House Democrat leaders tell colleagues to give early, often

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats are pledging not to repeat the mistake of the 2002 elections when lawmakers in safe districts ended the campaign season sitting on $60 million in unspent campaign money.

This time, Democratic campaign leaders are asking their colleagues to contribute early and often. So far, the results dwarf those of two years ago. Democratic lawmakers have transferred $2.1 million from their accounts to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the first three months of the year. In 2001, the amount was less than $650,000.

Overall, the committee raised $7.4 million in the first quarter, a third of what its Republican counterpart took in.

"It was really a shame because if we would have just gotten one-sixth of that, it would have made a difference in some races, and we might have taken the House back," said Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Calif., the committee chairman.

Republicans had a net gain of six House seats in the midterm elections.

In California alone, where House Democrats ran in districts drawn by the Democratic-dominated state legislature, incumbents had more than $6 million in the bank after the 2002 elections, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Developing a plan

This election cycle, Matsui and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have drawn up a plan to close the Republicans' 12-seat edge in the House and return Democrats to power for the first time since 1994. A priority is to ensure the party has enough money to intervene in close contests.

Democrats consider the transfer of cash from lawmakers to the party, which is not subject to federal election law limits, vitally important now that soft money contributions to the national parties have been banned under the campaign finance law that took effect in November.

Soft money includes corporate and union contributions of any size and unlimited donations from any source.

"We need your help to show that Democrats are serious about taking back the House. Reporters will be tallying up our receipts for this critical time period and comparing us to the GOP," Pelosi wrote her colleagues just before the March 31 deadline for first-quarter contributions.

House Republicans so far have given only $125,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. Their contributions will pick up later in the campaign cycle, committee spokesman Carl Forti said. "There's no need for it at this point," Forti said.

Republican lawmakers contributed $20 million to the party's House campaign fund in the last election cycle. Democrats gave $13 million.

Matsui said his goal is to have Democratic giving rise to more than $20 million before the 2004 elections.

"With the new campaign finance laws, it makes it incumbent for all of us to work together," Matsui said.

New Jersey Rep. Robert Menendez, the No. 3 Democrat in the House, led his colleagues, moving $125,000 from his campaign funds to the Democratic committee's account. Menendez is one of at least 12 Democrats with more than $1 million in available campaign cash and few worries about being re-elected.

Pelosi gave $100,000 in campaign and political action committee money, while Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the No. 2 Democrat, and Matsui contributed $75,000 and $50,000, respectively, from their campaigns.

Five dozen Democrats moved at least $10,000 each from their funds to the party's House campaign, but more than 125 Democrats gave the committee nothing in the first quarter. Matsui said he will press all his colleagues repeatedly, except those who are anticipating tough re-election campaigns. "We're not going to ask them to pony up," he said.

------

On the Net: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: http://www.dccc.org

National Republican Campaign Committee: http://www.nrcc.org

Federal Election Commission: http://www.fec.gov