS:  Warner - $3,357,589.75  ...  McCain - $2,307,993.85  ...  Frist - $1,614,951.59  ... Kerry - $1,455,666.85.
BIG SPENDERS:  Frist - $1,942,196.81  ...  Kerry - $1,352,580.25  ...  McCain - $1,081,491.23  ....  Warner - $865,062.09.

FOR ALL OF 2005
BIG RAISERS:  Frist - $3,534,932.95  ...  Warner - $3,357,589.75  ...  McCain - $2,307,993.85  ...  Kerry - $2,208,460.69  ... Bayh - $1,551,430.49.
BIG SPENDERS:  Frist - $3,682,504.86  ...  Kerry - $1,720,601.93  ...  Clinton - $1,280,452.91  ... Edwards - $1,227,346.60  ....  Bayh - $1,115,122.53.

Notes:
GENERAL
In the last half of 2005 the leadership PACs made a scattering of contributions to candidate and party committees, but much of the funds went to payroll, consultants, travel, rent and so forth.

REPUBLICANS
1. Sen. Allen's Good Government for America Committee was not very active in the last half of 2005, as he no doubt focused on raising money for his re-election campaign.  Friends of George Allen reported net contributions for the cycle of $8,148,907.60.  Most of the PAC's contributions went to the statewide Virginia candidates with the notable exception of a $10,000 contribution to Iowans for Nussle on Dec. 29, 2005.

2. Sen. Brownback's Restore America PAC markedly stepped up its activity in the last half of 2005.  In the last half of 2005 Richardson Consulting LLC received a total of $46,891.96 in professional fees and Ryan T. Carney received $9,166.66 in professional fees.  Contributions included $2,000 to Iowans for Nussle on Dec. 30, 2005 and $500 to the Christian Coalition of Iowa.  For the whole year almost half of Brownback's contributions came from PACs ($120,750.00 of $242,137.32).

3. Sen. Frist's VOLPAC spent a lot on direct mail in the second half of 2005: $231,844.20 to Print Mail Communications (Lorton) for direct mail expense; $132,901.05 to Precision List (Falls Church), $100,000 to a U.S. Post Office in Nashville for a BRM Account; $91,330.72 to LCM Strategies (DC) for direct mail expense and consulting.  The report also shows Catignani & Bond received $80,872.52 for fundraising consulting; and Benjamin Clarke received $35,998.01 for speechwriting consulting.  Contributions included $500 to the Christian Coalition of Iowa, $2,000 to Citizens for Pat Grassley (for IA State Senate), and $5,000 to the Iowa Republican Party.

4. Former Mayor Giuliani's Solutions America PAC was very quiet.

5. Sen. Hagel's Sandhills PAC's contributions included $5,000 to the Iowa Republican Party and $2,000 to Citizens for Pat Grassley.

6. Gov. Huckabee's Healthy America PAC -

7. Sen. McCain's Straight Talk America, received its first contributions in August and got off to a strong start.  Major disbursements included $75,000 to his top political consultant John Weaver, $38,968.55 to executive director Craig Goldman, $30,000 to The Dennehy Group (Concord, NH); $76,266.46 to Southwest Publishing (Topeka, KS) for direct mail production and postage; $55,059.17 to The Hallisey Group (NY) and $46,655.38 to The Eudy Co. for financial consulting.  Among the contributions were $5,000 to Iowans for Nussle.

8. Gov. Pataki's 21st Century Freedom PAC-Federal shows a number of interesting disbursements, notably a total of $6,000 to Erik Helland of Des Moines (consulting - political; first payment Oct. 12, 2005); $23,100 total to Iowa committees ($5,000 to the Republican Party of Iowa, $5,000 to the Linn County Central Committee, $5,000 to Taxpayers United PAC, $5,000 to Vaudt for State Auditor, $2,000 to Lamberti for Congress, and $1,000 to Citizens for Pat Grassley); and $5,000 to the NHRSC.

9. Gov. Romney's Commonwealth PAC -

DEMOCRATS
10. Sen. Bayh's All America PAC's major disbursements included $56,733.16 to Squier Knapp & Dunn Communications (DC) for communications consulting, $40,000 to Nancy Jacobson for fundraising consulting, $24,000 to Fairbanks Maslin Maullin & Associates (Santa Monica) for political consulting and $55,790.28 to Steve Bouchard, who ran the PAC.  Contributions by the All America PAC included 20,000 to NH committees ($10,000 to the NHDP and $5,000 each to Baines for Mayor and Lynch for Governor) and $10,500 to Iowa committees ($5,000 to Boswell for Congress, $2,500 to Danielson for Senate, $1,000 to Loebsack for Congress, $1,000 to Black Hawk County Democrats and $500 each to Lisa Heddens and Peterson for State Rep).

11. Sen. Biden's Unite Our States raised over 1/2 million dollars in the second half of 2005.  Major disbursements included $70,000 to Helen Milby & Co (Upper Marlboro, MD) for fundraising consulting; $52,500 to Eric Carbone for internet consulting; and $25,764 to Sheehan Associates, Inc. (DC) for communications consulting.

12. Gen. Clark's WesPAC major disbursements for the second half of 2005 included $52,000 to Catherine Grunden, who runs the PAC.

13. Sen. Clinton's HILL PAC appears to have a fairly sizable staff; both the August 2005 and year-end reports shows more than twenty people receiving wages.  (Those appearing in both reports, in alphabetical order are: Huma Abedin, Samir Arora, Dennis Cheng, Nalinee Darmrong, Patricia Solis Doyle, Cassidy DuRant-Green, Lauren Fitterman, Dara Cohen Freed, Lindsey Katherine Jack, Bari Lurie, Tamera Luzzato, Adam J. Parkhomenko, Shelly Moskwa, Heather Samuelson, Ronald Schneider and Daniel C. Turrentine). Friends of Hillary reported net contributions for the cycle of $31,154,226.68.

14. Sen. Edwards' One America Committee has one of the more developed websites for a leadership PAC and the report shows that  a lot of folks have provided input: Plus Three ($20,959.00), Matthew Lawrence Nelson (Alexandria, VA), Chris Winn Consulting (State College, PA), Anne H. Lewis (DC), Getactive Software (Berkeley, CA), Angus Strategy (Pueblo, CO).  Adams Hussey & Associates in received over $25,000 for doing direct mail.  Jennifer L. Swanson (DC) and Joshua Brumberger (NY) did fundraising consulting.  Receiving salaries were David S. Medina (political director), Kim Rubey (communications), Katherine M. Buchanan, Angela Siecker (in New Hampshire), Kathleen McGlynn, Kenisha Smith, Alicia Brown, Jenni Lee, Michael P. Dillon, John K. Davis, Layth S. Elhassani and Giancarlo A. Messina.

15. Sen. Feingold's Progressive Patriots' reports showed an in-kind contribution-personnel to Bob Baines mayoral campaign in Manchester, NH.

16. In the second half of 2005, Sen. Kerry's Keeping America's Promise raised the forth largest sum among presidential prospects' leadership PACs and spent the second most.

17. Gov. Vilsack's Heartland PAC has continued to receive large contributions:
$50,000  [4]: Achievement Technologies, Inc. (Newton, MA), Jerry Crawford (Des Moines Attorney), James Pugh (owner EPOCH Properties, Winter Park, FL), Gary Kirke (Pres.CEO, Kirke Financial Services, W. Des Moines)
$25,000  [11]: Eric Greenberg (Entrepreneuring, Inc, SF), Joe Lovelace (retired, Santa Barbara), Lilian Lovelace (vol., Santa Barbara), Adam Solomon (Chairman, Stonewater Capital, NY), Barry Griswall (CEO, Principal Company, W.Des Moines), Fred Hubbell (ING Group, Des Moines), CWA COPE PCC, Machinists Non-Partisan Political League, Douglas Green (CEO Rembrant Yard Art Gallery, Boulder), David Kruidenier (retired, Des Moines), McAninch Corporation (Des Moines)
$20,000 Houlihan Lokey Howard Zukin (banking, Los Angeles)
$15,000: Plum Creek Kennel, Inc. (Holyrood, KS)
$12,500: Lt. Gove Sally Pederson, James Autry (retired, Des Moines)
$10,000  [14]: Eli Broad (Los Angeles), Neal Rosenthal (CEO, Rosenthal Wine Merchants, NY), Sheet Metal Workers' Int'l Assoc. Pol. Action League, Pilot Grove Kennel (Elliot, IA), ENXCO Service Corp (N. Palm Springs), James and Pamela Crowe (Pres. Level 3 Communications, Englewood, CO),  Lewis Cullman (Cullman Ventures, LLC, NY), Bernard Schwartz (CEO, Loral), Bernard Rapoport (Chair/CEO Am. Income Life Ins. Co, Waco $11,140), Peter Roy, Inc (Pawleys Island, SC), Wright Tree Service, Inc. (Des Moines), George Cataldo (Pres., Iowa EPS Products Inc), John Pappajohn (CEO Pappajohn Capital, Des Moines), American Federation of Teachers

18. Gov. Warner's Forward Together PAC had the best second half of 2005 of any of the leadership PACs; much of this came from the Dec. 6, 2005 Gala that raised about $2.5 million.
 
 

Copyright © 2005 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action