Newswire - Tribes give much to candidates this cycle
By Richard Rainey

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2004-In an effort to ensure that their voices continue to be heard on Capitol Hill, Eastern Connecticut's Indian tribes have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to candidates nationwide during the current election cycle.

"Those folks that have the greatest ability to support us and help us are the ones that we try to help," said John Guevremont, chief financial officer of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe. "It's keeping our friends in place."

Connecticut's two wealthiest tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegan Tribe, each own a top-grossing gaming complex and use part of their businesses' revenues to back political candidates. The Mashantuckets, as a tribe and as individuals, have contributed $456,712 to candidates and to political action committees, according to Federal Election Commission records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The Mohegans topped that, spending $614,194 this cycle, according to the center, a nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign finance.

A closer look at which candidates received money reveals subtle pattern at work, one that diverged from the tradition of donating funds according to party affiliation.

"We're giving to both parties on an equal basis," Guevremont said of the Mashantuckets. "But we're not just shot-gunning money out there."

A similar bipartisan strategy was evident in the tribes' donations to the presidential race. The Mashantuckets gave $7,000 to President Bush and $1,500 to Democratic nominee John Kerry; the Mohegans, on the other hand, gave $2,000 to Kerry and nothing to Bush.

The two tribes tend to slightly favor Democrats. Overall, 61 percent of the Mashantuckets' contributions went to Democrats and 39 percent to Republicans. The Mohegans contributed 53 percent of their total to Democratic candidates and organizations and 47 percent to Republican war chests.

The tribes have been active in the Connecticut Senate race and the close battle for the 2 nd District. Democratic Sen.Chris Dodd received $7,550 from the Mashantuckets and $2,200 from the Mohegans toward his reelection bid. Republican Rep. Rob Simmons, whose race against Democratic challenger Jim Sullivan is one of the closest in the nation, received $4,400 from the Mashantuckets. The Mohegans donated a similar amount to Sullivan.

While both tribes call Connecticut home, they directed the majority of their contributions into campaign coffers outside the state's borders.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) can count themselves among the tribes' beneficiaries. Campbell, the Senate's only American Indian, received money even though he is not seeking reelection.

Other beneficiaries of the tribes' largesse come from Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. In Florida, for example, President Bush's former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Mel Martinez - now a Florida Republican senatorial candidate - has received $4,400 from the Mashantuckets.

The amounts given to specific candidates were relatively small compared to the tribes' donations to party committees, suggesting that the tribes were less concerned with influencing the outcome of individual races on Nov. 2 than in investing in the post-election political landscape.

Most funds from tribes are funneled through party committees, but individuals often give directly to the candidates. For instance, Charles Bunnell, spokesman for the Mohegan Tribe, noted the tribe's support for both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Republican Governors' Association, but he personally contributed $532 of his own money to Jim Sullivan, Rep. Simmons' opponent.

The primary reason for the tribes' bipartisan strategies is their support for the unique federal relationship between Indian nations and the United States.

"Our collective protection, if you would, lies in solidarity. I'm looking at a map of Indian Country on my wall over here, and it looks like a shotgun blast," Guevremont said. "Our core issue is the preservation and complete definition of (tribal) sovereignty: to be treated as a government and to deal with the federal government on a government-to-government-basis."

As a result, the tribes tend to financially favor members of Congress's Native American Caucus and incumbent legislators with proven track records favorable to Indian issues.

In Eastern Connecticut, the issue list expands to include the lucrative business of Indian gaming.

"Well, it allows us to make contributions," Guevremont said. "No money, no contributions."

According to the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal casinos nationwide had nearly $17 billion in gambling revenues last year. More than $ 1.6 billion came from the Connecticut casinos, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville and the Foxwoods Resort in Ledyard.

The Eastern Pequots, who were federally recognized in June, also have expressed interest in building a competing gambling complex in the area. However, they have not contributed en masse to political campaigns this cycle, according to the tribe's chairwoman, Marcia Flowers of Stonington.

The debate over gaming has led some candidates to refuse money outright from the Indian tribes. Jack Orchulli, the Republican candidate running against Dodd, accepted no money from the tribes as part of a "broader mantra" of avoiding the influence of "special interests," his spokesman, John Healey, said.

Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th District), running for his 12 th term in Congress, has likewise refused any tribal campaign contributions, according to Guevremont.