Both Sununu and Bradley Won More With Less in 2002 Election
WASHINGTON—Both of New Hampshire’s freshman Congressmen, Sen. John Sununu (R) and Rep. Jeb Bradley (R), spent and received less money than their losing opponents in the 2002 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) in Washington.
The CRP’s Web site, www.opensecrets.org, shows that Bradley raised $1.01 million in the 2001-02 election cycle and spent $983,450, while his opponent, Democrat Martha Fuller Clark, raised and spent more than $3.5 million. Bradley defeated Clark in November with 58 percent of the vote.
Sununu raised over $3.73 million and spent over $3.67 million in what became one of the tightest Senate races in the country, defeating former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen with 51 percent of the vote. Shaheen both raised and spent more than $5.8 million during the campaign.
“It’s not about money. It’s about people and ideas,” Sununu’s communications director, Barbara Riley, said in a statement. “Sen. Sununu ran a town-to-town, person-to-person, grass-roots campaign. We may have been out-spent, but we were never out-thought”
Rep. Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) ran successfully for reelection last year. Like Sununu and Bradley, he received less and spent less than his challenger, Katrina Swett.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) who will not be up for re-election until 2004, received $277,763, according to the CRP Web site.
Both Bradley and Sununu received campaign money from a range of individual donors, companies and political action committees (PACs), which are groups of individuals who pool their money under one common concern, such as the name of an employer, union, or interest group. Campaign finance laws limit PAC contributions to a candidate to $10,000 per election cycle.
Sununu received over $1.56 million from PACs (42 percent of his overall receipts), while Bradley received $369,338 (37 percent).
One of the largest PAC contributors to the New Hampshire campaigns was telecommunications company Verizon, which gave Bradley $10,000, according to the CRP. Verizon also contributed $2,500 to Gregg in 2001-02.
SBC Communications, another major PAC contributor, gave Bradley $3,000. An SBC spokeswoman said in an interview that the company values and supports members-“like New Hampshire’s”–with an “intellectual command of how our industry works.”
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows that Bradley is working to pay back $309,000 in personal loans he took out during the campaign and that the campaign itself is more than $33,000 in debt.
Bradley said in an interview that he is working on paying back his loan and removing the campaign debt, and cites the reason for both was that was a first-time candidate for the House.
He hosted a clambake fundraiser on March 13 in New England, saying that he was “getting a head start.” The Nashua Telegraph reported that Bradley raised over $25,000 at the event.
Bass, noting that he was outspent by his opponent, said one thing candidates learn in an election is that winning comes from saying what you mean and how well you communicate your message.
“Money doesn’t win elections. Votes win elections,” he said.
Published in Foster’s Daily Democrat, in New Hampshire.
