Political Fund-Raising Records Keep Falling

Money is pouring into politics as never before. A record number of House candidates has already raised at least $1 million. And the Democratic and Republican parties have almost doubled their intake of “soft money” donations since 1996.

“Will there be a record that hasn’t been broken by the end of the cycle?” said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies money and campaigns.

Presumed Republican nominee George W. Bush set the pace by raising more than $84 million so far to shatter all presidential fund-raising records.

The Federal Election Commission reported Monday that 37 House candidates had raised at least $1 million from Jan. 1, 1999, to March 31, 2000, compared with just seven during the same 15-month period two years earlier.

The Democrats need to gain just six seats to recapture the House, and both parties and campaign contributors are focusing on a handful of competitive races that will decide who holds the majority.

“Because people believe there are only 20 or 25 seriously competitive races out there, each one of them is their own private Ft. Knox,” Democratic consultant Peter Fenn said. “Money is flowing into the handful of races in unprecedented amounts.”

The top House fund-raiser, Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale), faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) in a district Rogan won with just 51% of the vote in 1998. Rogan raised $3.8 million through March 31--more than twice the $1.4 million raised for his entire 1998 campaign. Schiff raised $1.9 million.

Overall, House and Senate candidates raised $463 million, up $125 million over the same period two years ago.

The political parties are raising more as well. From Jan. 1, 1999, to March 31, 2000, the GOP took in $86.4 million in soft money--unlimited donations from corporations, unions and individuals not subject to most federal election laws. That’s a 93% increase over the $44.7 million the party raised during the same period in 1995-96.

Democratic committees, meanwhile, raised $77 million in soft money, up 94% from the $39.7 million raised during the same period in 1995-96.

The parties have been helped by the booming economy and the growing number of high-tech millionaires.

“There’s just a lot more money out there,” Republican consultant Eddie Mahe said. “You’ve got thousands and thousands of multimillionaires in this country.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which boosted its soft money donations from $3.4 million in 1995-96 to $21.9 million in 1999-2000, was to add to its totals Monday at a fund-raiser celebrating the 70th birthday of Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.).

With a top ticket of $100,000, the event was expected to raise $3 million for the committee, which contributes to Democratic candidates for the House.