Fifth District Opponents

Flush With Cash

By Adam Gorlick

 Associated Press

WASHINGTON, DC — Waging one of the country’s most hotly contested congressional races, U.S. Rep. James Maloney and his Republican opponent Mark Nielsen are heading into campaign season with huge war chests separated by about $58,000 in cash.

Democrats are battling to overcome the GOP’s six-seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Maloney faces a tough race to maintain seat in the fifth congressional district.

Mr Maloney defeated Mr Nielsen by about 2,300 votes in the 1998 election – the country’s second closest contest.

According to second-quarter filing reports with the Federal Election Commission, Mr Maloney has $707,485 cash on hand; Mr Nielsen has $649,635.

Mr Maloney has raised $1.2 million during the campaign – $100,000 more than he raised before Election Day 1998. About $380,000 of his current funds were collected between April and June.

Mr Nielsen has raised a total of $913,000, about $354,000 of which was raised during the second quarter. By the same time last election, Mr Nielsen, a former state senator, had raised only $100,000.

Both camps were tight-lipped when asked how they plan to spend their cash.

“We’re saving most of our money to build our war chest for the campaign,” said Fergus Cullen, Mr Nielsen’s campaign manager. But the two men have been quick to criticize each other’s fund-raising.

Mr Nielsen accuses Rep Maloney of taking too much PAC money from unions and education groups. The congressman counters that Mr Nielsen is too heavily funded by Big Tobacco.

“I get a lot of support from business and labor groups,” Mr Maloney said. “Mr Nielsen’s problem is that unions see him as an enemy.”

Betsy Arnold, Rep Maloney’s campaign manager, said her boss took about 50 percent of his contributions from PACs during the 1998 campaign. The other half came from individual contributions, she said.

Mr Cullen says the bulk of Rep Nielsen’s contributions come from individuals, with 40 percent coming from PACs and Republican committees.

“The vast majority of our fund-raising comes from in-state individuals,” Mr Cullen said.

Rep Maloney said he expects to pick up more individual contributions in the fall when more people are paying attention to political races.