Senate Dems aid their own with last-minute dollars

A host of Senate Democrats chipped in more than $6.7 million to colleagues in the waning days of the 2008 election, aiding their own cause as their party headed toward at least a seven-seat pickup.

Twenty-three members of the caucus helped the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) with major cash infusions in the campaign’s final two months, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission and the Secretary of the Senate. Between September and November, 11 senators transferred more than $100,000 from their campaign accounts.

{mosads}The last-minute infusion helped the DSCC, headed by Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), raise a record $155 million during the 2008 cycle. Democrats far outpaced their GOP counterparts at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which raised $93 million over the past two years, according to their reports.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who easily won reelection this year, made the biggest donation to the DSCC’s pocketbooks. He pitched in $1 million in September and an additional $650,000 in the final two weeks before the Nov. 4 election. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, also broke the seven-figure mark with a $1 million contribution in October.

Kerry and Baucus both won reelection in 2008 but did not face tough challengers, which helped them steer money to colleagues.

Others contributing big bucks included Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the majority whip, who donated $500,000 on Oct. 21, and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who wrote four checks totaling $770,000.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), another incumbent who coasted to reelection, gave two contributions of $250,000 each in the final month and a half, and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) gave $400,000 over two days in September.

Sen.-elect Mark Warner (D-Va.), who coasted to victory to take the seat vacated by retiring GOP Sen. John Warner, gave the DSCC two contributions totaling $500,000 on Oct. 22 and 23. After a 30-point win over his Republican opponent, Warner gave the committee an additional $100,000 on Nov. 24, the day the filing period ended.

A DSCC spokesman said the last-minute contributions are common symptoms of the standard late push for contributions.

Still, the contributions weren’t nearly enough to save the DSCC from ending the cycle in significant debt. By the end of the cycle, the DSCC owed $12.9 million, far more than the $3.5 million hole in which the NRSC found itself.

Republicans, many of whom recognized early that the 2008 cycle would be dangerous for their party, were much tighter with their money. Just three senators wired funds to the NRSC over the campaign’s last two months. That included NRSC Chairman John Ensign (Nev.), who donated $300,000.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who cruised to reelection in November, gave $150,000 before Election Day and an additional $50,000 a week later. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pitched in $100,000. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) gave $25,000 after he won reelection.