For those who are outraged by the Citizens United decision, which allows corporations and unions to use their own bank accounts to fund independent expenditure ads without spending limits, because you think it will favor conservative candidates, please consider the local example: A review of this year’s independent expenditures (IEs) on state races shows that liberal candidates are so far the biggest beneficiaries. Liberal groups have spent more than $300,000 on Democratic candidates heading into the August 17 primary out of about $400,000 spent on IEs overall.
Given Monday’s harsh independent attack ad on progressive state Rep. Geoff Simspon (D-47, Covington), I decided to look at who’s behind this year’s batch of IEs.
The anti-Simpson ad was, indeed, funded by conservative interests—a group called GOPAC. GOPAC’s funding comes from a committee called the Reagan Fund, whose top contributors include Philip Morris, Eli Lilly, the Washington Restaurant Association, Wal-Mart, and the Washington Beverage Association. GOPAC spent more than $20,893 to produce and place the cable ad.
However, the vast majority of candidate IEs in this year’s election are not being funded by conservative committees, but by Democratic groups such as the Service Employees International Union, the teachers union, and the Washington State Labor Council.
The top five candidate IEs:
1) Nick Harper, a young, progressive candidate who’s running to oust conservative incumbent Democrat Sen. Jean Berkey (D-38, Everett) is the biggest beneficiary of IEs. IE groups have spent $43,000, plus $77,000 against Berkey. That’s $120,000.
More than $100,000 of the pro-Harper/anti-Berkey money came from an IE committee called Stand Up for Citizens, which is being funded by the Washington State Labor Council (through its Don’t Invest in More Excuses PAC, DIMEPAC) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
2) Super-conservative Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson is the target of the second biggest IE expenditure so far this year. A committee called Impartial Justice has spent about $93,000 to oppose Johnson’s reelection bid. Impartial Justice is funded by a group called FAIRPAC. FAIRPAC, in turn, is funded by the same handful of contributors noted above: SEIU, the Washington State Labor Council, and the teachers union.
Impartial Justice has not spent any IE money on Johnson’s opponent, Stan Rumbaugh—yet.
3) The third largest IE target is another conservative Democratic state senator, Steve Hobbs (D-44, Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Marysville, Mill Creek). Hobbs is being opposed by a committee called Stand for Citizens, which has spent $38,000 against him.
Stand for Citizens is funded by the same contributors as Stand Up for Citizens—the teachers union, WSLC, and SEIU. (SEIU has also spent $3,000 on its own IE against Hobbs, bringing the overall spend against Hobbs to $41,000.)
Unlike Harper, Hobbs’ progressive opponent Lillian Kaufer hasn’t had much money spent on her behalf—just $3,000 to date from SEIU.
4) The fourth biggest IE campaign is a $27,200 effort against a Republican House candidate, Joe Wilcox, in the 2nd Legislative District (Pierce County, including Ft. Lewis, Spanaway, Orting, Graham, and Yelm). The IE committee, For the People, is being funded by the WSLC and firefighters unions.
5) The fifth biggest beneficiary? Joe Fitzgibbon, the progressive favorite in the 34th Legislative District (West Seattle, Vashon, Maury Island, and Burien).
A committee called Progressive Champions has spent $26,700 in support of Fitzgibbon’s campaign. He’s running against two other Democrats (and an Independent) in the crowded contest to fill star Democratic state Rep. Sharon Nelson’s seat. (She’s moving to the state senate.)
Progressive Champions, which hasn’t gotten involved in any other race, is funded largely with money ($18,000) from SEIU.
Footnote: Washington state’s campaign finance rules already allowed direct and unlimited corporate (and union) spending on IEs, so the Citizens United decision wasn’t a new thing for Washington state. However, our local example still defies the conventional wisdom about the lax rules on IEs.
