[Half-a-million dollars in the bank but no election to spend it on. Congressman Jim Walsh will have to find another way to cash in his campaign donations when he steps down next year. Shelly Schwartz of Democracywise tells us how much money the retiring congressman has in the bank and how it can be spent.]
November 2006—Republican Congressman Jim Walsh narrowly defeats Democrat Dan Maffei for the 25th district congressional seat.
2007—Thousands of dollars pour into Walsh’s campaign accounts to help reelect him for an eleventh term in 2008.
January 2008—Walsh announces he’s done. That’s a surprise to many — especially some of those who gave money to Walsh to run again.
For example, supporter William Fisher of Camillus donated more than $2,000 last May to help reelect Walsh in 2008. Fisher says he was surprised by Walsh’s decision to retire, but he understands why the congressman is stepping down after 20 years in office.
[“It looked like he was really aggressively raising money. But at the same time I understand how draining it must be to travel back and forth to Washington as often as he did,” William Fisher of Camillus.]
Before his retirement announcement, Walsh had remained a formidable fundraiser. The Federal Election Commission says Walsh’s campaign raised more than $761,000 in 2007. This means Walsh was bringing in about:
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$2,090 a day
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$87 an hour
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Or $1.45 a minute from supporters who wanted to keep him in office.
The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit research group in Washington, D.C., that tracks political money. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that more than 400 Walsh supporters donated nearly $393,000 last year. And about $357,000 came from political action committees.
But now, there isn’t a reelection campaign to pay for. The Federal Election Commission says Walsh has a few ways he can spend the leftover money:
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Turn it over to the Republican party
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Make contributions to other candidates
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Or refund the money to people who donated
At last check on March 25, the Center for Responsive Politics reported that Walsh’s campaign has about $500,000 on hand. If he was running for his eleventh term this November, he would have more money than Democratic candidate Dan Maffei who’s running for Walsh’s seat again.
The Center for Responsive Politics is reporting that Maffei has about $440,000 in the bank to put toward November’s race.
The Republican running to replace Walsh will have a lot of catching up to do. Political science professor Thomas Raven of Syracuse University says like it or not, money fuels the political process.
[“The money is critical. You have to have it to prove you’re a viable candidate. You have to have it in the primary stage to either scare away potential challengers. And you have to have it in the general election to get your message out,” Thomas Raven of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.]
Liz Kurland of the Federal Election Commission says it’s rare for politicians who don’t run for reelection to give the money back to donors. And federal rules say Walsh can’t spend the donations on himself.
[“He can’t withdraw them all and take a vacation,” Liz Kurland of the Federal Election Commission.]
Walsh’s office says it’s a little too early to tell what he’ll do with the campaign money. Supporter George Schunck of Jamesville has been donating to Walsh ever since he first ran for congress back in 1988. Last year Schunck and his wife donated $2,000. He says he wouldn’t want his money back because he trusts that Walsh will put it to good use.
[“I think that’s up to him. I have complete faith in his judgment,” George Schunck of Jamesville, New York.]
William Fisher of Camillus agrees. He says even though Walsh isn’t running, donating was still worth it.
[“He’s a wise person and I’m sure he’ll put the money to good use toward causes that he believes in and that I would believe in just as strongly,” William Fisher of Camillus, New York.]
Reporting for Democracywise, I’m Shelly Schwartz.
(Shelly Schwartz is a senior broadcast journalism major.)
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