Jeb Bradley Holds Incumbent Advangtage
By Dennis Mayer
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 – This election cycle, Rep. Jeb Bradley is learning that incumbency has its advantages.
“I think the biggest advantage is name recognition,” said the first term Republican. “People know who you are, and hopefully, if you do your job well, it helps.”
Bradley enjoys a substantial lead over his opponent, Portsmouth lawyer Justin Nadeau, according to recent polling. An Oct. 6 University of New Hampshire poll said Bradley led Nadeau, 58 to 25 percent, and a Franklin Pierce College poll put Bradley’s lead at 64 to 26 percent.
While Bradley said he hadn’t been in Congress long enough to know for sure what kind of overall effect incumbency can have on fundraising, it has had a clear positive affect in his campaign.
According to records filed with the Federal Election Commission, Bradley has received $925,000 as of Sept. 30. Individuals have contributed $486,000, political action committees have given $427,000, and other politician’s committees have contributed $104,000. Going into the final month of the campaign, he had $326,000 on-hand to spend on his re-election campaign.
In the same period, Nadeau raised $589,000, including a $374,000 loan the candidate made to his own campaign, according to FEC filings. Nadeau also received $166,000 from individual contributions and $48,000 from political action committees. Though, as of Sept. 30, he only had $14,000 on hand.
Bradley was once the candidate who had to loan his campaign money to remain competitive. In 2002, while running for the House seat that John Sununu left open in his successful Senate bid, Bradley loaned his own campaign $355,000. That money, combined with the $315,000 in individual contributions, $369,000 in contributions from political action committees, and $106,000 from other politician’s committees added up to $1.06 million.
Bradley said it was “definitely” helpful to not have to personally loan his campaign money. According to the FEC filings, his campaign still owes him $333,000 for the money he loaned it in 2002.
Money isn’t always the deciding factor in these elections. Bradley’s opponent in 2002, Democrat Martha Fuller Clark, spent more than three times as much as Bradley, raising $3.53 million (including $1.58 million she loaned her own campaign). She nonetheless lost the election, 58 to 38 percent.
Money is only one form of capital in a political campaign, according to Steve Marchand, Nadeau’s campaign director. He said the strength of a campaign should also be measured by the volunteer manpower the campaign can command.
“Every day we make decisions. What do you do with the money you have? What do you do with the people you have? What do you do with the 24 hours you have?” he said.
He said Nadeau’s campaign has been working to “communicate our message in an on-the-ground way,” through grassroots campaigning.
“It’s effective, and it’s the best use of our resources,” he said.
