Politics

GOP Gala Expected To Net $14M

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 27, 1999 / 4:20 PM EDT / CBS

The Republican National Committee will raise $14 million at a single event Wednesday to help fight elections next year in which control of the House of Representatives as well as the White House are at stake.

Former President George Bush is the guest of honor at the RNC gala, for which the party has rented out the MCI sports arena in downtown Washington.

Bush's eldest son, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, is the early front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination next year and raised $7.6 million in his first four weeks of fund raising. The younger Bush is not expected to be present to hear his father speak Wednesday.

Some 1,200 people are expected, paying a minimum of $1,500 each. For corporate donors, dinner will cost $2,000 per person or $20,000 for an entire table.

"This is a record event for us. Our party is very focused on maximizing our potential for the 2000 elections, so that we can win from the White House down to the local level," said RNC spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick.

He declined to give a guest list or name any of the corporations attending, saying that information would be included in the RNC's half-yearly report to the Federal Election Commission due mid-July.

The 2000 elections are particularly crucial because for the first time since 1988 there is no White House incumbent, meaning that both parties have a fighting chance of winning.

Additionally, the Republican majority of 222 to 211 seats in the House would disappear with a Democratic pickup of only six seats. One seat in the 435-member chamber is vacant and one is held by an independent who usually votes with the Democrats.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for House elections, reported raising a record $6.8 million in the first quarter of this year.

The National Republican Congressional Committee did not report figures but said it had raised $4.2 million at one fund-raising dinner in Washington in March.

"The 2000 election cycle will shatter every fund-raising record in the book," said Larry Makinson of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics.

"This latest Republican event sounds like a record for a single event. That amount of money in a single night -- it makes your jaw drop," said Makinson.

Republicans traditionally outraise and outspend Democrats in U.S. election campaigns, due to their superior ability to raise money from corporations and wealthy individuals.

"We expect to be outspent but we will be in a stronger position than we were four years ago. We will be competitive," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Rick Hess.

While Bush addresses the RNC gala, President Clinton will be collecting money for the Democrats at an exclusive gathering in a private residence in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which is expected to raise $600,000 from the 50 invited guests.