ELECTION Raising the stakes: Cafaro adds $800K to campaign

The incumbent, Rep. LaTourette, will seek more money from his donors.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The most expensive U.S. House race in Ohio just got significantly more pricey.
Capri Cafaro, a Hunting Valley Democrat running for the 14th Congressional District seat, contributed $800,000 to her own campaign this weekend. She had already given $323,617 to her campaign since the March 3 primary before the $800,000 cash infusion. She also gave $210,560 of her own money toward her Democratic primary victory.
Overall, Cafaro has given $1.33 million to her campaign, including $1.12 million post-primary. U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Concord Township, R-14th, has contributed no money to his campaign.
Federal Election Commission rules permit congressional candidates to give up to $350,000 of their own money to their general election campaign. Once a candidate goes over that amount, a calculation is done to determine if the "Millionaire's Amendment" kicks in, said Kelly Huff, an FEC spokeswoman.
What this means is LaTourette, a five-term incumbent, can receive more money from individual donors who've already given him their maximum monetary contribution. Individual donors are limited by FEC rules to $2,000 contributions to congressional candidates toward general election campaigns. With Cafaro exceeding the $350,000 limit for the general election, LaTourette's individual donors can give him $6,000 -- three times the allowable amount, Huff said.
"We're going to go back to our donors," said Dino DiSanto, LaTourette's campaign spokesman. "We've been working very hard to make sure she doesn't buy a congressional seat."
She's No. 4
With the $800,000, Cafaro jumps from No. 7 to No. 4 among congressional candidates nationwide as far as the amount of self-funding provided to campaigns, and No. 1 among Democratic candidates, according to FEC records.
"It's a very significant investment, but the campaign needs a certain amount of money to compete in this race," Cafaro said. "It's amazing how much money it takes to communicate your message to voters. I need money to communicate our message. It's well worth the commitment for a better tomorrow for our children."
Cafaro, formerly of Liberty and a member of one of the Mahoning Valley's wealthiest families, mentioned that this will be $800,000 less her children will get, but it's worth it. Cafaro isn't married and has no children.
LaTourette raised $566,116 between April 1 and June 30, according to his most recent campaign finance report. As of June 30, he had more than $1.11 million in his campaign fund, the most of anyone running for a U.S. House seat in Ohio. Cafaro had $307,888 in her campaign fund as of June 30. The next finance report filing deadline is Oct. 15, which will cover July 1 through Sept. 30. The two-year seat pays $158,100 annually.
Spending outlook
Cafaro expects both she and LaTourette will spend about $2 million each on this race. Political experts say the 14th District race is considered the most competitive among the congressional campaigns this year in Ohio.
The main television market in the district is Cleveland, one of the 15 most expensive TV markets in the country, Cafaro said. The district includes seven northern townships in Trumbull County as well as all of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties, and portions of Cuyahoga, Portage and Summit counties.
Cafaro said self-financing her campaign allows her to spend more time meeting constituents, and not focusing her efforts on raising cash through fund-raisers.
Cafaro took a shot at LaTourette for accepting large amounts of money from political action committees, something common among incumbent members of Congress. LaTourette raised about $5 million during his six congressional campaigns, with about 40 percent of it coming from PACs. Through the first six months of this year, LaTourette raised $571,489 from PACs compared with $16,235 for Cafaro.
skolnick@vindy.com