The major parties
are raising record amounts of cash as they prepare for
gubernatorial campaign showdowns in 11 states next year.
Republicans and
Democrats both say 2007 was a lucrative start to the
four-year fund-raising cycle that helps determine which
party controls the nation's governors' mansions.
Governors have
enormous influence over how Americans live their lives,
particularly in areas such as health care and schools.
Control of the governors' offices also plays a crucial
role in presidential elections. Governors can rally
support for a candidate and energize a party's
get-out-the-vote machinery.
The Democratic
Governors Association raised $5.3 million through June,
according to its midyear IRS filing, and is on track to
break $9.3 million, the previous record for the first
year of the cycle.
The Republican
Governors Association raised $12 million through June and
expects to easily top its previous record of $15 million.
Final tallies won't be available until the end of next
month.
Democratic
governors have a 28-22 edge nationally, having regained a
majority last year after 12 years of GOP dominance. This
year, they lost a seat in Louisiana but retook the
governor's mansion in Kentucky.
Republican
governors still have the financial edge. They are quick to
point out that's the opposite of what's happening in
Washington.
For example, the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- whose
candidates control the House -- raised $61 million this
year. By contrast, the National Republican
Congressional Committee raised $43 million during the
same time.
Both governors'
associations are pulling in contributions from some of
the same deep-pocketed companies, according to a review of
IRS reports.
''We're a
bipartisan company. We partner with elected officials from
both sides of the aisle,'' said David Tovar, a
spokesman for Wal-Mart, which gave $100,000 to both
groups this year.
Many of the
issues important to governors, like the cost of health care,
also matter to Wal-Mart, he said.
Health care is
also a top issue for the Service Employees International
Union, the country's fastest-growing union, which also gave
$100,000 to both governors' associations this year.
Earlier this year
SEIU and Wal-Mart jointly called for affordable health
care for all Americans by 2012. But SEIU has also criticized
Wal-Mart for its employee health plans.
''Governors can
often have the greatest impact on workers' ability to
have a voice on the job,'' said SEIU spokeswoman Stephanie
Mueller.
Other companies
donating $100,000 to both governors' groups this year
include AT&T Inc., Union Pacific, American Electric
Power Co., and Archer Daniels Midland Co
Drugmakers are
also courting both parties, with companies like Merck
& Co. and AstraZeneca PLC contributing $50,000 to each
group.
Corporations
understand that laws passed in states can have as much
effect on a multinational company as those enacted in
Washington. And giving to both groups is a way to
hedge companies' political bets.
''If the end goal
is having some voice in what comes out of the
legislative process, certainly you don't want to slam the
door shut completely,'' said Rachel Weiss, spokeswoman
for the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
Both groups have
also received large contributions from individual
donors. In the RGA's case, that includes Houston homebuilder
Bob Perry and James Leininger of San Antonio, an
influential conservative known for backing causes such
as school vouchers.
Perry financed
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and its attacks on
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.
Individual donors
giving to Democrats include Bernard Schwartz, former
chairman of satellite communications company Loral Space and
Communications and a longtime donor to Democrats, who gave
$100,000, and Michigan billionaire Jon Stryker, who
also gave $100,000.
Stryker, whose
grandfather founded the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based medical
products company Stryker Corp., founded the Arcus
Foundation, which promotes equal rights for gays.
Republicans had
26 contributions of $100,000 or more through the first
half of 2007. Democrats had 12 donations of $100,000 during
the same time, IRS records show. (AP)
