Posted on 01/04/2010 5:33:55 PM PST by Born Conservative
Overall spending by House and Senate candidates in 2008 declined nearly 3 percent compared with 2006, and the money candidates took in also dropped, though not as steeply.
The data are contained in a recent report released by the Federal Election Commission.
The data also provide top 50 lists for various categories including the top spenders, the highest debts owed and the incumbents that entered the 2009-10 election cycle with the most cash-on-hand.
Several local candidates made the lists.
Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, ranked 33rd nationally in terms of money spent by incumbent House members. He was 42nd in terms of money raised, bringing in $2.51 million. His successful election battle against Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta cost him $3.153 million.
Barletta didn’t get off the hook easy.
He’s ranked 24th on the list of highest debt by House challengers, listing $263,170 in money owed at the end of the cycle.
Barletta and Kanjorski might square off again this year. Barletta has announced another run, but he’ll have to beat Monroe County resident Chris Page to have another shot at Kanjorski. That’s, of course, if Kanjorski opts to run again.
His campaign spokesman from previous elections sent out a release last week saying he was representing the 13-term congressman, but stopped short of announcing Kanjorski was seeking reelection.
Barletta wasn’t the only local challenger to make the top 50 House challenger list of most debt at the end of 2008.
Dan Meuser, who lost a Republican primary election race to fellow Back Mountain businessman Chris Hackett in 2008, ranked number 2 nationally with a debt of $1.89 million. He held that position on the list for House challengers and for overall congressional candidates.
Hackett went on to lose to U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, in the general election. Carney appeared on just one of the 12 incumbent House lists released with the report.
He spent $2.33 million during the cycle. His total money raised, of $2.34 million, ranked 49th nationally. His cash on hand at the end of 2008 was $32,477.
No Democrats have officially announced they’re challenging Carney, but Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk, a Republican, has said he will run.
The FEC report shows that Senate spending and fundraising took hard hits and account for the drop in overall congressional race numbers from 2006 to 2008.
In 2007-08, Republican and Democratic Senate candidates raised $435.57 million and spent $433.02 million; those figures are both about 19 percent less than 2006 levels.
On the House side, both revenue and disbursements were up from 2006 to 2008.
Republican and Democratic House candidates increased their financial activity during 2007-08, raising $980.35 million, almost 13 percent above 2006 totals, while spending $938.29 million. That was up more than 10 percent from the previous election.
The 2006 election cycle was the costliest for congressional candidates in the history of the country, nearly doubling the money raised and spent during the 1998 election.
Neither of Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators, Arlen Specter, D-Philadelphia, and Bob Casey, D-Scranton, had elections in 2008. Specter has a race this year against fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, in the primary, then the winner is likely to face Pat Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican, in the general election.
Paul Kanjorski 2010 Election Cycle
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Federal Dollars are “free money”
Kanjorski: $2 Trillion really isn’t a lot of money
Representative Kanjorski Lies About The Surge
Kanjorski doesn’t apologize to anyone
Kanjorski Sneaks Through Backdoor at Rangel Fundraiser
Paul Kanjorski on Universal Health Care
Rep. Kanjorski on Congressional Pay Raises
Kanjorski is scum. I thought Mayor Lou Barletta would knock him off last year, but, considering the giant drag at the top of the ticket, losing by 3 points was not just a bad deal.
Barletta is running again this year. Given the change of circumstances, Kanjorski should be one of the Communists swept out by the 2010 tide.
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