Kucinich outraises Kaptur; Wurzelbacher taking salary

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland outraised his Democratic opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, $167,388 to $143,816 in the last quarter of 2011 in the contest for the 9th Congressional District, according to reports filed Tuesday with the Federal Elections Commission.

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On the GOP side, Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher reported $57,728 in contributions, and revealed he is taking a $5,000 monthly salary -- $3,842 after taxes -- for being a candidate.

His spokesman, Roman Schroeder, said Mr. Wurzelbacher is his family's sole breadwinner and must replace his income, which Mr. Wurzelbacher has said was coming from a combination of speaking fees and plumbing and building jobs.

"All the large donors are well aware and they've encouraged him to take that salary," Mr. Schroeder said. "All those people understand that Joe's not a wealthy man, not a man of means; he knows what it means to live paycheck to paycheck."

He said the purpose of the elections commission rule allowing candidates to take a paycheck is so that not only the wealthy can run for office.

The commission allows candidates to be paid, as long as it is less than they made in the previous year.

The reports that were due Tuesday cover the last quarter of 2011, so any fund-raising events the candidates have held since were not reported.

Miss Kaptur and Mr. Kucinich are vying, along with Cleveland businessman Graham Veysey, for the Democratic nomination to run in the November general election to represent the district, which has been redrawn to stretch from Toledo to Cleveland. The primary is March 6.

Mr. Wurzelbacher and Huron auctioneer Steven Kraus are competing for the Republican nomination.

Mr. Veysey did not file a report. The elections commission does not require a report when contributions and expenditures are less than $5,000. The report for Mr. Kraus showed $6,275 in contributions, $4,137 in expenditures, and $2,138 left on hand.

"We're right on target with where we want to be," Kaptur campaign manager Steve Fought said. "We're happy with this. But it's a constant battle because [Mr. Kucinich] is tapping into that Hollywood money."

Mr. Kucinich has held at least one recent fund-raiser in Los Angeles and raised money Sunday in Lorain, Ohio, with a concert by singer Willie Nelson.

Mr. Fought said the campaign was trying to stretch its money to compete in two media markets. Miss Kaptur has said that Cleveland television ad time costs five times as much as Toledo ad time.

"We just started some small radio, but we're husbanding it for the final stretch because we know it's going to get hot and heavy," Mr. Fought said.

Mr. Kucinich did not return phone calls seeking comment. Mr. Kucinich spent $133,100, leaving him with $121,373 cash on hand in his account, as of Dec. 31.

Miss Kaptur spent $29,889, which left her campaign with cash on hand of $706,592.

Most of Mr. Kucinich's money came from individuals outside Ohio, primarily in California. The report identified $19,500 from union political action committees, including the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, the American Postal Workers Union, and machinist and bridge workers' unions.

Nearly all of Miss Kaptur's individual contributors were Ohioans. However, the bulk of her contributions came from political action committees, both unions and corporations. Miss Kaptur is the second-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. The biggest PAC contributions were $5,000 each from union International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Union of Operating Engineers, and Unite Here TIP Campaign.

A summary of Mr. Wurzelbacher's report was emailed to The Blade by Mr. Schroeder because the report did not show up in the election commission's online list. The report shows expenditures of $40,242 and cash on hand at the end of the period of $17,485.

Contact Tom Troy at: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419-724-6058.