9th District Campaign

Reports show Kaptur holding lead in funding

2/27/2012

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s national network of contributors helped him narrow the campaign-funding gap with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the 9th Congressional District Democratic nomination contest, but Miss Kaptur still has more money in the bank for the final sprint to the March 6 election.

But because she started out with more money, Miss Kaptur of Toledo started the final three-week stretch to the election with a bigger campaign war chest — $422,910 to Mr. Kucinich’s $250,407.

On the Republican side, Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher of Springfield Township missed the Thursday reporting deadline and on Friday was issued a “failure to file notice” by the Federal Elections Commission.

The two Democrats far out-raised challenger Graham Veysey, a Cleveland entrepreneur making his first run for office, who reported contributions of $53,180 and ended the period with $36,400 cash.

During the Jan. 1-Feb. 15 reporting period, Mr. Kucinich, of Cleveland, collected $362,097, mostly from individuals. California was the state with the biggest number of contributors, and they included movie actors Warren Beatty and Annette Bening and soap opera actor Deidre Hall, who each gave $2,500.

The report shows no revenue from the $15-a-ticket concert performed for Mr. Kucinich’s benefit by Willie Nelson at the Lorain Palace Theatre on Jan. 30 because contributions that small were not required to be itemized, spokesman Andy Juniewicz said.

The report shows an expenditure of $14,829 on Jan. 29 for the use of the theater and $39,502 to Mr. Nelson’s company, the Valentine Road Corp. of Dallas.

And since the reporting period, Mr. Kucinich reported an additional $16,412, including $5,000 from the National Abortion Rights Action League.

During the Jan. 1-Feb. 15 period, Miss Kaptur raised $89,002 and has reported an additional $17,000 since then. Most of her money was from political action committees.

Transportation-related unions appeared to be strong for Miss Kaptur. The Boeing Political Action Committee gave $5,000, making its total for this cycle $10,000.

Unions representing teamsters, seafarers, maritime officers, airline pilots, and air-traffic controllers, as well as the CSX Corp. political action committee, all chipped in $1,000 or more. The political action committee of Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., which builds ships for the Navy and Coast Guard, gave $5,000, bringing its total to $8,000. The Steelworkers Union and the Sheetmetal and Air Conditioning Contractors political action committees each gave $5,000.

An exception among transportation-related unions was the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of San Francisco, which donated $2,000 to Mr. Kucinich.

For the most recent reporting period — Jan. 1 to Feb. 15, Mr. Kucinich spent $231,539 and Miss Kaptur spent $372,684.

As of Feb. 15, Mr. Kucinich had outraised Miss Kaptur $969,242 to $366,555, according to Federal Election Commission reports that were due last Thursday. And Mr. Kucinich has outspent Miss Kaptur $809,804 to $479,933.

Auctioneer Steven Kraus of Huron, reported contributions of $3,723, for a total of $9,999 for the whole election cycle.

He spent $5,669 during the period and $9,806 overall, and ended with cash on hand of $192 in his quest for the Republican nomination against Mr. Wurzelbacher.

The Federal Elections Commission can fine candidates who file late or who fail to file. A report that is filed less than five days before the election is considered “not filed.”

According to the FEC Web site, a report filed on the Friday before a Tuesday election is considered not filed.

Mr. Wurzelbacher’s spokesman, Roman Schroeder, said, “Apparently our filing date was missed. The issue is being addressed. And I will get back to you by Friday with something definitive.”

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