U.S. House (all Democratic):
1. Joe Baca (CA-42) $244,000
2. Mike Ross(AR-04) $205,500
3. David Bonior (MI-10) $179,300
4. James Maloney (CT-05) $172,600
5. Scotty Baesler (KY-06) $169,000
6. Lane Evans (IL-17) $168,300
7. Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (OH-12) $163,500
8. Shelley Berkley (NV-01) $159,500
9. Pat Casey (PA-10) $154,000
10. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01) $153,000
11. Rush Holt (NJ-12) $151,500
12. Dianne Byrum (MI-08) $147,500
13. David Wu (OR-01) $144,000
14. Martin Frost (TX-24) $143,000
15. Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) $138,000
15. Ted Strickland (OH-06) $138,000
17. Joseph Hoeffel (PA-13) $136,500
17. Mark Udall (CO-02) $136,500
19. Ronnie Shows (MS-04) $135,000
20. Nancy Keenan (MT-At Large) $133,500

U.S. Senate (all Democratic):
1. Debbie Stabenow (MI) $173,500
2. Robert Weygand (RI) $170,500
3. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) $167,500
3. Ron Klink (PA) $167,500
5. Mel Carnahan (MO) $160,500*
6. Charles Robb (VA) $146,500
7. Brian Schweitzer (MT) $142,000
8. Ben Nelson (NE) $139,000
9. Bill Nelson (FL) $136,000
10. Paul Sarbanes (MD) $124,000
11. Dianne Feinstein (CA) $123,000
12. Tom Carper (DE) $122,500
13. Jeff Bingaman (NM) $120,499
14. Kent Conrad (ND) $117,000
15. David Johnson (IN) $81,500
16. Robert Byrd (WV) $78,000
17. Ed Bernstein (NV) $77,000
18. Daniel Akaka (HI) $75,000
19. Mark Lawrence (ME) $72,750
20. Robert Torricelli (NJ) $55,000

The study had in six key findings:

Incumbents Dominate. Only six of the Top 20 House Recipients are non-incumbents challenging an incumbent or running for an open seat.  That number drops to only five if you take account of the fact that former-Rep. Scotty Baesler (KY-06) is running for his old seat that he held from 1993 to 1998 and then vacated in a losing bid for the U.S. Senate in 1998.

• Ohio River Battle Ground.  While Top 20 recipients are scattered across the map, a multi-state concentration on the Ohio River Valley stands out.  Six districts that boarder the Ohio River made one of the Top Lists: IN-09, KY-01, KY-03, OH-06, OH-18, WV-02, and there are a few more close by such as KY-06 and OH-12.

• Hedging in New York.  While Top Union PACs have enthusiastically supported First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton with $167,500, they have shown some doubt, at least on paper, by sending $35,500 the way of her Senate opponent Rep. Rick Lazio.

• Power Begets Power. Top Democratic leaders, such as Minority Whip David Bonior (MI-10) and Appropriations Committee Ranking Member David Obey (WI-07), were rewarded with large amounts of contributions. Somewhat surprisingly, however, Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (MO-03) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Patrick Kennedy (RI-01) failed to make into the Top 20 (both just missing with totals of $118,000 and $113,000, respectively).  Gephardt did have a fair amount of contributions to the Democratic Leader's Victory Fund 2000 committee, but those contributions were not included in this study because they are not technically contributions to a federal candidate.

• Unionist Candidates Get Support. Not surprisingly, two Steelworkers on the ballot this November made the Top 20 House Challenger list. Democrat Greg Goodnight, who works at a specialty steel manufacturer in Kokomo, Indiana, is challenging incumbent Rep. Steve Buyer (IN-05). Democrat Ed O'Brien, an former official of a Bethlehem Steel local, is challenging freshman Rep. Pat Toomey (PA-15).

 
• Unions Favor Democrats.  No surprise here.  Not one Republican made it on to any of the Top 20 lists.  Thus the inclusion of a separate Top 20 Republican list.

Boehm added, "This study is a good indicator of who the largest union PACs believe are the most powerful, the most vulnerable and the most likely to upset an incumbent this election day."

Again, to obtain a copy of the study, visit NLPC's website: www.nlpc.org and look under "What's New."

This study is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and abuses in the Teamsters, Laborers, AFL-CIO and other labor organizations.  NLPC publishes a fortnightly newsletter, Union Corruption Update, that details union corruption in many of the unions included in this report; past articles may found by NLPC's union index and state index.  For more about NLPC visit <http://www.nlpc.org>.

Return to Media Release Page