Candidates, Committees See Post-Health Care Surge
Donors motivated by passage of a major health care overhaul gave millions of dollars to candidates on their side of the issue just after the bill passed Congress, new FEC filings show.
Both parties, incumbents and challengers saw a surge in donations after the House passed health care reform legislation on March 21 and Pres. Obama signed it on March 23. The RNC launched a "fire Nancy Pelosi" campaign that netted more than $1.4M, and the DNC saw a $2M increase in online donations, sources said.
All told, of the donations the RNC received from individuals in March, 63% of it came after the 21st, when the House passed the bill. The DNC raised 67% of its money, or nearly $3M, from individuals giving more than $200 -- the so-called itemized contributions -- after the bill passed.
Both parties had big days surrounding the health care vote. The DNC raised $740K from individual donors on March 23, the day Obama signed the bill, and March 24. The RNC raised $668K from donors on March 25; that single day accounted for nearly a quarter of the party's total individual gifts over $200.
The DCCC raised $3.8M in itemized contributions after the bill passed, FEC records show. An incredible 78% of those donations, $2.98M, came after the bill passed. The accounting department did not report $1.98M of those contributions until March 31, the final day of the reporting period.
Though the NRSC and the DSCC do not file electronically with the FEC, making their data less accessible, an NRSC spokesman said the committee received 63% of its contributions after the House vote. Figures for the DSCC were not immediately available.
Candidates did well, too, according to anecdotes from around the nation. Reps. Betsy Markey (D-CO) and Tom Perriello (D-VA), both endangered freshmen who voted for the bill, raised impressive sums last quarter, with the bulk of that cash coming in the final 10 days after they voted in favor of the measure. State Rep. Cory Gardner (R), Markey's likely opponent this fall, also saw an uptick in contributions after he came out strongly against the bill.
The NRCC, which had its own strong fundraising month, earned more of its itemized contributions before the final health care vote than after. FEC reports show the NRCC pulled in 44% of its monthly contribution totals after the vote.
The figures do not include unitemized donations -- contributions of less than $200 that do not have to be individually reported to the FEC. Those small-dollar donations also increased in March.
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