2010 Candidates Get Significant Out-of-State Funding

Successful political campaigns have traditionally relied on local events where candidates shake hands with constituents and raise money. Today, however, they are increasingly making out-of-state online appeals to like-minded partisans and special interests with deep pockets.

A number of political candidates running in this year's midterm elections have received a significant portion of their campaign contributions from out-of-state donors, a new analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics shows.

On the Senate side, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont has received the most reportable out-of-state campaign contributions in this campaign cycle, according to the Center's data: 87.2 percent of his donations were out-of-state. Leahy was followed by Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, who received 82.7 percent of his contributions from out-of-state donors.

On the House side, Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, known nationwide for his two failed presidential bids, received 98.1 percent of his contributions from out-of-state donors. Democrat John Waltz, a Navy veteran challenging Republican Rep.Geoff Davis of Kentucky's 4th district, follows with 90.8 percent of his donations coming from out-of-state.

Both Republicans and Democrats take money from donors they are not seeking to represent. On the Senate side, according to the CRP, eight out of the top 10 recipients of out-of-state funding have been Republicans. On the House side, the figures are reversed. In Nevada, both Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican challenger, Tea Party-favorite Sharron Angle, are on the list of top out-of-state funding recipients.

The merits and drawbacks of out-of-state contributions are debatable. The CRP points out that many candidates still receive most of their funding from their potential constituents, among them Democrat Elaine Marshall, who is challenging Republican Sen. Richard Burr in North Carolina. She raised 93.7 percent of her funds in-state.

Polls show Marshall trailing, however, and the one other Senate candidate to raise a larger portion of his donations in-state, Republican Terrence Wall of Wisconsin, dropped out of the race in May.

Marshall's campaign spokesman Sam Swartz told CRP the campaign's fundraising is about connecting with North Carolina voters -- not outside special interests.

Many candidates are simply appealing directly to nationwide supporters online. Republican Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, for instance, was propelled to success in the primaries with a major donation from the Tea Party Express - a top-down organization. Just one day after winning the Republican nomination, O'Donnell raised more than $1 million for her campaign on her website.

On the left, groups like MoveOn.org and the FireDogLake political action committee are fundraising for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, who is in a tough re-election bid.

Feingold is "the rare person of conviction who stood alone and heroically voted against the Patriot Act when every other member of the Senate voted 'aye,'" FireDogLake co-founder Jane Hamsher wrote in an e-mail to supporters this week. "Please donate $5 or more to Russ Feingold and fight for our civil liberties. It's critical we keep his voice in the Senate."