2nd District Dems’ financing varies

AUGUSTA – While the six democratic candidates for Congress in the 2nd District agree on a lot of issues, there are wide differences in how they are funding their campaigns.

Four of the candidates – state Sens. John Nutting of Leeds, Mike Michaud of East Millinocket and Susan Longley of Liberty, and former state Sen. Sean Faircloth of Bangor – are getting most of their campaign funds from in-state contributors.

But two hopefuls, Lori Handrahan of Sorrento and David Costello of Lewiston, are self-financing most of their campaigns, and what contributions they are getting are mostly from out-of-state sources.

An analysis of the campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission as of May 28 shows Handrahan is paying for three-quarters of her own campaign and Costello is paying for more than half of his effort.

Faircloth has not kicked in any of his own money. Michaud has contributed just $250 to his campaign committee. Longley has contributed just over $12,000 to her campaign. Nutting has chipped in $25,000 to his effort.

While 63 percent of Michaud’s campaign dollars are from individuals, political action committees representing labor groups are clearly providing the spark to his election effort. And contributions from individual union members also are boosting his campaign. Two of his top three contributors, with donations of $5,000 each, are the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. His top contributor is the Credit Union National Association, which gave $5,250.

Nutting’s top three contributors are all from the health care industry. He has received $3,500 from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, $2,500 from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and $2,500 from the American Medical Association.

A law firm, Bergen & Parkinson, and credit card company MBNA each gave Longley $3,500, and Unitel Inc. was her third-largest contributor with a $3,000 check.

Faircloth’s latest campaign finance report lists contributions from University of Maine employees as the top industry giver with checks totaling $4,700. His second-largest givers was Berman Simmons, a law firm, and the Coventry Group, each with a $2,000 contribution.

Handrahan’s top contributors were two law firms, Akin, Gump et al. with $3,250 and Arnold & Porter with $2,500. Her third-highest contribution was $1,000 from someone who listed his occupation as “Web Entrepreneur.”

Costello’s top contributions were $1,000 each from a fine arts dealer and the Financial Institutional Services Corporation. Several other supporters each contributed $500, the third-largest amount given to his campaign.

Five of the six candidates have received contributions from political action committees. Only Handrahan has received no PAC funds.

Michaud is the biggest recipient of PAC funds, with $65,500 from labor groups, $7,250 from business groups and $2,500 from the National Rifle Association.

Nutting has received $26,000 from business PACs, Longley has $5,500 from business groups and $3,000 from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Faircloth has received a $2,000 check from a labor group and Costello has a $500 business group contribution.

The detailed reports are available on the Federal Election Commission’s Web site at www.fec.gov. Voters can find out from the reports who is giving money to candidates and where the contributors are from.

The election reports also show metropolitan areas from where the most contributions came for each candidate.

Nutting, Michaud and Longley all got the most contributions from people living in Portland, Bangor and Lewiston. Faircloth got the most donations from Bangor, Portland and Washington, D.C.

Handrahan’s top metro area was Washington, D.C., followed by New York and Philadelphia. Costello’s top area also was Washington, D.C., followed by Portland and Lewiston.