Out of State Money: How Out of State Interests Are Buying Local Elections

This column is being re-published from the Dakota Beacon. If you aren’t a subscriber yet, you should be.
Politics is changing in North Dakota. No longer are elections based on the quality of ideas in your head; rather, the quantity of money in your wallet. For quite some time this has been very evident on the national scene. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, campaign fundraising across the country for the 2006 election cycle increased 27% over 2002, the last mid-term election, to $2.8 billion.[1]
While federal candidates do the overwhelming majority of the fundraising, this money is no longer used only by the candidates who raise it. Interest groups, political action committees, leadership funds, rich individuals, and leaders of virtually every economic sector have infiltrated elections at all levels across the country, even in North Dakota. East and West coast money can be tracked all the way down to legislative campaigns all across the state.
First, it is important to note who the players are in North Dakota politics. Kent Conrad, Earl Pomeroy, and Byron Dorgan use their DC connections to direct thousands and thousands of dollars into North Dakota elections. The most efficient way they do this is by using their Leadership PACs. According to Opensecrets.org, Leadership PACs are political action committees that are “not technically affiliated with the candidate,” but are a “way of raising money to help fund other candidates’ campaigns.”[2]
North Dakota’s Washington delegation also used their own PACs to funnel money down to local races, by making large donations to the North Dakota Democrat-NPL Party, which are then diverted to local races.
There is a clear line of funding from the East and West coasts to local races in North Dakota. To follow the line, one must start from the most local level of partisan races – legislative districts.
Legislative Races
In the 2006 election cycle, the North Dakota Democrat legislative candidates raised about $230,034. Keep in mind that these numbers are only comprised of reportable donations and any donation $200 or less does not get reported to the Secretary of State’s office. Of the $230,034 raised in reportable contributions, thirty-four percent of it was raised from DakPAC (Kent Conrad’s Leadership PAC), Great Plains Leadership Fund (Byron Dorgan’s Leadership PAC), Nodak PAC (Earl Pomeroy’s Leadership PAC), PACs registered out of state, or from individuals out of state.
When the North Dakota Democrat-NPL Party’s contributions are added to those figures, the percentage grows to forty-two percent, which means that forty-two percent of reportable contributions to Democrat legislative candidates are from the Democrat-NPL Party, Leadership PACs, or out of state interests.
That percentage grows further when District contributions are added to the equation. For example, the District 3 Dem-NPL gave two thousand dollars to the district three Democrat candidates. When district contributions are added, the percentage grows to forty-eight percent ($111,054.38). In other words, almost half of all money contributed to Democrat legislative candidates was raised from the Dem-NPL, District Dem-NPL, Leadership PACs, or out of state interests.
Statewide Races
Statewide races were influenced by other interests as well. In reportable contributions, the Democrat statewide candidates raised $589,351. Twenty-four percent of reportable contributions raised by Democrat statewide candidates were raised from Leadership PACs, PACs registered out of state, or individuals from out of state. That number explodes to seventy-nine percent when contributions from the Dem-NPL are factored in. The statewide candidates raised $466,471 from Leadership PACs, the Dem-NPL, or out of state interests.
When it’s all said and done, Democrats running in statewide and legislative races raised $819,386. Seventy-one percent ($577,525) of that money was raised from Leadership PACs, Dem-NPL, District Dem-NPL, or out of state interests.
That money was used for the barrage of TV and radio ads that ran throughout the campaign season. It is no wonder why the number of Republican ads did not compare; one does not need to look any further than the figures presented.
The reason Leadership PACs, the Dem-NPL, and District Dem-NPL entities are lumped in with out of state interests is very simple, because the vast majority of their money is raised from out of state.
DakPAC
Dak PAC is Sen. Kent Conrad’s Leadership PAC. According to candidate disclosure reports, Dak PAC contributed $94,650 to legislative and statewide races. Tax Commissioner Candidate Brent Edison received $15,000 from this source; Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson, $15,000; Secretary of State Candidate Kristin Hedger, $1,500; Attorney General Candidate Bill Brudvik, $2,500. The balance was given to legislative candidates, with District 35 Senate Candidate Tracy Potter receiving the most ($4,000).
Dak PAC receives its contributions from two sources, individuals and committees or PACs. Individuals gave reportable contributions of $22,900. Fifteen thousand nine-hundred (69%) of it was contributed by folks living in Maryland and Washington DC.
Committees or PACs contributed $238,000 to Dak PAC in the last two years. These PACs are largely from the financial or insurance industries and unions, which have little or no interest in North Dakota politics. Their motivations for contributing to Dak PAC have more to do with Sen. Conrad’s seniority in the Senate or position on the Finance Committee than they do with caring whether or not Brent Edison is North Dakota’s Tax Commissioner or if Tom Fiebiger becomes District 45’s State Senator. Most likely, union leaders and financial power brokers are using funds acquired by donations from their workers or members and pass them on to Sen. Conrad. Those folks would care about North Dakota even less.