It doesn’t take the regimen of a 24/7 political junkie to gather that 2010 might not be the best year to be an incumbent in the US Congress. Many citizens say they would like to fire the whole kit and caboodle of legislators currently serving. So at first glance it is not surprising that in the House of Representatives, 80 members have amassed campaign war chests of $1M or more.
The hands-down winner of the campaign cash sweepstakes, according to a study by Politico.com, is Frank Pallone (D-NJ) with $3.9M salted away. In his case, he will use very little of it defending his relatively safe seat; nor is he giving more than necessary to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – he’s said to be saving up for an eventual Senate bid.
Of the 80, the vast majority are Democrats, who account for 57 of the campaign millionaires, to only 27 from the Republican side of the aisle.
Politico points out that in almost all of these cases, one of the reasons the representatives are able to command a healthy flow of cash contributions is because their seats are safe.
The ultimate value of their treasure may be in providing aid to candidates in shakier districts, with the goal of keeping majority control of the chamber, if you’re a Democrat, or recapturing it if you’re a Republican.
RBR-TVBR observation: Sooner or later this money is going to find its way into the system somewhere. The better your news and information programming, the better able you will be to command your fair share.
But if news and information isn’t your stock in trade, there is still a strong possibility that your particular audience may hold particular value to a particular politician. Identify the likely matches and make sure they know what you can deliver, and do it now.
