Money equals victory in most congressional races

by Jonathan D. Salant, The Associated Press

Thursday, November 9, 2000

WASHINGTON – Money in the bank translated into victory at the polls. More than nine of every 10 congressional candidates with the most campaign cash won their races.

With three races still too close to call Wednesday, 81 percent of Senate winners and 96 percent of House winners outspent their opponents, according to an Associated Press analysis of Federal Election Commission data.

"The depressing thing about American democracy is I can check the fund-raising balances at the Federal Election Commission and tell you what the election results will be before the election," said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies money and campaigns.

The AP analysis found 26 of 32 Senate races and 417 of 433 House races won by the candidate with the most money to spend as of Oct. 18, the last date with available figures.

Most candidates who were outspent by their opponents had help from outside sources to close the gap. For Democrats, the AFL-CIO supplied volunteers to make phone calls, distribute literature and get voters to the polls. Business groups undertook similar grass-roots operations for Republicans.

The parties pumped millions of dollars into the campaigns also.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for example, bought expensive television time in New York City and Los Angeles to support candidates in tight races. Among the beneficiaries: Steve Israel on Long Island, who won an open House seat despite being outspent by Republican Joan Johnson, $612,500 to $560,247; and Adam Schiff in California, who ousted Rep. Jim Rogan in the most expensive House race in history.

The champion spender was New Jersey Sen.-elect Jon Corzine, who spent an estimated $65 million on his win, setting a new record for campaign spending and making his race against Rep. Bob Franks the most expensive Senate election in history.

But the second-biggest Senate spender, Rep. Rick Lazio of New York, lost his race to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.