With 37 governor jobs at stake this year, both the Republican Governors Association and Democratic Governors Association going to much busier than usual. But the RGA has a cash advantage, thanks in part to a $1M contribution from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
According to a Bloomberg report, News Corp.’s gift is the largest from any corporation.
RGA is said to have picked up $58M during the running from 1/1/09 through 6/30/10, compared to DGA’s $40M. Unlike in the party PACs focused on federal races, donations for gubernatorial campaigns are not restricted.
DGA has picked up even larger contributions from two big unions, including $1.1M from SEIU and $3.3M from AFSCME, but lags in total donations nevertheless.
According to Politico’s Ben Smith, News Corp. offered a statement on its donation, saying, “News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA’s pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy.”
Among News Corp.’s holdings are Fox News Channel, Fox Television Network and the Wall Street Journal.
RBR-TVBR observation: Insert your own “fair and balanced” joke here.
Actually, it is common for media companies to make political donations, but there is always the chance of raising some eyebrows when objective news reporting is a company’s major product. And in many cases, donations from many different types of corporations tend to go to key politicians in seats of power, regardless of party.
At any rate, we certainly aren’t going to make any jokes about this, but we think it’s pretty much a mortal lock that we’ll be hearing them sooner rather than later.
