Labor unions major financial backers of Braley and Hare in 2007

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By Ed Tibbetts | Sunday, April 20, 2008 |

Sources: Center on Responsive Politics, Quad-City Times Buy this Photo

During their first year in Congress, U.S. Reps. Bruce Braley and Phil Hare relied even more heavily on labor unions for financial backing than they did in their initial bids for office, as the party political action committees that provided them hundreds of thousands of dollars two years ago turned their attention elsewhere.

In addition, the two congressmen got more money from industries that ignored them in their respective first bids for office, a Quad-City Times analysis of their 2007 fundraising figures shows.

Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, Iowa, got 29 percent of his donations of $200 or more from labor unions last year, up from 14 percent in the two-year 2006 election cycle.

Meanwhile, Hare, a Democrat from Rock Island, is getting fully 42 percent of his large donations from unions, up from the already-healthy 35 percent share he got in the 2006 campaign.

Donations of $200 or more were considered in the analysis because federal law only requires disclosure of the names and occupations of people who give that much money or more. Those large donations made up 76 percent of Braley’s financial base and 65 percent of Hare’s.

The Times analysis used categories created by the Center on Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based campaign finance watchdog.

The center assigns donations to categories, such as unions, agribusiness, real estate, health-care and ideological groups. The latter are mostly PACs run by politicians or groups, such as the conservative Club for Growth or EMILY’s List, which supports women.

It is those ideological organizations that provided substantial backing to Hare and Braley in their 2006 campaigns. Braley got more than $693,000, or 34 percent of his large donations, from those groups in 2006. Hare got about $197,000, or nearly 30 percent.

That money has mostly melted away. Braley received only 7 percent of his large donations from ideological groups last year, while Hare got 14 percent.

That shift is not unusual. Last year was not an election year, and Braley and Hare’s seats are no longer considered vulnerable by the Democratic Party.

“Usually, (they are) let out on their own in ensuing elections unless the seat remains competitive,” said Massie Ritsch of the Center for Responsive Politics.

As a result, Braley and Hare have had to stock their campaign cupboards with money from other sources. Overall, the eastern Iowa Democrat raised $493,231 last year, while Hare, who represents parts of western and central Illinois, raised $519,876.

Lawyers, unions and money

Braley continued to rely mostly on lawyers, raising $136,250 of his large donations from them last year, according to the center. That is about 40 percent of his total, slightly less than what it was in the 2006 cycle.

The Waterloo congressman raised $99,500 from unions last year. That is less than what he raised in the two-year 2006 campaign cycle, but it is twice the share it was of his donor base.

Jeff Giertz, Braley’s spokesman, said the congressman’s record lines up with the interests of labor unions, but he does not consider campaign donations when deciding how to vote.

“Rep. Braley’s been an outspoken advocate of working families,” Giertz said. “Whether that’s inspired them to give more money or not, that’s perhaps a question for them.”

Braley was critical of NAFTA-style trade deals in the 2006 campaign, and just this month, the lawmaker voted to stall a trade deal with Colombia that the Bush administration is pushing.

Aside from labor, there are some sectors of the economy that did not contribute to his 2006 campaign that are doing so now. Those include printing, publishing, real estate and farm services. Also, people in the air transportation industry have contributed.

Braley is on a subcommittee that oversees the air transport industry, which is interested in a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration. The bill passed the House in September.

The Center on Responsive Politics says that people in the air transport industry gave Braley $7,500 last year while unions and industry PACs related to the business donated $17,000.

The donations, while notable, are still small when compared with others on the House panel.

“I don’t think it’s any secret in Washington that some groups are more likely to give to certain members because of their committee assignments,” Giertz said.

Hare boosts labor share

Labor already was Hare’s largest donor. In the 2006 campaign, unions gave him $234,550, or 35 percent of his large donations.

Now, as money from the ideological groups has gone elsewhere, labor’s share of Hare’s $200-plus donations has jumped to 42 percent.

Hare, who sits on the House Education and Labor Committee, raised $127,550 from unions last year.

The Rock Island congressman has raised a greater share of his money from people in the financial, health-care and legal fields, too.

Fifteen percent, or $41,696, of Hare’s large donations came from lawyers last year, the center’s figures say. Ten percent, or $29,750, came from people in the finance industry.

Ten thousand dollars came from executives at Entrust Capital Inc., a New York-based financial adviser. The company manages public and corporate assets as well as union pension funds.

In an interview, Hare said he was introduced to the executives by Bruce Raynor, the president of UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers in the garment and hospitality industries.

“He’s been very good to me,” Hare added.

Hare also has raised money from people in the credit union, crop production and utility fields, sectors that ignored him in 2006.

Like Braley, Hare said campaign donations do not play a part in how he votes. He noted that if he were just hungry for money, he could back the Colombia trade pact, a deal that Caterpillar Inc. supports. The heavy equipment company’s plants are in Hare’s district.

“I know they have a PAC, and they’re scoring my vote,” he said.

Hare acknowledged that he has had to work to broaden his financial base because he knew his party would not help him as much this election cycle

He does not have a Republican opponent in the fall election, but Hare still has more than a dozen fundraisers scheduled, adding that he intends to hold those as planned.

Part of the reason is that lawmakers such as Hare are required to raise money for their party. Hare said he still has a “long ways to go” to raise the $125,000 the House Democrats’ campaign arm is asking each of its members to donate.

Hare, who said he dislikes fundraising and favors a public financing system for elections, added that there is some money he will not accept, such as that from Wal-Mart.

“I’ve been offered, and I won’t take that,” he said.

Wal-Mart is considered an enemy of many labor unions, and Hare has spoken harshly about its business practices.

Hare also said he will not take any tobacco or Big Oil money.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.