Top 20 House Recipients

• 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.

• Special Election and Runoff Candidates Double Their Pleasure.  Two candidates who are on this November's ballot had extra bites at the apple this cycle which enabled them to collect many contributions in excess of the usual $10,000 PAC limit.  Rep. Joe Baca (CA-42) won special election in 1999 and Mike Ross (AR-04) had a primary and a runoff election to earn the honor of opposing incumbent Rep. Jay Dickey.

• 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 nearby 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.

• Expanded View.  This list was added to give a bigger picture of who is receiving the Top Union PAC money.  Six additional recipients made this list who did not make the overall Top House Recipient list.

• Vulnerable Incumbents Mostly Freshmen. While eleven of the vulnerable incumbents are from the Freshman class of 1998, Rep. James Maloney (CT-05) and Rep. Lane Evans (IL-17) came in at #3 and #4, respectively, which leads to the conclusion that these two long-time incumbents are in serious trouble.

• 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.

• Expanded View.  This list was added to give a bigger picture of who is receiving the Top 20 Union PAC money.  Fourteen additional recipients made this list who did not make the overall Top House Recipient list.

• Opens Seat and Vulnerable Opponents Provide Equal Opportunity.  Eleven of the Top 20 challengers are challenging incumbent opponents and nine are running for open seats indicating both types of campaigns look attractive to the Top 20 Union PACs.

• 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.  In 1998, only one Republican managed such a feat--Sen. Arlen Specter (PA) was able to eke out a 19th place finish on the Top 20 Senate list.

• Republican Regionalism. Nine of of the Top 20 Republican Recipients are from New York.  Another three are from New Jersey.  Only one is from west of the Mississippi River, and only one from the South.

To see the Methodology of how this study was conducted click here.

To see the List of the Top 20 Union PACs, from which these contributions came, click here.

To return to the index of The Top 20 from the Top 20 study click here.

Compare the 1998 Union PAC Report