I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Out-of-state groups have conducted a shadow campaign in the 1st and 2nd Congressional District contests this year, dumping nearly $4 million to sway the outcome of the two races, records show.
The tsunami of cash is part of a growing trend nationally in which outside groups swoop in to hot congressional race to run what are usually attack ads, pay for mass mailings or conduct surveys. And it has election and campaign finance reformers concerned.
“It should trouble people to see this amount of money spent on political campaigns,” said Steven Robert Allen, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause. “People and entities spend money for reasons. It could be that they love the candidate. The more troubling aspect in some cases is that entities or individuals want something in exchange for that money. And that’s where the whole situation becomes troubling. Is that access? Is that influence? In some cases it certainly is.”
All told, organizations as varied as the Democratic and Republican congressional committees to advocates of all political stripes, have spent as little as $4 to as much as $459,000 in hundreds of transactions in recent months, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The amount of money flowing into New Mexico is enough that it appears to have kept pace with candidate spending in the 2nd Congressional District through the last reporting period, at around $2 million, according to Opensecrets.org, a website run by the Center for Responsive Politics.
In the 1st Congressional District the rate of spending by outside groups is smaller, but not by much. Candidates have spent $2 million, compared to $1.9 million from outside groups, records show.
Steve Pearce has a big bulls-eye on his back
Spending by outside groups in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District race as of 10/21/10
Former Republican Congressman Steve Pearce is one of the biggest targets in this war of deep-pocketed interests, records show.
More than $1.25 million in money spent by outside groups has flowed into New Mexico to oppose Pearce’s attempt to knock off freshman Democratic Congressman Harry Teague in what has been billed as one of the most hotly contested House races across the country, records show.
The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund plunked down $459,000 for a TV ad buy targeting Pearce earlier this month, the largest single transaction in the New Mexico congressional races, Federal Election Commission records show.
The Defenders of Wildlife, a left-leaning organization advocating a pro-conservation agenda, opposed Pearce’s 2008 run for U.S. Senate. This year the organization appears to be the biggest spender among the outside groups that have parachuted in to square off over New Mexico’s congressional races, spending more than $700,000, records show.
The outside money isn’t confined to Democrats or their allies.
Spending by outside groups in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District race as of 10/21/10
The 1st Congressional District’s freshman Democratic Congressman Martin Heinrich has seen his re-election effort attract nearly $1.4 million from outside groups opposed to his re-election, according to Opensecrets. That includes $316,306 spent on Aug. 27 by the American Future Fund for TV ad production, according to the Federal Elections Commission records. Heinrich faces Republican challenger Jon Barela.
The American Future Fund is a conservative organization advocating free-market ideals.
As troubling as the eye-popping numbers are to campaign finance reform advocates, 2010’s figures pale next to the sums spent during the 2008 election cycle by outside groups.
The Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees alone spent $3.7 million in the 2nd Congressional District race in 2008, according to Opensecrets. Similarly, the two party committees spent more than $4 million in the 1st Congressional District race that year, records show.
But this year’s totals for outside spending could eclipse 2008’s totals, given that the last two weeks of an election season are when groups spend the most money, said University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson.
“Both (races) can reach” the 2008 totals, but “CD 2 is very likely,” Atkeson said, citing the battle between Pearce, a former three-term congressman, and Teague, who won the seat in 2008 when Pearce ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2008.
Unlike the 1st and 2nd districts, the 3rd Congressional District race has largely been ignored by outside interests, barely registering any influx of money, records show.
Big spending by outside groups nationally
This year has seen an influx of outside-spending in congressional races across the country; $225 million so far, according to Opensecrets.org. And many observers attribute that infusion to a controversial Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, United Citizens v. Federal Elections Commission.
That ruling struck down a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting “electioneering communications
Some had predicted that the ruling would unleash a flood of corporate and union money into a political system already awash in money.
While acknowledging the ruling is a factor, Allen, the Common Cause New Mexico executive director, said it doesn’t explain everything.
“To an extent, Citizens United has allowed for some new creative avenues for wealthier interests that want to get involved in influencing the electoral interests,” Allen said. “But with or without Citizens United this has been a long time trend. It’s almost an arms race.”
The amount of money flowing into New Mexico’s congressional races from outside groups has grown year after year, Allen said — a sentiment that Atkeson shares.
A rundown of help for candidates
Each of the four candidates in the two congressional races has been aided by outside spending, which allows organizations to support or oppose a candidate, records show.
While Heinrich has drawn a lot of opposition, he’s also come in for some major help – nearly $149,000, including $75,000 from Defenders of Wildlife, records show.
Jon Barela, Heinrich’s Republican opponent, has received nearly $65,000 in support from business groups and the National Right to Life PAC, FEC records show. Meanwhile, he’s attracted the attention of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has spent more than $350,000 opposing his candidacy, according to OpenSecrets.
The DCCC, as it is known, also has put a bulls-eye on Pearce, spending nearly $500,000 to oppose his candidacy, including a $234,000 media buy purchased earlier this month, FEC records show.
Pearce has received less than $30,000 from outside groups supporting his candidacy..
Teague meanwhile has attracted the notice of the National Republican Congressional Committee. The NRCC has spent $378,000 of the $700,000 of the outside groups opposing Teague’s re-election bid, according to Opensecrets.
Meanwhile Teague has received around $15,000 in aid from outside groups supporting his re-election, OpenSecrets shows.
