Report takes look at funds raised by the candidates

A Democratic congressional candidate's campaign is largely self-funded.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
Two candidates seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland as the next 6th Congressional District representative raised nearly $400,000 combined in the fourth quarter of 2005.
But the two candidates took completely different approaches to raising money, according to reports filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.
State Sen. Charles Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-30th, raised $254,178 during the last three months of 2005, with $150,000 of it coming from him.
Overall in 2005, Wilson gave $257,500 of the $474,069 raised by his campaign last year, or 54 percent of all his contributions.
"All candidates should participate in their campaigns," said Jason Wilson, Wilson's campaign manager and son. "His funding shows that he's putting his money where his mouth is."
Blasdel's funds
State Rep. Charles Blasdel of East Liverpool, R-1st and the Ohio House Speaker Pro-Tempore, raised $133,378 during the last three months of 2005, with no self-contributions.
Most of his campaign money came from political action committees. Overall in 2005, Blasdel's campaign raised $370,328.
Candidates need to only list the names and addresses on FEC reports of those who contribute $250 or more to their campaign. Of those contributing $250 or more to Blasdel in the last quarter of 2005, only one -- Douglas E. Cade of Haverhill in Scioto County, who gave $500 -- lives in the district. The 12-county district includes all of Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County.
"That's not something that concerns us," said Jessica R. Towhey, Blasdel's campaign spokeswoman. "We're happy that people in Meigs and Athens [counties] are giving us $10 and $25 and what they can afford."
As of Dec. 31, Blasdel's campaign had $296,614 on hand compared with $436,675 for Wilson.
Didn't file reports
None of the three other Democrats in the 6th District race -- Bob Carr of Wellsville, John Luchansky of Poland and Diane DiCarlo Murphy of Beaver Township -- filed fourth-quarter financial reports with the FEC.
The commission requires U.S. House candidates to file financial disclosure reports when they've raised and/or spent $5,000 on their campaign.
As for the other Republicans in the 6th District race, Tim Ginter of East Liverpool raised $36,505 for his campaign in 2005, including $9,233 in the last quarter, and had $9,859 on hand as of Dec. 31.
Richard Holt of Lawrence County raised $20,954 last year, all but $393 of it during the last three months of 2005. He has $20,554 on hand as of Dec. 31.
Noble County Commissioner Danny Harmon, the only Republican to file his nominating petitions for the seat, raised $19,817 in 2005, including $7,444 in the last quarter. He has $5,275 on hand as of Dec. 31.
In gubernatorial race
Strickland, of Lisbon, D-6th, is running for governor. Under state law, Strickland can't transfer his congressional funds to his gubernatorial campaign.
Strickland spent $76,984 of his congressional money during the last quarter of 2005. Nearly all of that money went to Democratic candidates, officeholders, county parties and associations.
The Mahoning County Democratic Party got $4,000, and Mahoning County Treasurer John Reardon, running for state auditor, got $2,500. Even with that spending, Strickland's federal fund had $421,182 on hand as of Dec. 31.
Strickland raised about $3 million last year for his gubernatorial campaign.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, who, to date, doesn't have a primary or general election opponent, raised $59,225 in the last quarter of 2005, and spent $88,797 during those three months. As of Dec. 31, his campaign had $145,840 on hand.
Fraioli & amp; Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, received $18,315 from Ryan's campaign for "fund-raising consulting." The company is almost always Ryan's biggest expense on his campaign reports. Ryan also gave $9,000 to his brother, Allen L., for "campaign management consulting."
skolnick@vindy.com