Running for Congress isn’t cheap

A Mahoning County
Democrat leads the
fund-raising race in an open House race.

By DAVID SKOLNICK

VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

Challengers in two area congressional races were financially competitive with the incumbents during the year’s third quarter, but their overall campaign war chests are far smaller than those of the sitting members.

U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th, raised $280,749 between July 1 and Sept. 30. His main Republican opponent, Melissa Hart of Bradford Woods, Pa., who lost her House seat last year to Altmire, raised $235,466 during the same time period.

Though Hart, who held the congressional seat for six years, was competitive with Altmire for three months, the incumbent enjoyed a huge head start in raising money.

Altmire raised $514,110 during the first six months of the year compared with $3,675 for Hart.

As of Sept. 30, Altmire had $737,419 in campaign funds after expenses compared to $218,798 for Hart.

Ron Francis of Ben Avon, Pa., the ex-Allegheny County councilman, also is seeking the Republican nomination for this race. He raised $48,210 between July and September, and $111,942 during the year’s first nine months. Francis had $98,370 in his campaign fund as of Sept. 30.

The next congressional general election is in November 2008.

The 4th District includes all of Lawrence County and a portion of Mercer County.

The seat is one of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s top targets in the country.

Members of Congress and declared candidates for the legislative body had to file campaign finance reports by Monday with the Federal Election Commission for the year’s third quarter.

In Ohio’s 14th District, which includes northern Trumbull County, U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, the Republican incumbent from Bainbridge Township, raised $119,704 between July and September. William O’Neill of South Russell, his Democratic opponent, received $102,872 in contributions during the same time frame.

O’Neill quit his appeals court judicial job in July to run for the seat. He raised no money for the congressional campaign until July 30. LaTourette raised $438,296 during the year’s first six months.

After expenses, LaTourette had $500,806 in his campaign fund as of Sept. 30 compared to $77,977 for O’Neill.

State Sen. John Boccieri, a New Middletown Democrat, is leading the financial race in the 16th Congressional District. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee considers this to be a top priority when it comes to seats currently held by a Republican.

The district is at least 30 minutes from Boccieri’s Mahoning County home, and his state Senate district includes only a small portion of the 16th. Members of Congress don’t have to live in the district they represent.

The district includes all of Stark and Wayne counties and portions of Medina and Ashland counties.

Boccieri raised $118,857 between July and September, and $274,458 for the first nine months of the year. He has $224,847 in his campaign fund after expenses.

U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, a Navarre Republican who’s held the seat since 1972, isn’t seeking re-election. Regula’s retirement has been discussed for months and he made it official last week. Regula raised $18,600 during the year’s third quarter and $103,978 for the first nine months of 2007. Regula’s campaign fund had a $164,742 balance as of Sept. 30.

State Sen. J. Kirk Schuring of Canton is the leading Republican for Regula’s seat. He raised $57,554 between July and September, and $193,930 during the first nine months of the year. As of Sept. 30, Schuring’s congressional fund balance was $151,268.

Ashland County Commissioner Matt Miller is also seeking the Republican nomination for this seat in the March 2008 primary. He raised $27,825 during the year’s third quarter and $47,421 during the first nine months of the year. He had $42,860 in his fund after expenses.

skolnick@vindy.com