Tuesday, February 02, 1999
Outsiders spent millions on Bunning, Baesler campaigns
BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT MITCHELL — Political parties and special-interest groups poured millions of dollars into Kentucky's 1998 U.S. Senate race between Southgate Republican Jim Bunning and Democrat Scotty Baesler of Lexington, according to a study released Monday.
Outside groups spent as much as the candidates, $4 million, on television ads and millions more on direct mail, phone banks, radio commercials and other campaign-related expenses, the study found.
“This is a free-for-all,” said David B. Magleby of Brigham Young University, who directed the study with funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The study focused on soft money and independent expenditures. Soft money is money raised and spent by special-interest groups and political parties.
“I think the parties and the special interests both felt like, "Hey, all rules are off.' It has made those who give soft money or fund issue ads much more powerful,” Mr. Magleby said.
In Kentucky's Senate race, won by Mr. Bunning, much of that soft money went for television issue ads. Those commercials are designed to sway voters but can't urge the election or defeat of a particular candidate.
Soft money paid for $4.1 million worth of issue ads in the race, said Penny Miller, a University of Kentucky political science professor who participated in the study. “That's not a phenomenal amount of money if you talk about a state like New York or California, but it is phenomenal for the state of Kentucky, where we only have 3.9 million residents,” she said.
Federal campaign finance reports show that Mr. Bunning spent about $2.6 million on television ads compared with less than $1.5 million for Mr. Baesler.
The candidates raised and spent nearly equal amounts in the race, about $3.7 million each, which does not include soft money spent on their behalf.
The exact amount of soft money spent on the race is not known because it is not subject to the stringent campaign finance laws that govern fund raising and spending done by the candidates.
Soft money often pays for issue ads that either attack or promote a candidate's record
or position on a certain issue.
For instance, the National Rifle Association, or NRA, spent about $140,000 on radio ads touting Mr. Bunning's record backing firearms rights, according to the study.
Mr. Bunning's opposition to campaign finance reform came under attack by Campaign for America, which advocates reducing the amount of money spent in the election.
The group spent $325,000 on TV ads in the race against Mr. Bunning.
Political parties are relying on soft money more and more in congressional races, Ms. Miller said. The money is raised by the national parties and then transferred to state parties.
“In the new environment, party soft money is being used more like issue ads,” she said. “The growing use of soft money gives more and more opportunities to big-money donors to increase their influence in politics and their access to leaders.”
Political party spending includes groups such as the National Republican Campaign Committee. Headed by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Louisville, the committee spent more than $1.5 million helping Mr. Bunning win the race.
Unlike contributions to candidates, which are capped at $1,000 for individuals, there are higher and in some cases no limits on the amount someone can give to groups that raise and use soft money.
Here are some examples cited in the study:
• The AFL-CIO supported Mr. Baesler with phone calls and mail to union members and $150,000 in television ads.
• The Kentucky Democratic Party received $1.5 million for the race from the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
• Three groups used mail, phone calls and ads to support Mr. Bunning and attack Mr. Baesler for his abortion rights voting record — the Christian Coalition, Right to Life and the Campaign for Working Families.
• The national Republican Party spent $3 million, including $1.5 million on television ads. It also paid for a mailer to Northern Kentucky voters and overall sent more than 2.3 million pieces of mail across the state.
• The Kentucky Republican Party paid for about 560,000 phone calls to mobilize voters.
Just before Election Day last year, Mr. Baesler estimated $25 million was spent by the candidates, state and national political parties and outside special-interest groups such as labor unions, abortion opponents and gun-rights advocates.
Mr. Baesler, the former 6th District congressman who is now working at a Lexington law firm, said Monday both campaigns benefited from soft money.
“Early on, I think Jim (Bunning) was getting more of a ride on the soft money than me, but neither of us really had an advantage toward the end of the campaign,” Mr. Baesler said. “We were both getting it.”
Mr. Bunning did not return a phone call to comment.
To gather their information, the professors involved in the study, which also included UK political science professor Don Gross, collected records on radio and television ads, monitored direct mail and phone calling efforts, and conducted post-election interviews with campaign strategists, political reporters and consultants from special-interest groups and political parties.
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