GOP freshmen see fundraising dwindle
WASHINGTON -- Two-thirds of the Republican freshmen who captured Democratic-held seats in the GOP's 2010 takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives saw their fundraising dip in the past quarter, campaign-finance reports show.
Several of the new incumbents, including Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, in a rematch with former congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, have been significantly outraised by their challengers. In addition, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took in nearly twice as much campaign cash as House Republicans in September — a sign Democratic donors are energized, despite low poll rankings for Congress and President Obama.
Democrats need 25 seats to retake control of the House after losing more than 60 to Republicans last year in a wave of voter anger with Washington.
"A deep sense of buyer's remorse has set in across the country toward Republicans," said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who oversees House campaign efforts for Democrats. "I can't guarantee that we'll take the House back in 2012, but it will be razor close."
Forty-three of 65 Republicans elected to formerly Democratic seats raised less in the July-to-September period for their House campaigns than the previous quarter, a USA TODAY tally shows.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has seen its fundraising surge, collecting $6.6 million in September, nearly double its August haul. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $3.8 million in September, a 27% increase from its total the previous month.
Officials with the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee declined comment. In a recent editorial, the group's chairman, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions pointed to Republican victories this fall in Nevada and New York special elections for the House as evidence that Democrats have not heeded voters' unhappiness with Washington.
"House Democrats stand up for the deeply unpopular Obamacare law, voting against the House Republican attempts to repeal it," Sessions wrote in The Daily Caller. "They push for more government as Republicans wage war against job-destroying regulations and tax increases."
Among the Democratic fundraising success stories: Ann McLane Kuster, a New Hampshire lawyer who narrowly lost to Republican Rep. Charlie Bass last year. Bass previously served in Congress from 1995 to 2007 and recaptured the seat in the 2010 Republican wave.
Kuster has outraised Bass by nearly $212,000 in the July-to-September quarter. Kuster, who has never held elective office before, said voters and donors want a fresh face in Congress, which she called a "broken" institution. "People don't like this Congress. This is a Republican Congress, and it's a do-nothing Congress."
Bass has exceeded his fundraising in previous non-election years. "Certainly, our goal always is to raise as much funds as we can, and we'll continue to do that," said Bass campaign spokesman Scott Tranchemontaigne.
In Arizona, GOP Rep. Gosar saw his fundraising rise in the past quarter, but Kirkpatrick, the Democrat he ousted last year, has outraised him and ended September with $353,464 in the bank — $118,000 more than Gosar.
Gosar's not worried about prevailing in an election that is likely to turn on jobs and the sluggish economy, said campaign spokesman Colin Shipley.
Related Stories
ABC News Live