Bass Thrifty in Largest Victory
By Tim Heaney
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 – Rep. Charles Bass won reelection by his largest margin last November while spending less money than in his slightly tighter 2002 race, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports filed earlier this month.
Based on the annual reports listed at opensecrets.org, the Web site of the Center for Responsive Politics, the six-term Republican congressman raised the least of the three New Hampshire members of Congress who ran for reelection last year but nevertheless defeated Democratic candidate Paul Hodes, 59 to 38 percent.
Bass campaign spokesman Scott Tranchemontagne said that candidate recognition and a financially weakened opponent put less pressure on the Bass campaign to break the bank.
“Part of the reason it worked out to be his greatest margin of victory is because people recognized that the promise met the premise,” Tranchemontagne said. “He has taken hard positions that have sometimes not been locked up with party, but the right thing for the people he represents. Over time, people recognize that, and this time he won by more.”
Bass raised $740,299 and spent $717,749 during his contest with Hodes without dipping into his personal account, according to opensecrets.org. In 2002, Bass raised $906,760 and spent $886,765, the Web site said, in defeating Democratic candidate Katrina Swett by 57 to 41 percent, .
Hodes raised $467,164, of which $303,779 (about 65 percent) came from individual donations, and spent $465,062. The total raised includes $100,000 of Hodes’ money
“Fundraising proved very challenging for us, and I thought it was fair to say that we got into the race a little late,” Hodes said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I opened my [campaign] account that April. Incumbents always have a tremendous advantage, and we understood that.”
In 2002, Bass won what Tranchemontagne called a “competitive” campaign against Swett, daughter of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Cal.), even though Swett outspent him, opensecrets.org reported, by more than $570,000.
The FEC filing said that Bass received approximately half of his funds in 2003-04 from individuals and half from political action committees (PACs). According to opensecrets.org, Bass had cash on hand of $59,513.
Hodes, an attorney at Shaheen Gordon, a Concord law firm, received $42,150 from lawyers and law firms. The Teamsters Union and the United Food & Commercial Workers Union each contributed $10,000, according to the Web site. He had $2,098 in cash on hand.
The Center for Responsive Politics is a Washington-based research group that examines and analyzes campaign finance reports. Center spokesman Steven Weiss said that 95 percent of the 2004 House races were won by the candidate who received the greater financial backing.
He added that starting with a foundation of contributions is vital to campaign success because prospective donors need to see a candidate’s potential for victory.
“As usual, fundraising troubles beget fundraising troubles,” he said. “If you’re having trouble scraping together money, then you will have a very difficult time convincing other donors to give.”
BAE systems North America, which specializes in aerospace technology and defense systems and has major installations in Nashua, was Bass’ top PAC contributor for his last two elections. Bass, a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, received $274,799 in donations from business, defense and automobile manufacturing in 2004, according to the opensecrets.org.
Two key components that were critical in Swett’s campaign two years ago hindered Hodes last year. Swett raised 95 percent of her funds from outside New Hampshire. Tranchemontagne said that Swett’s “war chest” worried the Bass camp. Hodes’ out-of-state donations were approximately a tenth of Swett’s, according to the Web site.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also gave Swett money for advertisements that attacked Bass. Hodes did not receive such funds from the committee, and launched a weaker ad campaign that failed to challenge Bass’ positions.
“In a year when much of the attention of the volunteers, donators and press was focused on presidential and gubernatorial races, we really weren’t able to raise the kind of funds necessary to fully introduce me to the broadest possible audience,” Hodes said.
In the other New Hampshire races, Sen. Judd Gregg received $3,324,509 and Rep. Jeb Bradley received $1,049,832.. Gregg defeated Doris R. Haddock with 66 percent of the vote, and Bradley earned 63 percent in his victory over Justin Nadeau.
Tranchmontagne said he credited Bass’ victory to his experience.
“It’s important to remember that campaigns aren’t about fundraising,” he said. “Fundraising supports the campaign, and makes possible the grassroots efforts, the media, the outreach, and so on.”
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