Mortgaged House
G. Costly No-Contest Races: Campaigning Without Competition
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[ Mortgaged House G. Costly No-Contest Races: Campaigning Without Competition |
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Of the 149 House incumbents analyzed in this study, 61 won 100 percent of the vote in their most recent primary and their most recent general elections. Although these 61 members ran unopposed, they went out and raised almost $3.6 million. Among members without opponents, Rob Junell, D-San Angelo, raised the most money—$242,773.
| Dist. | Member | P | $ Raised |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | Rob Junell | D | $242,773 |
| 96 | Kim Brimer | R | $168,857 |
| 134 | Kyle Janek | R | $152,454 |
| 103 | Steven Wolens | D | $114,218 |
| 30 | Steve Holzheauser | R | $112,615 |
| 82 | Tom Craddick | R | $111,141 |
| 44 | Richard Raymond | D | $104,673 |
| 113 | Joe Driver | R | $98,510 |
| 139 | Sylvester Turner | D | $88,492 |
| 99 | Kenny Marchant | R | $81,755 |
| 10 | Jim Pitts | R | $81,436 |
| 71 | Bob Hunter | R | $80,839 |
| 122 | John Shields | R | $76,715 |
| 91 | Bill Carter | R | $76,299 |
| 55 | Dianne White Delisi | R | $70,923 |
| 127 | Joe Crabb | R | $70,839 |
| 74 | Pete Gallego | D | $70,097 |
| 131 | Ron Wilson | D | $67,670 |
| 42 | Henry Cuellar | D | $65,979 |
| 66 | Brian McCall | R | $65,392 |
| Total | $2,001,677 |
Front-running politicians often define a race as being “competitive” if they lead by no more than 10 percent of the vote (i.e. at least a 55-45 split in a two-way race). By this “competitiveness” yard stick, just 24 House incumbents (16 percent) ran a competitive race in their last primary or general election. The other 125 House members coasted through uncompetitive races. Nonetheless, these coasting candidates went out and raised almost $11.3 million, or 77 percent of all the money raised by successful House candidates.
Besides the 61 House members who faced no opponent in either their primary or their general election, 33 members ran snoozer races in which they won both their primary and general election with victory margins of at least 30 percentage points. To put their war chests in perspective, bear in mind that the average House member raised $98,170.
| Dist. | Member | Party | % VotePrimary | % VoteGeneral | Money Raised |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Pete Laney | D | 100% | 65% | $1,068,818 |
| 34 | Hugo Berlanga | D | 75% | 100% | $363,550 |
| 21 | Mark Stiles | D | 100% | 88% | $315,978 |
| 147 | Garnet Coleman | D | 91% | 100% | $190,066 |
| 137 | Debra Danburg | D | 100% | 65% | $181,563 |
| 45 | Edmund Kuempel | R | 74% | 89% | $180,381 |
| 53 | Harvey Hilderbran | R | 69% | 73% | $162,168 |
| 31 | Judy Hawley | D | 100% | 70% | $139,144 |
| 19 | Ron Lewis | D | 100% | 69% | $130,746 |
| 48 | Sherri Greenberg | D | 81% | 100% | $119,545 |
| 150 | Paul J. Hilbert | R | 70% | 100% | $109,464 |
| 98 | Nancy Moffat | R | 74% | 100% | $108,900 |
| 37 | Rene Oliveira | D | 100% | 69% | $97,441 |
| 123 | Frank J. Corte | R | 65% | 100% | $95,909 |
| 140 | Kevin Bailey | D | 66% | 100% | $84,707 |
| 142 | Harold Dutton Jr. | D | 79% | 100% | $84,007 |
| 26 | Charlie Howard | R | 100% | 86% | $78,179 |
| 126 | Peggy Hamric | R | 82% | 100% | $75,400 |
| 136 | Beverly Woolley | R | 87% | 92% | $74,068 |
| 143 | Gerard Torres | D | 100% | 72% | $72,918 |
| Total | $3,732,952 |
Members stockpile “campaign contributions” for a variety of purposes. Many members contribute their own campaign funds to the campaigns of others. This practice can be used to purchase support that legislators need to pass legislation or win a House leadership position. In the most unsavory practice, outgoing members with leftover campaign funds can launder this money for their own personal gain. The trick is to give away the money to other candidates, exit the House through its revolving lobby door, and then to sell the favors that other members owe you to private clients who are trying to pass special-interest legislation.
Note that the “House Special” table in the “High-Flying PACs” section reveals that existing House members took $228,813 from the campaigns of other politicians.