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| OCTOBER 26, 1998
5:20 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Center for Responsive Politics Sheila Krumholz 202/857-0044 |
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| One Week to Go: No Contest in Nearly Two-Thirds of 1998 House Races | ||||
| WASHINGTON -
October 26 - In what is shaping up to be the least competitive Congressional election in
recent memory, some 143 U.S. House candidates are heading into the final week of the 1998
elections financially unopposed, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive
Politics. This is the highest number in at least a decade, the next highest being in 1990
when 137 candidates either had no opposition on the ballot or no opponent reporting any
financial activity to the Federal Election Commission. Among the 435 races for the U.S.
House, 260 candidates - some 60 percent - have a financial advantage of at least 10-to-1
over their opposition. While the 34 U.S. Senate races are more competitive, 13 candidates
so far have outspent their opposition by 10-to-1 or more. Two of those are financially
unopposed. In the House, only 66 races - 15 percent - are financially competitive (where the spending advantage ratio is less than 2-to-1). In the Senate, one-fourth of the races are financially competitive. The analysis is based on the latest summary numbers filed by the candidates on Oct. 15 and downloaded from the FEC on Oct. 22. Office Spend Ratio Category Race Count House 2:1 to 5:1 77 House 5:1 to 10:1 32 House Less than 2:1 66 House More than 10:1 260 Senate 2:1 to 5:1 7 Senate 5:1 to 10:1 5 Senate Less than 2:1 9 Senate More than 10:1 13 Incumbents consistently lead challengers in all categories, with House incumbents holding the advantage in cash on hand by a factor of 6-to-1 over challengers. House incumbents hold a 4-1 advantage on average over challengers in both receipts and expenditures. In the Senate, incumbents have more than a 2-to-1 advantage in receipts and expenditures. In all cases, unopposed races were counted as having $0. Office ICO Avg Spent Avg Rcpts Avg Cash on Hand House C $111,098 $144,112 $50,958 House I $423,793 $607,383 $318,431 House O $413,372 $537,348 $130,315 Senate C $1,803,425 $2,016,567 $454,289 Senate I $3,778,132 $5,359,183 $1,796,324 Senate O $1,664,690 $2,181,567 $858,362 On average, Republicans in both House and Senate races enjoy an almost 20 percent advantage in fund-raising over Democrats. In open seat races, this edge holds true for Republicans among House candidates, but drops to a dead heat in races for the Senate. Office Party Avg Spent Avg Rcpts Avg Cash on Hand House Dem $298,345 $431,328 $188,798 House Repub $384,453 $520,628 $233,667 Senate Dem $2,564,415 $3,215,270 $945,706 Senate Repub $2,933,854 $4,050,099 $1,304,132 Republicans have dominated fund-raising in open seat races, with GOP candidates enjoying a 35 percent edge over Democrats in House races and nearly 20 percent in open seat races for the Senate. In fact, the only categories in which Democrats lead Republicans are in the Senate, where, on average, they have 12 percent more cash on hand among challengers, and nine percent higher spending in open seat races. The Republicans hold the greatest advantage among challengers running for the Senate, with an overwhelming 41 percent edge against the Democrats in total receipts, influenced in large part by the nearly $14.5 million raised by Peter G. Fitzgerald (R-Ill.). Fitzgeraldis the only Senate challenger to raise more than his incumbent opponent. The candidate with the highest receipts by far is veteran fund-raiser and former NRSC Chairman, Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.), with more than $25 million raised since 1993. The second largest war chest belongs to Fitzgerald who has raised almost $14.5 million in his largely self-financed challenge to unseat incumbent Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.). Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) comes in a close third, having raised nearly $13 million in her battle to fend off a strong challenge by Republican candidate Matt Fong. In House races, Speaker Newt Gingrich has held a steady lead in fund-raising this cycle, with receipts of nearly $6 million in the latest reports filed, in spite of a weak challenge by Democrat Gary 'Bats' Pelphrey who has raised only $16,000 to date. House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) is again among the top House fund-raisers this cycle, having raised more than $4.6 million dollars this cycle, more than 23 times the amount raised by his Republican opponent. -30- |
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