Thursday, August 25, 2011

Sarbanes Surprise: MD Congressman Among Top National Fundraisers

UPDATE: I'm excerpting this theory from "jsmdlawyer" in the comments section of this post:
I suspect it's redistricting, not the prospect of a Senate seat....  As to redistricting, if the rumors are true about a new CD6 being created for a Democrat in Montgomery County ("Senator Garagiola, please pick up the white courtesy phone for a message") and/or a new CD1 to target the odious Andy Harris, it's likely that the partisan balance in CD3 will be at least a bit less favorable for Sarbanes... Interestingly, the Examiner piece has a second list of contributions from individuals only. Sarbanes was the highest ranking Democrat in the entire country, as virtually every one of his contributions was from individuals. That's pretty damn impressive, whatever the motivation.
Maryland Congressman John Sarbanes is pulling in big money. In the first six months of 2011, Sarbanes pulled in a whopping $616,686, giving him $893,035 cash on-hand and zero debt. The Democrat represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Annapolis and parts of Baltimore City and the counties of Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore:

We uncovered this stellar fundraising period after stumbling upon a Washington Examiner blog post yesterday, bragging about how great fundraising has been for U.S. House Tea Party members. The Washington Examiner noted that:
Republican incumbents, including Tea Party legislators, dominate the top ten for fundraising through the first six months of 2011 both in terms of total money raised and contributions from individuals.
The article further commented on Maryland Congressman and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who came in at number 8, out of the House's top 50 fundraisers:
Democratic leadership did not match the success of their Republican counterparts. Democratic Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who ranks second in Democratic party leadership, raised less than half the money that the Republican number 2, Cantor, brought in, although Hoyer did make the top ten. Hoyer raised approximately $400,000 less than the Republican Whip, McCarthy.

Hoyer did outraise his boss in the Democractic leaderhip, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Where Hoyer placed eighth in total fundraising among House members by bringing in roughly $1.2 million dollars, Pelosi came in 26th among House incumbents, raising only $718,856.
I decided to check and see if Maryland legislators appeared anywhere else on the top 50 Congressional fundraisers list, and I was a little surprised to see that the only other Maryland House member to crack the top-50 list was John Sarbanes. Sarbanes sits on the House Energy and Natural Resources committees, as well as the Health, Energy & Mineral Resources, and National Parks subcommittees. The committees don't seem like they should confer upon him any particular advantages over the rest of the State's delegation -- which includes senior House members and leadership figures.

Maybe Sarbanes is paranoid about how redistricting may affect his district, or maybe he is just a naturally talented fundraiser. But, we also have to consider that most Maryland House members will want to be prepared should a Senate seat emerge on the open market. He may, after all, have aspirations to reclaim the U.S. Senate seat previously held by his father.
View Full List Below: Top 50 in House receipts

2 comments:

  1. I suspect it's redistricting, not the prospect of a Senate seat. Mikulski was just reelected, Cardin's up in 2012 and clearly isn't going anywhere, so that means it would be 2016 at the earliest before a Senate seat opened up. That's five years from now.

    As to redistricting, if the rumors are true about a new CD6 being created for a Democrat in Montgomery County ("Senator Garagiola, please pick up the white courtesy phone for a message") and/or a new CD1 to target the odious Andy Harris, it's likely that the partisan balance in CD3 will be at least a bit less favorable for Sarbanes, maybe more than a bit. As it is, the right wing zanies have always seen Sarbanes as a potential target, and feeling their oats, are likely to come after him in 2012.

    Interestingly, the Examiner piece has a second list of contributions from individuals only. Sarbanes was the highest ranking Democrat in the entire country, as virtually every one of his contributions was from individuals. That's pretty damn impressive, whatever the motivation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I apologize for the long winded nature of the following comment.

    Senator Sarbanes might not be an unlikely prospect.

    If Van Hollen has the patience to wait out Hoyer, he has a shot at a very high leadership post.

    Elijah Cummings will be 65 in 2016. Why give up the top Democratic spot on Oversight & Government Reform for a term or two in the Senate?

    Ruppersberger will be 70 in 2016, so why would he give up his formidable position on the intelligence committee to be a freshman US Senator?

    Steny Hoyer is (obviously) not going to run for Senate.

    Of the current Democratic delegation that leaves Sarbanes and Edwards. Sarbanes would certainly be the front runner in that race (in my estimation anyway).

    Of course, a Democrat in the 1st or 6th could complicate matters.

    As could the entrance of Martin O'Malley if he chooses to play it safe(r) and go for the Capitol rather than the White House.

    Plus, vanquished Gubernatorial candidates could certainly decide to run. Franchot? Brown? Ulman? Gansler? Smith?

    The heads of our larger jurisdictions could potentially take a crack at it as well. Rushern Baker? Kevin Kamenetz (forgive me if I spelled that wrong)? Stephanie Rawlings-Blake?

    All in all, though Sarbanes (provided a real star doesn't swoop in) could end up the front runner in 2016. Why not build a war chest, just in case?

    Although truth be told, I think this is probably more a case of redistricting nerves than Senatorial ambition. But if his district comes out unscathed, wouldn't it be nice to use the left over cash for a Senate run?

    ReplyDelete