Which politicians have Maine’s Gubernatorial Candidates supported?
I’m a big fan of Opensecrets.org. It’s a site where you can track the campaign contributions of all of our elected officials. For example, you might be interested to know that two of Maine’s own Olympia Snowe‘s five top contributors were insurance companies, and Health Providers and Insurance companies (is it any wonder she played such a pivotal role in watering down a once-decent healthcare reform bill?).
But it wasn’t until recently that I got the idea that you could turn Opensecrets.org on it’s head, and find out which politicians and PACs a particular candidate is donating to. Many of Maine’s gubernatorial candidates are relative newcomers to politics, so figuring out who they’ve put their own money behind in the past helps gain a little insight into their beliefs, particularly for independent candidates.
Only donations over $200 need to be tracked according to U.S. Election Law. Those candidates who haven’t put up that kind of money for other political campaigns are not tracked. I only show contributions made after 2000, but OpenSecrets.org can go back further in many cases. Visit the site to get even more numbers.
Independents
Eliot Cutler
| 4/23/2009 | Investment Co. Institute | $1,000 |
| 9/2/2008 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $250 |
| 7/31/2008 | Investment Co. Institute | $1,000 |
| 6/13/2008 | Barack Obama (D) | $500 |
| 6/13/2008 | Barack Obama (D) | $4,000 |
| 6/13/2008 | Barack Obama (D) | $600 |
| 4/15/2008 | Harry Mitchell (D) | $500 |
| 4/10/2008 | Adam Cote (D) | $500 |
| 3/18/2008 | Barack Obama (D) | $2,000 |
| 6/26/2007 | National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts | $1,000 |
| 6/24/2007 | Tom Allen (D) | $2,300 |
| 10/11/2006 | Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee | $1,000 |
| 9/10/2006 | Tom Allen (D) | $1,000 |
| 5/30/2006 | National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts | $1,000 |
| 11/8/2005 | National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts | $1,000 |
| 6/12/2005 | Tom Allen (D) | $500 |
| 6/2/2005 | Olympia Snowe (R) | $1,000 |
| 5/9/2005 | Kent Conrad (D-ND) | $1,000 |
| 10/25/2004 | DNC Services Corp | $1,000 |
| 10/25/2004 | DNC Services Corp | $500 |
| 10/14/2004 | DNC Services Corp | $250 |
| 8/6/2004 | John Kerry (D) | $2,000 |
| 4/1/2004 | John Kerry (D) | $1,000 |
| 3/31/2004 | Tom Reynolds (D) | $1,000 |
| 12/31/2003 | Wes Clark (D) | $500 |
| 12/24/2003 | Wes Clark (D) | $250 |
| 5/14/2003 | Tom Allen (D) | $1,000 |
| 10/21/2002 | Mike Michaud (D) | $250 |
| 7/30/2002 | Mike Michaud (D) | $250 |
| 5/9/2002 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $1,000 |
| 9/14/2001 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $1,000 |
| 8/4/2001 | Tom Allen (D) | $500 |
| 8/31/2000 | Tom Allen (D) | $1,000 |
| 3/26/2000 | Tom Allen (D) | $500 |
Cutler is probably the most prolific donor in the gubernatorial race, giving almost exclusively to Democratic candidates. When I noted this in my twitter stream, and wondered why he didn’t just run as a Democrat, he directed me to this blog post on charter schools in Maine, and Maine Democrats’ unwillingness to support them.
Cutler also contributed to Investment Company Institute, a PAC supporting investment companies, and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, a PAC that supports “publicly traded real estate companies with an interest in U.S. real estate and capital markets.”
As a Democrat myself, I have no problem with the possibility that Cutler is a closet Democrat, but I’m still surprised that the issue of charter schools pushed him into running as an independent.
Other Independents
I was unable to find any contribution information on Samme Bailey, Augustus Edgerton, Alex Hammer, Beverly Cooper-Pete, or John Whitcomb.
Maine Green Independent Party
Lynne Williams
| 7/21/2009 | Green Party of the United States | $304 |
A curiously non-round-number amount for a contribution.
Republicans
William Beardsley
| 10/20/2008 | John McCain (R) | $200 |
| 8/21/2008 | Susan Collins (R) | $250 |
| 6/21/2008 | Mike Michaud (D) | $500 |
| 8/23/2007 | Susan Collins (R) | $1,000 |
| 6/21/2007 | Susan Collins (R) | $1,000 |
| 1/17/2006 | Olympia Snowe (R) | $500 |
| 8/9/2005 | Olympia Snowe (R) | $375 |
| 8/26/2002 | Susan Collins (R) | $500 |
| 1/26/2002 | Susan Collins (R) | $200 |
| 6/28/2000 | Olympia Snowe (R) | $300 |
Being president of Husson College must pay better than I thought.
Matt Jacobson
| 6/2/2008 | Susan Collins (R) | $1,000 |
| 2/8/2008 | Adam Cote (D) | $1,000 |
For those who don’t remember, Cote was an Iraq war veteran from Sanford who eventually lost in a crowded Democratic primary to Chellie Pingree.
Paul Lepage
| 1/30/2008 | Susan Collins (R) | $500 |
| 6/28/2004 | Brian Hamel (R) | $250 |
| 12/20/2004 | National Republican Congressional Committee | $300 |
Peter Mills
| 9/14/2007 | Rudolph Giuliani (R) | $1,000 |
| 9/1/2005 | Olympia Snowe (R) | $1,000 |
Mills missed Giuliani’s 9/11 pledge drive by a few days. If you go further back in Mills’ history, you’ll also find several donations to Joseph Brennan (D) and Janet Mills (D).
Les Otten
| 4/16/2009 | Republican Party of Maine | $1,000 |
| 10/27/2008 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $2,000 |
| 10/24/2008 | Charles Summers (R) | $2,000 |
| 10/15/2008 | Susan Collins (R) | $2,300 |
| 6/9/2008 | Charles Summers (R) | $1,800 |
| 6/8/2008 | Adam Cote (D) | $2,000 |
| 2/15/2008 | Mike Michaud (D) | $1,000 |
| 9/11/2007 | Charles Summers (R) | $500 |
| 11/1/2001 | Kevin Raye (R) | $1,000 |
| 8/13/2001 | Joe Biden (D) | $1,000 |
| 2/23/2001 | Susan Collins (R) | $1,000 |
| 10/25/2000 | Jane Amero (R) | $1,000 |
It’s interesting to note that Otten donates so much to Democratic candidates as well to candidates from his own party. It’s even stranger that he donated to both Charles Summers and Chellie Pingree (two opponents for Maine’s first congressional district) within the same week 2008.
Bruce Poliquin
| 7/19/2009 | Thomas Foley (R) | $2,000 |
| 5/13/2009 | Republican Party of Maine | $1,000 |
Poliquin made no other donations from 2000 until 2009. He did make many contributions prior to 1996 that aren’t shown here, including a donation to prominent “Birther” Alan Keyes and to a gun-control PAC called “Handgun Control Inc“. Head over to Opensecrets for more numbers.
Other Republicans
I was unable to find any contribution information for Steve Abbot and J. Martin Vachon.
Democrats
Patrick McGowan
| 8/10/2005 | Maine Democratic State Committee | $250 |
| 4/14/2004 | John Kerry (D) | $250 |
| 5/9/2003 | Howard Dean (D) | $250 |
| 7/22/2002 | Mike Michaud (D) | $250 |
| 3/8/2002 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $250 |
Rosa Scarcelli
| 6/10/2009 | Maine Democratic State Committee | $2,500 |
| 6/4/2009 | DNC Services Corp | $250 |
| 11/3/2008 | Barack Obama (D) | $500 |
| 12/3/2007 | Barack Obama (D) | $2,300 |
| 1/5/2002 | Chellie Pingree (D) | $250 |
Another interesting tidbit in these reports is that you are required to list your occupation when making a campaign donation. I was surprised to see Scarcelli list her occupation as “Housewife” in 2002. Her online bio says she founded a real estate management company in 1999 before taking over Stanford Management in 2005, so I would’ve thought she’d list her real estate management company as her occupation.
Peter Truman
| 4/2/2008 | Michael Brennan (D) | $250 |
Other Democrats
Donna Dion made one contribution in 1994. I could not find any contribution information on Libby Mitchell, John Richardson, or Steve Rowe
