CAMPAIGN 2012:
Struggling incumbents cling to the power of money
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All the money in the world may not save the most vulnerable House incumbents, but that hasn't stopped many from stockpiling campaign cash, according to newly released fundraising reports. The new Federal Election Commission reports have also raised a few questions about the political futures of those incumbents who have not.
Here is a breakdown of the most vulnerable House members by state. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) was also on this list, but he announced late yesterday that he will not seek re-election (see related story).
California
The Golden State dropped the longtime practice of allowing the Legislature and the governor to redraw its congressional map -- and ensure the safety of incumbent lawmakers -- handing over the process in 2011 to a nonpartisan redistricting commission that overhauled many districts.
Among the losers are House Rules Chairman David Dreier (R), who saw his Rancho Cucamonga-based 26th District seat reconfigured into a Democratic stronghold that is now the 32nd District.
Dreier has not announced his re-election plans, but his latest fundraising report suggest he is not aggressively pursuing another bid after 32 years in Congress.
The Republican lawmaker collected $10,000 in the fourth quarter, ending the year with $92,000 raised. He reported $73,000 on hand and no debt.
During the same period in 2009, Dreier raised $138,000 in the fourth quarter and reported a year-end total of $457,000 in January 2010. At that time, he also reported more than $1 million on hand.
Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano has announced she will move from her current Sante Fe Springs-based 38th District to run in the new 32nd District.
Napolitano, a member of the Natural Resources Committee, reported raising $258,000 in 2011, including $147,000 in the fourth quarter. She had $320,000 on hand as of December and a $2,000 debt.
The Glendora Patch website also reported that real estate developer David Miller has announced he will run in the new district as a Republican. Miller's year-end report to the FEC showed he raised $5,000 in the fourth quarter but continues to carry a debt of $36,000 from his 2010 bid in the current 26th District.
Rep. Dan Lungren (R) also saw his Sacramento County district shift Democratic under the new lines, but it is not the first time the Republican lawmaker has been a Democratic target.
Lungren raised $777,000 in 2011, including $179,000 in the fourth quarter. He reported $521,000 in the bank as of Dec. 31 with a $14,000 debt.
Lungren's campaign consultant Rob Stutzman defended the lawmaker's fundraising pace to The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday, stating: "Dan's fundraising totals are healthy and normal for someone who spends 99 percent of his time working hard to serve the people who elected him over Bera two years ago." Lungren is seeking re-election in the new 7th District.
Democratic challenger Ami Bera -- a physician who challenged Lungren in 2010 in the current 3rd District, and took 43 percent to the incumbent's 50 percent -- outraised the Republican in the fourth quarter but carries massive debts from his prior campaign.
Bera reported raising $256,000 in the fourth quarter for a year-end total of $1.1 million. He reported $919,000 on hand as of December but recorded $273,000 in debt primarily from loans he made to his campaign in 2010.
Georgia
The Peach State gained a seat in the decennial reapportionment process, but there was nothing sweet about it for Democratic Rep. John Barrow.
During redistricting, Barrow saw his Democratic base in Savannah, along with his home, excised from his current 12th District seat.
Republicans view the seat, which gained Republican voters from Augusta, as a prime pick-up opportunity.
But Barrow, a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, does not appear to be shying from the fight. His latest campaign finance report shows he brought in nearly $1.2 million in 2011, including a fourth quarter haul of $272,000. He retained $904,000 on hand in December and has no debt.
The crowded Republican primary to face Barrow includes construction company owner Rick Allen, state Rep. Lee Anderson and municipal Judge Wright McLeod.
Allen reported raising $192,000 in the fourth quarter, his only report for 2011. He added $80,000 in personal loans to his campaign and ended the year with $205,000 on hand.
Anderson reported raising $140,000 in 2011, including $58,000 in the last quarter of the year. He reported $84,000 on hand but had no debt. McLeod reported $135,000 raised in his first report for 2011 and retained nearly all of that in cash on hand, with $130,000 in the bank in December.
Illinois
Under the Land of Lincoln's new congressional map, which includes one less seat than it did in 2010, freshman Rep. Bob Dold's suburban Chicago 10th District becomes the most heavily Democratic congressional seat in the country currently held by a Republican lawmaker, making him a prime pick-off target for Democrats.
But Dold is hitting the hustings to make sure his war chest is full and raised $1.6 million in 2011, bringing in $357,000 in the final months of 2011. Dold maintained $1.2 million on hand as of December but reported a debt of $59,000 including consulting fees.
Dold has proven his fundraising prowess before, raising nearly $3 million in his narrow victory over Democrat Dan Seals in the last cycle.
Among his likely Democratic challengers, Dold faces MoveOn.org organizer and former Senate aide Ilya Sheyman, who has drawn the support of Democracy for America, the liberal group founded by former Vermont governor and ex-Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean; tax consultant Brad Schneider, endorsed by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.); and U.S. Air Force Reserve Col. John Tree.
Sheyman led in fundraising for the fourth quarter, bringing $180,000 for a year-end total of $432,000 raised. He reported $207,000 on hand in December and is the only Democratic challenger without debt.
Schenider reported raising $535,000 in 2011, including $135,000 in the fourth quarter. He banked $452,000 as of December but reported $108,000 in debt including $100,000 in personal loans to his campaign.
Tree likewise reported $33,000 in personal loan debt to his campaign and a cash on hand total of $84,000 in December. He raised $68,000 in the fourth quarter, his only report in 2011.
Attorney Vivek Bavda is also seeking the Democratic nomination and reported raising $28,000 in 2011 with $12,000 on hand as of December. Bavda had $25,000 in debt from personal loans to the campaign.
Maryland
The Old Line State's Democratic Legislature overhauled Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's (R) 6th District seat on the state's western end, making it friendly Democratic territory.
After Bartlett raised $1,000 in the third quarter of 2011, he faced retirement rumors, but the Republican appears to have revived his campaign, pulling in $104,000 in the fourth quarter. He reported $343,000 on hand in December and no debt.
But Bartlett faces not just a challenging general election as Democrats vie for the right to face him, but primary opposition from a half dozen other Republicans, including two state legislators.
Among the GOP candidates, state Del. Kathy Afzali announced her candidacy in mid-January and has yet to file with the FEC, nor has state Sen. David Brinkley (R), who is also seeking the seat.
Among Democrats, state Senate Majority Leader Rob Garagiola, the favorite of the party establishment, reported raising $344,000 in his first report, and banking $323,000 in December. He reported no debt.
Other Democratic candidates include banker John Delaney, who reported both raising $118,000 and spending it all in the fourth quarter. Doctor Milad Pooran raised $68,000, and with a $40,000 infusion from his personal wealth tallied $102,000 on hand in December.
Missouri
Mapmakers eliminated the St. Louis seat of Rep. Russ Carnahan (D) when the Show Me State lost a congressional district in the reapportionment process.
Carnahan has said he will seek re-election, but he won't announce what district he will campaign in until a legal fight over the new map winds down.
In the meantime, Carnahan raised $707,000 in 2011, including $106,000 in the fourth quarter. He reported $449,000 on hand at the end of December with no debts.
Local St. Louis media outlets report Carnahan is mulling a Democratic primary challenge to Rep. Lacy Clay in the St. Louis-based 1st District, rather than attempting to run in the Republican-leaning 2nd District.
Clay reported raising $309,000 in 2011, including a $121,000 haul in the final months of the year. He had $387,000 on hand in December and no debts.
Former Missouri GOP Chairwoman Ann Wagner, who is seeking her party's nomination in the 2nd District, reported more than $1 million on hand as of December. She raised $1.4 million in 2011, including $314,000 in the fourth quarter.
New Hampshire
After narrowly defeating attorney Ann McLane Kuster (D) in 2010 to reclaim the House seat he had previously held, Rep. Charlie Bass (R) is a top target for Democrats in 2012.
Bass reported raising $760,000 in 2011, including a haul of $164,000 in the final months of the year. He banked $600,000 as of December and reported no debt.
But Kuster has outraised Bass to date in their 2nd District rematch, reporting a fundraising total of more than $1 million for 2011, including $331,000 in the fourth quarter. She banked $828,000 as of December and reported no debt.
North Carolina
When North Carolina's Republican-led Legislature reshaped the state's congressional map, it took aim at the state's seven Democratic lawmakers, forcing at least two into retirement and making two others among the most vulnerable incumbents in Congress.
Rep. Brad Miller (D) announced his retirement earlier this month, rather than face a primary with fellow Democratic Rep. David Price. Shuler, who already represented a very conservative district, saw Asheville, the district's one liberal enclave, carved out. He announced his retirement plans yesterday.
Meanwhile, Reps. Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre, who already saw tough re-election battles in 2010, saw their districts become even more conservative.
According to his most recent campaign finance report, Kissell raised $537,000 in 2011 including $145,000 in the final months of the year. He had $352,000 on hand as of December and no debts.
But at least six Republicans are vying to challenge him in the 8th District this fall.
Former Winston-Salem City Councilman Vernon Robinson, a controversial figure who calls himself "the black Jesse Helms" and has run unsuccessfully for other House seats in the past, led the money chase with $329,000 raised in 2011, including $153,000 in the fourth quarter. He reported $57,000 on hand and no debt as of December.
Former congressional aide Richard Hudson is close behind with $260,000 raised in the fourth quarter, his only report for 2011. Hudson, former chief of staff to Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), reported $238,000 on hand and a small $1,000 debt in December.
Weddington Town Councilman Dan Barry reported raising $125,000 in 2011, including $42,000 in the final months of the year. He retained $79,000 on hand as of December and reported a $1,000 debt stemming from a personal loan he made to the campaign.
McIntyre was drawn out of his Wilmington, N.C., district and faces a tough re-election bid.
He reported raising $853,000 in 2011 with a $194,000 boost in the fourth quarter. He had $687,000 on hand at the end of the year and no debt.
The leading Republicans competing to face McIntyre include police officer Illaro Pantano -- who lost a 2010 bid 46 percent to the incumbent's 54 percent -- and state Sen. David Rouzer.
Pantano reported raising $253,000 in 2011 including $65,000 in the final months of the year. He retained $9,000 on hand, however, and reported debts from campaign costs and personal loans totaling $52,000.
Rouzer likewise had debts of $6,000 for campaign costs but remained in the black with a cash-on-hand total of $221,000 in December. He raised $289,000 in 2011, including $83,000 in the fourth quarter.