Schumer cutting monster checks to help out fellow Senate Democrats

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has gone on a late-season
spending spree to help Democratic candidates.

A new campaign finance report shows Schumer cut two checks
to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) worth $1 million each in
September.

He has also poured money from his campaign account into
state parties around the country. Friends of Schumer gave $250,000 to the
Nevada State Democratic Party on Sept. 7, a crucial boost to embattled Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

{mosads}Schumer’s donations are sure to raise eyebrows because he
himself is up for re-election this year, albeit against weak opposition. He is
also widely expected to run for Senate Democratic leader if Reid loses his race
in Nevada.

The gifts cement Schumer’s position as the Senate Democrats’ biggest financial backer, and could make a difference if he makes a bid to lead
Senate Democrats in the 112th Congress. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin
(D-Ill.) is seen as the other favorite to succeed Reid.

Schumer’s campaign also gave $25,000 to the Alaska
Democratic Party, $50,000 to the Colorado Democratic Party, $50,000 to
the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and $50,000 to the Washington State
Democratic Party, according to a report filed Wednesday.

The contributions were all made at the end of September and
will help incumbents in tough races such as Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.),
Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Patty Murray (D-Was.).

Schumer also gave generously to help incumbents who are not
considered in danger, such as Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

In late September, Schumer’s campaign gave $50,000 to the
Democratic State Central Committee of Maryland, $25,000 to the Democratic Party
of Oregon, and $20,000 to the Vermont Democratic Party.

He has given a total of $3 million to the DSCC this cycle.

A fundraising report filed Wednesday shows that Schumer gave
the committee a $1 million gift from his campaign account on Sept. 14 and a
second $1 million gift on Sept. 29.

DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) announced in mid-September
that Schumer had made the Sept. 14 donation.

Schumer transferred the first $1 million from Friends of
Schumer in August.

The New York senator reported $23.2 million in his personal campaign war
chest at the end of Aug. Friends of Schumer reported $19.3 million in cash on
hand at the end of September.

Speculation over a potential race for leader between Durbin
and Schumer, the vice chairman of the Democratic conference, has intensified in
recent days.

“While the public chatter of succession battle has died
down, there’s a lot of scheming behind the scenes,” said a Democratic lobbyist who
focuses on the Senate.

“It’s very possible that Reid could lose,” said the lobbyist.
Reid is tied in the polls with his conservative challenger, Sharron Angle.

Reid didn’t help his cause by turning in what political
experts viewed as a mediocre performance during his debate with Angle last
week.

While Reid has focused on his race with Angle, Schumer and
Durbin have taken the lead on helping Senate Democratic candidates around the
country this fall.

From this past weekend through Election Day, Durbin is
scheduled to host, headline or appear at campaign events in California,
Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.
His scheduler is trying to lock down another four events.

Both Durbin and Schumer have lavished hundreds of thousands
of dollars in political contributions on Senate colleagues and candidates this
election cycle. 

The gifts are highly appreciated in a campaign year when
Democratic candidates have seen a record number of corporate-funded attack ads
because of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC.

Durbin has doled out $400,000 to Senate candidates and the
state parties working to help them through his leadership political action
committee, Prairie PAC, according a review of fundraising records going back to
Election Day 2008. The most recent report covered the period from Oct. 1 to
Oct. 13.

He has given the DSCC $30,000 from his leadership PAC and
transferred $430,000 to the committee from his personal campaign account.

Durbin has also hosted nearly a dozen events for Senate
Democratic candidates and the DSCC in Chicago this year.

Schumer has given $390,000 from his leadership PAC, Impact,
to help Senate Democratic candidates this cycle, according to reports covering
the period from Election Day 2008 to Oct. 13 of this year.

These contributions will be among the factors Democratic
senators weigh if Durbin and Schumer square off in a race for Senate majority
leader.

Talk of a potential race between Durbin and Schumer quieted
over the summer after Angle won the Nevada GOP primary in June. Political
experts thought Angle would be a weak opponent because of her penchant for
controversial statements, but Reid has struggled to boost his approval rating
much above 40 percent.

Conservatives have poured money into Nevada to defeat Reid.
Angle reported raising a jaw-dropping $14 million in the third quarter of this
year.

Reid’s debate against Angle gave his supporters more
cause for concern.

“Sharron Angle won The Big Debate,” Nevada political analyst
Jon Ralston wrote in the Las Vegas Sun. “She won because Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid looked as if he could barely stay on a linear argument, abruptly
switching gears and failing to effectively parry or thrust.”