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Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Texas Homebuilder Contributes $125,000 to NM GOP
By Barry Massey
Associated Press
SANTA FE — A Houston homebuilder, who bankrolled the "Swift Boat" ads against Democrat John Kerry in 2004, has contributed a hefty amount of money to the state Republican Party.
Bob Perry gave $125,000 to the state GOP last month. His money represented almost 90 percent of the total contributions collected by the party from May 28 through June 28, according to the party's most recent campaign finance report filed with the secretary of state.
Perry has donated to New Mexico Republicans in the past and supported conservative causes across the country.
He and his wife contributed nearly $240,000 to the 2002 gubernatorial campaign of John Sanchez, who lost to Democrat Bill Richardson. In 2006, Perry and his wife gave $160,000 the state GOP nominees for attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state and auditor and at least $70,000 to the state party.
Nationally, Perry helped finance Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which ran ads questioning Kerry's Vietnam war record. Many Democrats view the ads, and Kerry's delayed response to them, as contributing to the Democrat's loss in the presidential race four years ago.
This year, Perry gave $250,000 to the Club for Growth, a national anti-tax group that aired television advertisements critical of Republican Heather Wilson, who lost the party's U.S. Senate nomination to fellow congressman Steve Pearce.
Perry's contribution to the GOP gave it a significant fundraising advantage over the state Democratic Party during the most recent campaign finance reporting period.
The GOP's state campaign committee collected $140,294 while the Democratic Party received $32,550.
Republicans reported a cash balance of $235,650 as of last month and the Democratic Party had $34,369 in its state political account.
Fundraising by New Mexico's political parties is important in this year's election season.
All 112 seats in the Democratic-controlled Legislature are up for election. New Mexico also is a battleground for federal offices — the presidential race as well as U.S. House and Senate campaigns that are important nationally because they will help determine whether Democrats strengthen their control of Congress.
Certain expenditures by the parties can be jointly financed with money raised under state and federal election laws. That includes voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives as well as a party's administrative expenses such as salaries and office expenses.
Scott Darnell, spokesman for the GOP, said Perry was "certainly very interested in politics in New Mexico" and wanted to help the GOP end Democratic domination in state government.
"He's just very invested in helping us change the landscape in New Mexico," Darnell said Tuesday.
Other contributors to the GOP were Qwest Communications Inc., $4,000, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., $2,500.
Major donors to the Democratic Party included a property fund of Coast Range Investments, $5,000. The company is planning a 6,000-acre industrial park and residential development near Belen, and the investment fund gave $10,000 to the party last year. Labor unions contributed $11,000 to the party, including $5,000 from the New Mexico Federation of Labor.
New Mexico law imposes no limit on contributions by individuals, businesses and other interest groups to political parties and candidates for the Legislature and statewide office such as governor and attorney general.
Political parties have separate campaign accounts to comply with state and federal election laws. Federal law limits contributions and generally restricts use of that money to campaigns for federal offices.
At the end of May, the Democratic Party's federal campaign account reported a cash balance of $46,206 and the GOP's federal account had a balance of $121,209, according to the latest reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
In a sign of the national interest in New Mexico's Senate race between Pearce and Democrat Tom Udall, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee transferred about $124,000 to the state party's federal account in May.
Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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